Water actually does more harm than good on the exterior body, and the cause of the harmful effects of water can be outlined in a single term: Oxidation.
Oxidation is the leading explanation for why we wrinkle. Oxidation is the basic cause of most illnesses. Oxidation is the cause of skin cancer. Oxidation is the reason most of us will die.
Oxidation occurs when too much oxygen, in addition to oxidizing agents, embarks on a destructive journey that leads to the creation of free radicals, resulting in an unbalancing of electrons and eventually damage to cells that were otherwise healthy and productive contributors to a healthy body. These damaged cells can themselves become aggressors and form more free radicals.
Pure water can cause Oxidation when damp skin or hair sees catalysts such as warm air, sunlight or direct heat. Certainly, today`s water is rarely what we would call pure, and because of this, Oxidation is less the cause of the water itself, but rather of what is in the water.
The most insidious oxidative agents are present right in the tap. Tap water is intentionally loaded full of oxidizers including chlorine, chloramines and bromine.
Statistics on the amount of these bacteria in tap water can be startling. For instance, since 100 people died in Milwaukee from bacteria in drinking water years ago, it has become common to discover over 3 times the chlorine in the city`s tap water than is legally necessary in swimming pools! You literally could be using �pool water� to cleanse your face and hair.
Additionally, today`s water is loaded with minerals such as calcium, iron and copper � perhaps good on the inside, but potentially devastating to hair and skin. Just over a decade ago, a study in the U.K. connected hard water with eczema. And in case you believe that does not affect you, more than ninty percent of Americans get hard water from the tap every day.
Knowing how hard your water is and how much chlorine it is composed of can encourage you to use hair and skin care treatments that will actually sustain your natural hair texture, color and shine as well as stop or even reverse signs of aging on the skin. So what should you do?
Investigate Your Water. Do a simple chlorine test with OTO (orthotolodine) and get a hard water test strip to check for hardness. Simply purchase the OTO at your local pool store and put 5-10 drops into a small glass of water to see if the water changes yellow. If it become yellow, it is full of enough chlorine to instigate oxidation.
Use antioxidant products that are of the right type and percentage to be effective. An active form antioxidant, such as fresh-dried ascorbic acid at ten percent concentration or greater, in fact halts oxidation on the hair, scalp and skin. Vitamin E, in a five percent concentration, is very effective on the skin to stop oxidation from affecting lipids in and around skin cells.
So you believe you have the best antioxidant product? Don`t believe the hype; take a look for yourself. Your test kit will also check your antioxidant products to identify whether they are neutralizing oxidative agents and thus are active. When you check your water and it becomes yellow from the chlorine oxidation, apply a single drop of your most liked antioxidant serum or cream to the water. If it is truly an antioxidant, or if the antioxidant is still active, the color will go away like magic. If it doesn`t, the antioxidant is not present.
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