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I am a European mutt but mostly Italian and Polish, two groups of people who tend to ooze oil out of every pore. I spent years battling oily skin, not knowing the one cure was across the pond coming out of a faucet: Germany's hard water. However, my oily skin turned dry and flaky and my hair a frizzy mess. After lots of research along with trial and error, I have discovered these German hard water hacks.
Water softeners
Back in the states, homes usually have a water softening system, which removes calcium, magnesium and other metals. Your home in Germany probably doesn't have one, but you can purchase a detachable water softener for your shower. It easily screws onto your shower head. You can find them on Amazon.com and Amazon.de running anywhere from 18 to 250 euros. I bought the cheapest one and it works wonders.
Face and body products
I would release a makeup-less photo of me in the height of the dry skin battle but since we don't want to scare small children, imagine what Darth Vader looked like when Luke removed his mask in “Return of the Jedi.” Google it. Terrifying. Now, imagine it on a 35-year-old woman who is just as pale.
First, I wanted to find a way to remove the dead skin off my no-mask-Darth-Vader-face. I picked up The Ordinary's Peeling Solution with alpha hydroxy and beta hydroxy acids. It looks like you rubbed blood all over your face, stings but it works. You look five years younger and your skin is delightfully smooth. It can be found in a German “drogerie,” drug store or online for seven euros.
Germany's hard water laughed in the face of my overpriced age-defying face cream. In an act of desperation, I swiped my husband's giant bottle of Eucerin Intensive Repair Lotion. The next day there was a noticeable difference and it didn't cause any breakouts.
Hair
I spend way too much money on my hair to let hard water turn it into a dry, frizzy mess. I began investigating ways to battle dry hair and discovered a term I had to Google, ‘co-wash’ or conditioning washes. Co-washes are products that contain a trace amount of detergent but are mainly conditioner you scrub through your hair and scalp. I'm now down to using shampoo one to two times a week and my hair looks better than before. Using a deep conditioning mask also works wonders.
Dishes
After my first load in the dishwasher, I noticed spots. Not just tiny spots but massive ones that gave the glasses an opaque finish. A dishwasher rinse aid was useless.
Adding insult to injury, my husband has an annoying tendency to rewash dishes after I've already washed them because they do not meet a standard that is second only to hospital sterilization. Facebook came in clutch when I spotted a spouse asking about the ‘salz trap’ on her dishwasher. “Meine Deutsch ist nicht sehr gut,” but I do know what salz means. It suddenly dawned on me the Germans in their usual industrious way created a salt trap to soften the water and decrease hard water spots.
That was probably way more information than you needed but I figured if you're reading this article you can clearly sympathize with this journey. The ‘salz trap’ is usually located on the bottom of the dishwasher, with a screw top and the word ‘salz’ next to it. You can buy spezial salz at any Germany grocery store or drogerie. It costs less than one euro, which is a steal when you think how much a divorce will cost because of your husband's constant rewashing of the dishes.
Despite being awful for your skin, hair and dishes, Germany's hard water is absolutely safe to drink. It has more stringent regulations and goes through more rigorous testing than bottled water.
