I Did This 5-Minute Shower Upgrade, and It’s Made My Daily Routine 10x Better

Some say you can’t have it all, but I do. I have fine, low porosity, medium wavy to occasionally curly hair, and I’m blessed with combination oily/dry acne-prone skin at the age of 31. Safe to say that I’m constantly looking for ways to level up my self-care routine, from different lightweight hair products, cleansing shampoos, powerful but affordable skincare, and even prescription treatments. But I’ve never looked at the water that comes out of my tap — until I had the opportunity to test the Croix Handheld Showerhead.

The Croix Showerhead is a renter-friendly showerhead that promises to filter out chlorine and heavy metals, sulfite, and scale, which is better for your hair and skin. It comes with a showerhead filter (and an extra one), a long tube to connect to the showerhead and the spigot, and a shower arm mount. 

A one-time purchase of the showerhead with filter, plus a spare filter, is $129 —  but right now you can get it for $85 on sale. If you subscribe to receive two showerhead filters every four months though, that cost goes down to $99 normally, but right now you can get it for just $65.

The brand promises that the filters last up to four months (so you replace them three times a year) and that the chlorine and heavy metal filtration is high efficiency, and is NSF-177 (National Sanitation Foundation) rated, which means it is “certified to only reduce free available chlorine.” They say that the water pressure is strong and consistent when using the Croix and that the showerhead is designed by a chemical engineer. 

There are three color options — brushed nickel, polished chrome, and matte black — and I picked the brushed nickel because it matched my existing fixtures the most.

First things first: I do not consider myself a handy person at all, but I was able to install this thing on my own with just the provided thread tape, screwing each part in on itself, and tightening those parts with a wrench. I felt so handy doing it myself and it really only took about five minutes. I kept the old showerhead — because I rent, I will take the Croix with me whenever my husband and I move — but I know I’ll just as easily be able to take off the Croix when I move and put the old showerhead back on. 

Besides the promises that the Croix helped my hair texture and possibly contributed to my skin being clearer and glowier, the handheld nature of the showerhead really appealed to me because I also use the tub to bathe my dog who absolutely hates bathtime, but gets a bath at least every other week due to her skin allergies.

Before I got the showerhead, I’d spend the whole shower moving a plastic cup under the faucet and onto my dog over and over again while she hated the entire experience, trying to get out of the tub the whole time. It absolutely killed my lower back. With the handheld showerhead, I’m able to spray her with water without bending over and killing my back or moving back and forth and back and forth. Plus, I actually think she likes the light spraying water more than dumps of water all over her. 

In the end, this showerhead did make my hair feel softer and hold its texture easier, it might have helped my skin, and it made my dog hate bathtime less. Win/win/win! 

Buy: Croix Handheld Showerhead, $85 (normally $129)