Proof,
Not Promises.
Engineered for the real conditions of a shower - hot & hard water, fast flow, chlorine. Tested in independent Korean laboratories.
Shop the Shower FilterOften invisible - but they reach your skin and hair every day.
Can strip skin's natural oils and dry out hair with daily exposure.
Leaves residue on skin and hair, affecting look and feel.
From old pipes - can contribute to irritation and dullness.
May lead to dryness, tightness and irritation.
May lead to dryness, tightness and irritation.
Residue can weigh hair down and affect how it looks.
Residue can weigh hair down and affect how it looks.
Impurities can contribute to discomfort and an unbalanced scalp.
Impurities can contribute to discomfort and an unbalanced scalp.
Most filters only solve part of this.
Many shower filters focus on one thing - usually chlorine, or basic particle filtration. Real shower water carries several factors at once, so partial filtration gives partial results.
Most filtration systems were originally designed for drinking water - slow flow, cool temperature, long contact time.¹ A shower is the opposite: fast, hot, continuous, high volume. What works for slow, cold drinking water doesn't behave the same way in a fast, hot shower.
That's why PICKI NIKI is designed specifically for real shower conditions.
We started with Korean filtration technology – one of the world's most advanced. Then we re-engineered it for Europe.
Two problems. Two different solutions.
Removes rust, particles and pipe debris, regardless of flow rate or temperature. Hot water accelerates the release of rust and debris from old pipes - 5μm melt-blown cartridge in sealed full-flow housing, 100% pass-through, no bypass.
A high-concentration Vitamin C formula that neutralises chlorine on contact and forms soluble complexes with calcium and magnesium minerals. Reacts directly with chlorine on contact - even in fast-flowing water. More active in warm water - suited to hot showers.
Designed to be used together – not separately.
Step 1 protects by removing what you can see.
Step 2 protects by neutralising what you can't.
Together, they deliver cleaner, better shower water.
Four everyday changes after switching to filtered shower water.
Skin feels softer and less dry.
Easier to manage, less mineral residue.
Fewer mineral marks on skin and hair.
Strong, consistent flow, gentle on skin.
Rated 4.9/5 on Okendo - 1,000+ verified five-star reviews. Engineered for real shower conditions - hot water, full flow, seconds of contact.
Shop the Shower FilterThe mechanism behind each claim: chlorine on contact, mineral interaction, and a measured pH shift.
Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) reacts with free chlorine, converting it into harmless by-products – the same established principle used in pool-water treatment. In independent KEWI lab testing, free chlorine was reduced to non-detectable at the outlet.³
In laboratory conditions, ascorbic acid acts as a weak chelator of the calcium and magnesium ions that make water hard. The formula was developed with European hard water in mind – an area most standard carbon and KDF systems were not originally built around.
Hard water tends to be alkaline (higher pH), which works against skin's naturally mildly acidic surface – the acid mantle, around pH 5.5. In independent KTR testing, alkaline input water showed a clear pH reduction after filtration, shifting it toward skin's natural range (input pH 10.0 → 7.38; pH 9.0 → 6.45).²
Lab-testedKorea Environment & Water Works InstituteChlorine + 60-parameter test
Lab-testedKorea Testing & Research InstitutepH reduction test
Dermatologically testedClinical Skin Research CentreSkin irritation study
CertifiedISO 9001 · 14001 · 45001Manufactured under ISO management systems⁹
CertifiedAtopy-friendly certified⁷Chlorine is a gas – in shower water, contact time is everything.
Activated Carbon
Adapted from drinking-water tech
Contact time required
Picki Niki · Vitamin C
Built for shower water
Reaction on contact
~0.1 s: KEWI lab test (2020), free chlorine reduced to non-detectable at 2.52 L/min. 25-40 s: WQA empty-bed contact time for granular activated carbon. See references below.
Carbon and KDF filters work by physical adsorption - water has to stay in contact long enough. A shower gives them almost no time. Vitamin C reacts directly with chlorine on contact, and faster in warm water.
| PICKI NIKI (Vitamin C) PICKI NIKI | Carbon filters Adsorbent media | |
|---|---|---|
| How it removes chlorine | Reacts on contact (redox) | Physical adsorption - needs contact time |
| In a real shower (fast flow, short contact, hot water) | Reacts on contact, faster in warm water | Designed for slow, cool drinking water; capacity consumed as it works |
| Contact time needed | ~0.1 secAt full shower flow | 25-40 secEBCT required (WQA standard) |
| Hot shower water (40 °C+) | Reaction speeds up with heat | Risk of contaminant desorption above 40 °C; hidden capacity loss as adsorption saturates |
| Hard water (Ca / Mg) | Reacts with minerals as it neutralises chlorine | |
| End-of-life signal | Visible - gel consumed | Invisible decay |
Activated-carbon filters remove chlorine by trapping it in a porous bed. That same bed - porous, nutrient-rich, and stripped of chlorine's antibacterial effect - can become more susceptible to biofilm formation over time. Peer-reviewed studies of carbon point-of-use filters have measured heterotrophic bacteria rising to many times the incoming level as the filter ages⁴ ⁵.
