Why You’re Losing More Hair in the Shower (And What Your Water Has to Do With It)
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If you’ve noticed more hair in the drain lately, you’re not alone.
For many Australians, hair shedding seems to quietly creep in — first a few extra strands in the shower, then a thinning ponytail, then hair that just doesn’t feel as full or strong as it used to.
Stress, hormones, age, diet and genetics all play a role.
But there’s one factor most people never think about:
The water you wash your hair with every day.
And for a surprising number of households, that water is doing far more harm than good.
What’s actually happening when hair sheds?
It’s normal to lose 50–100 hairs per day. That’s just part of the natural growth cycle.
But when shedding becomes excessive — clumps in the drain, more strands on your pillow, thinner hair over time — something has shifted.
In many cases, the hair follicle itself isn’t “broken.”
It’s irritated, inflamed, or weakened.
And that’s where water comes in.
How shower water affects your scalp and hair roots
Your scalp is skin — just like your face.
When it’s exposed to the wrong conditions, it becomes:
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Dry
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Inflamed
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More sensitive
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Less able to support healthy hair growth
Australian tap water often contains high levels of:
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Chlorine (used to disinfect)
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Hard water minerals like calcium and magnesium
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Sediment and metals from aging pipes
These don’t just rinse off.
They build up on:
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Your scalp
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Your hair shaft
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Your follicles
Over time, this can create a perfect storm for hair shedding.
Chlorine and scalp irritation
Chlorine is great at killing bacteria — but it’s also great at stripping natural oils from skin and hair.
When your scalp is repeatedly exposed to chlorine:
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The skin barrier weakens
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Inflammation increases
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Natural oils are stripped away
A dry, irritated scalp is far more likely to shed hair prematurely.
Many people mistake this for dandruff or “just stress,” when it’s actually a reaction to the water they’re using twice a day.
If you’ve ever noticed your scalp feeling tight, itchy, or flaky after showering, this is a major red flag.
Hard water and hair breakage
Hard water is loaded with minerals like calcium and magnesium.
These minerals cling to hair strands and build up over time, causing hair to:
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Feel rough and straw-like
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Lose shine
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Become brittle
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Break more easily
When hair breaks close to the scalp, it often looks like shedding — even though the root is still alive.
Hard water also makes it harder for shampoo and conditioner to rinse cleanly, leaving residue behind that weighs hair down and clogs follicles.
In cities like Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide, hard water is extremely common — which is why so many Australians struggle with dry, fragile hair without realising why.
If you’ve ever wondered why your hair feels worse after washing instead of better, this is usually the reason.
Water quality and hair fall: the missing link
When chlorine, minerals and sediment combine, they don’t just damage the hair you can see.
They also affect the scalp environment where new hair is meant to grow.
Over time this can lead to:
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Increased shedding
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Slower regrowth
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Thinner looking hair
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More hair in the shower drain
Many people spend hundreds on hair serums, supplements and treatments — while still washing their scalp with water that actively undermines all of it.
It’s like trying to grow a garden in polluted soil.
Why some people shed more than others
Two people can live in the same city and have very different hair experiences.
That’s because some scalps are simply more sensitive to water chemistry.
If you have:
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Colour-treated hair
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Fine hair
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A dry or sensitive scalp
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Eczema, psoriasis or dandruff
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Hormonal changes
Your hair is far more vulnerable to water quality.
And unfortunately, that’s most people.
The simple fix most people never try
The easiest way to reduce water-related hair shedding isn’t a pill or a serum.
It’s filtering what touches your scalp.
A properly designed shower filter removes:
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Chlorine
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Hard water compounds
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Sediment
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Metal particles
Before they ever touch your skin or hair.
When the water is cleaner, the scalp can calm down, inflammation reduces, and hair is no longer being weakened every single day.
That’s why so many people notice:
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Less hair in the drain
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Softer hair
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Less scalp irritation
within just a few weeks of changing their shower water.
If you want to see whether this could help you personally, Flowy’s hair and skin quiz makes it easy to understand how your local water may be affecting you and what to do about it.
👉 Take the Flowy hair and skin quiz
https://flowy.com.au/pages/quiz
Why this matters even more in Australia
Australia’s water quality varies wildly by city and even suburb.
Some areas are known for:
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Extremely hard water
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Heavy chlorination
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High mineral content
That’s why Flowy created city-specific Australian water guides — so you can see exactly what’s coming out of your tap and how it may be affecting your hair and skin.
Where Flowy fits in
Flowy was created specifically to deal with Australian shower water — not generic overseas conditions.
Our filtration system targets the biggest hair-damaging culprits found in Australian tap water, so your scalp and hair can finally recover instead of being constantly stressed.
If hair shedding, dryness or thinning has been creeping into your life, your shower might be the missing piece you’ve never been told about.
👉 Explore the Flowy Filtered Shower Head
https://flowy.com.au/products/flowy-filtered-showerhead
Final thought…
Hair loss doesn’t always start at the root.
Sometimes it starts at the tap.
And changing your water can change everything.
If you already use a Flowy shower head, keeping your filter fresh is key — because clean water only stays clean when the filter is doing its job.
👉 Replace your Flowy filter here
https://flowy.com.au/products/flowy-replacement-filter