What is the Jolie Shower Filter?
The Jolie Shower Filter is a screw on shower head that provides filtration for chlorine, heavy metals and other chemicals from your water. You may have seen this showerhead all over Instagram and TikTok, marketed for its easy installation. But is it actually easy to install? Do you really need a water softener? And does it really make a difference? I very reluctantly tested it and my thoughts are below.
This post is all about the Jolie Shower Filter: is it worth it?
Why use shower head filters?
First, you may have heard of the terms “hard water”, “filtered shower head,” and “water softener?” What do all of these things mean? It’s important to know that hard water is water that is tested to have large amounts of calcium, magnesium, and more. Hard water doesn’t have any health risks per se, but there are side effects to hard water and can be a nuisance. Effects of hard water on skin and body can include:
- Film (residue) on hands or body even after washing with soap
- Mineral stains on clothes or washing machine
- Decreased water pressure
- Excerbation of skin conditions like eczema and dermatitis
- Dry and itchy scalp
One of the ways to filter out all of the excess contaminants is to treat the water get a filtered shower head which uses salt to rid of the excess minerals or get a water softener system installed for the entire home.
Why I started using a filtered shower head
Hard water varies depending on where you live. I live in an area where the water is known to be hard but I never really noticed it on my skin or hair. To note, I also do not have any history of eczema or chronic skin irritations/sensitivities I listed above. No joke, whenever I heard about hard vs soft water, water softeners, filtered shower heads, etc I rolled my eyes.
So what pushed me to try a filtered shower head?
Well, a few months ago, an unfortunate hair bleach incident left my typically thick and healthy hair very brittle, dry, and extremely porous. My assumption is that because my hair is very thin and porous now, my shampoo and conditioner are settling into my hair more so than before. On a side note, if you are middle aged and contemplating bangs or bleaching your hair, I highly recommend you find a hairdresser who you trust to do either of these for you. 🥲
After the somewhat traumatic bleaching incident I noticed that my hair felt sticky and it was extremely hard to get all of the shampoo/conditioner out of my hair no matter how many times I washed my hair. I tried switching to different shampoos and lighter conditioners but nothing worked. I remembered the area I live has hard water so I figured I would try getting a Jolie shower head (after being targeted several IG ads of course).
What’s included and installation
The Jolie shower head filter is marketed as very easy to install. Despite the area I live in being known for having hard water, another one of the reasons I never installed a water softener system in my home, or bought a filtered shower head was because the thought of spending upwards to $10K to have a water softener system installed in my home, or having to deal with the (what I had assumed) was difficult plumbing work to install different shower heads was extremely daunting to me – hey, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and I’m well aware of mine 🙃
The Jolie shower filter comes in a box with the shower head, instructions, and plumber’s tape (which they have marketed as “cute”). Definitely gimmicky but great branding.
All of the TikTok, YouTube, and Jolie tutorial videos I’ve seen make it look like you basically unscrew your existing shower head then screw on the Jolie shower filter.
Upon uninstalling, I took a look at the inside of my old shower head and was disgusted. You can see the small bits and pieces of hard minerals, mold, and calcification. Not at all shocking since like I mentioned, the area I live in is known for hard water but definitely sobering to think about washing my hair and body with all of those old minerals.
This also might not be the case for some people but it took me about 10 minutes. Maybe it’s the shape or angle of the pipe (? told you I’m not very good at this – don’t even know the right terminology) of my particular shower head but I found that water was leaking through the back. After tightening with a wrench and using probably too much of the plumber’s tape, it now leaks less. I’m not able to confirm if this is common or happens to everyone but it isn’t worrisome to me.
My routine pre shower head vs now (with the shower head)
Pre-Jolie shower filter: I’d have to wash my hair 2-3x and rinse it with apple cider vinegar to feel like my hair is clean. I would use a gentle, sulfate-free or clarifying shampoo and conditioning only the ends of my hair and use a wet comb to very gently comb out the shampoo while in the shower. Even then, my hair still felt heavy and not as clean as it did before my unfortunate bleach accident.
Post-Jolie shower filter: Now I use the Jolie shower filter, the same gentle shampoo, conditioner, and a wet comb to very gently comb through my hair and my hair finally feels clean again! It isn’t as heavy, oily, sticky, or flat. Hallelujah!
How long does Jolie shower head last?
According to the Jolie website, one Jolie shower filter should last about 3 months in which you’ll need to replace it. I’m on month 3 and already purchased a filter.
Is the Jolie filtered shower head or filtered shower heads in general worth it?
This is the first filtered shower head that I’ve tried so far (@ me on Instagram and let me know if I should try more or if you have a recommendation on what I should try next!) and I would 1000% agree that this Jolie shower filter is absolutely worth it if you are in a similar situation where you perhaps chemically treat or bleach your hair often – and especially if you live in an area with hard water. I’ve talked a few of my others who have tried this filtered shower head and they swear by it. So yes, yes, yes I would recommend this shower head. You can get the Jolie shower filter on the Jolie website, Amazon or your local Erewhon if you’re in LA.
