Move cities and suddenly your shower drain starts looking…busier than usual. More strands on the comb. More on the pillow. For a lot of people, especially those shifting to big metros, the blame travels quickly to the same suspect, hard water. It feels logical. New place, new water, new hair fall. Case closed. Except, not quite.
Dr Agni Kumar Bose, dermatosurgeon and trichologist specialising in dermatology, venereology and leprosy, with eight years of clinical experience, recently addressed this exact worry in an Instagram video posted on February 15. His core clarification was simple but important, hard water may affect how your hair feels, but baldness itself is a medical issue, not a plumbing one.
Hard water and hair loss: What it actually does
Hard water often gets accused of causing permanent hair loss. But medically, that link does not hold.
Dr Bose explains, “Hard water does not cause balding. Yes, of course, it can cause roughness, dryness, and frizziness of the hair, but that is just the texture. Hard water does not cause a receding hairline, hair thinning, or bald patches. That is genetic hair loss. If hard water caused baldness, then people in coastal cities across the world would be bald by now.”
In practical terms, mineral-heavy water can leave residue on the scalp and hair shaft, making hair feel coarse, dull or harder to manage. But that is surface-level impact. Texture, not follicle damage. The root cause of patterned hair loss lies elsewhere.
Why hair fall often increases after moving cities
There is a pattern dermatologists notice frequently. Hair shedding spikes around the same life phase people relocate for college or work.
Dr Bose points out, “People usually move to a new city either for college or for work, which is roughly around the same age when genetic hair loss begins. Because they are no longer living at home, their nutrition and stress levels also suffer, yet the blame is placed on the plumbing.”
Lifestyle disruption tends to do the quiet damage.
- Irregular meals and poor nutrition
- Higher stress levels
- Sleep disruption
- Lack of routine self-care
All of these can accelerate shedding or unmask underlying genetic hair loss that was already programmed to begin.
Balding is medical, not mechanical
One of the biggest concerns specialists flag is delayed treatment. Many people spend months, sometimes years, trying to “fix” water quality before seeking medical advice.
Dr Bose notes, “And what do they do? They buy expensive water filters, bathe with RO water, or even bathe with Bisleri, but they won’t go to a simple doctor. Because of this, they end up wasting precious years when they could have actually started treatment, and by then, the hair loss becomes irreversible. Please note that balding is not a plumbing problem; it is a medical problem. Go see your doctor, not your plumber.”
Early intervention matters because certain types of hair loss are manageable, even reversible in initial stages. But the window narrows with delay.
ALSO READ: Dermatologist explains why women lose hair and why it’s ignored