Consumed, not stored - when spent the capsule is just empty, nothing left to colonise.
Chlorine trapped, antibacterial effect gone - a biofilm layer can build up in the spent bed.
PICKI NIKI works differently, for two structural reasons:
A spent carbon bed is the opposite, for two structural reasons:
⁴ Carbon biofilm peer-reviewed: Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology (RSC, 2017). ⁵ Carbon bacterial growth: PubMed 6784673.
Many shower filters have no dedicated stage for the rust, grit and pipe debris that hot water pulls out of old plumbing. PICKI NIKI's Step 1 sediment filter is built for exactly this. Because it's physical capture - not a reaction or timed adsorption - it works regardless of flow rate or temperature.
A nominal 5µm melt-blown PP filter in a sealed full-flow housing. By construction, all water is forced through it - no bypass routes around it.
Clean water outRaw water in
High-density melt-blown PP structureUsually no dedicated sediment stage. The media targets chlorine, not physical debris - particles can pass through.
Water outRaw water in
Thin outer wrapOnly the surface fabric discolours to look like it's working.
Particles bypass the mediaWater finds gaps between the wrap and core, bypassing the filtration media.
We don't guess. We test under real shower conditions to prove what works.
Chlorine reduction
Free chlorine reduced to non-detectable in independent lab testing (KEWI ID-201038).³
pH stability
Stays skin-friendly across full shower flow rates (KTR).²
Dermatologically tested
Non-irritant - P&K Skin Clinical Research Centre (n=30).⁶
Most filters are evaluated for what they remove. We also considered what they leave behind.
Shower filters operate under hot water and pressure every day. Material stability under these conditions isn’t something we take for granted.
Why it matters in the shower
Hot water and pressure can accelerate the release of unwanted substances. We design our filters to stay stable – so only cleaner water reaches you.
Water-contact components made from BPA-free materials selected for long-term stability with hot water, high pressure, and daily use.
Commonly used in premium water bottles and food-contact applications.
The sediment filter material and body were evaluated for release of regulated substances.
Lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium and chromium: all non-detected in the filter output.¹⁰
Vitamin C is consumed in the reaction process rather than filter particles being stored inside the filter.
After consumption, the empty housing can be recycled where local facilities exist.*
Because filtration is not only about what a product removes. It’s also about what it leaves behind.
Tested by independent Korean laboratories.¹⁰
Lead
Non-detected
Mercury
Non-detected
Cadmium
Non-detected
Chromium
Non-detected
*Recycling availability varies by location.
Because better water makes a real difference.
Explore the Shower FilterSources for individual claims, marked with footnote numbers. Peer-reviewed papers are cited in support of underlying mechanisms, not as proof of product efficacy.
Drinking-water filter context, activated carbon & KDF. Most domestic filters originally designed for slow flow, cool temperature, long contact time. Sources: Wu et al., npj Clean Water (2021); WC&P Online (industry) - NSF/ANSI 42 carbon cartridge EBCT approx 0.14 min in test protocol; Aqueous Chlorine/Activated Carbon Interactions, Journal of Environmental Engineering 110(3), 1984 - chlorine reduction on the carbon surface significantly decreases the carbon’s adsorption capacity; Kymera International, KDF-55/85 Process Media Technical Bulletin (2023) - approx 90% chlorine reduction in shower water filters due to high flow rate vs more than 98% in slow home systems.
KTR pH testing. Korea Testing & Research Institute contract test, flow 7.5 L/min, 2023. Input pH 10.0 reduced to 7.38; input pH 9.0 reduced to 6.45. (Claims library: C220)
KEWI chlorine testing. Korea Environment and Water Works Institute, 2020. 0.19 mg/L free chlorine reduced to non-detectable at 2.52 L/min, 22°C. (Claims library: C035)
Carbon biofilm (peer-reviewed). Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology (RSC, 2017) - activated-carbon-block POU filters; effluent heterotrophic plate counts plateaued up to approx 100x influent counts after approx 85% of rated volume. Drinking-water POU filters, general mechanism.
Carbon bacterial growth (peer-reviewed). PubMed 6784673 - three activated-carbon POU filters removed free chlorine below detection, but standard plate-count bacteria in effluent rose steadily and stayed elevated over 8 weeks.
Dermatological test. P&K Skin Clinical Research Centre, Seoul, n=30, 24h patch test, supervised by dermatology professor at Chung-Ang University Medical Center, 2023. Skin Irritation Index 0.03 (non-irritant). (Claims library: C072)
Atopy certification. World Atopy Association, 2025-2027. (Claims library: C221)
ISO manufacturing. ISO 9001:2015 (quality), 14001:2015 (environment), 37001 (anti-bribery), 37301 (compliance), 45001 (occupational H&S) - issued by ICR Ltd., valid through 2028-09-15. (Claims library: C222)
KEWI drinking-water quality test. Korea Environment & Water Works Institute, 2020 (ID-201038): 60-parameter analysis per Korean Drinking Water Standard – heavy metals (Pb, As, Hg, Cd, Cr, CN) and pesticides non-detected in the filter output. (Claims library: C223)
