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The ring of red LEDs charges separately via USB-C (this takes an hour and a half to fully charge), and can then be pushed up onto the shower head and rotated to lock in place. The covered, waterproof charging port is placed away from where water flows. One full charge is good for a few hours of showering, which equates to at least a week for most people.
The shower head has a power switch. But it’s best to operate it via the shower-safe little remote, which also charges via USB-C. Click the ON button, the remote control will pair with the shower head. The red light turns on for 5, 10 or 15 minutes. This works well, although it would be nice if the buttons were more clearly defined than just placing raised black text on a black button.
Finding the power button, which is similar to the other buttons, requires trial and error. But once you discover the remote, the red light actually provides relaxation and a little drama to your morning shower.
Obviously, don’t stare directly at red lights. HigherDose offers dark shower glasses if you plan to face the shower head. But I don’t usually come face to face with hot water jets anyway. In fact, this device mostly rains light onto my scalp and neck.
Effective filtration
Regarding the water filter, I can vouch for the fact that the HigherDose 10-stage filter is extremely effective at reducing total chlorine in the water to undetectable levels, as measured by chemical tests I conducted at home. Unlike most shower water filters I’ve tested, the filter removed all total chlorine levels down to undetectable levels in my system Chloramine treated water system. In fact, it’s actually one of the most effective filters I’ve tested for removing chlorine. The levels remained undetectable for weeks.
The filter is somewhat complicated compared to many other shower filters. Most contain a combination of activated carbon, calcium sulfite, and KDF-55 filter media. HigherDose adds a layer of vitamin C, which has been shown to be effective Reduce chlorine and other contaminants. There are also layers of vitamin E (mysterious wellness) and a layer of “far-infrared ceramic balls” whose filtration claims seem more questionable. Stainless steel mesh layer traps some sediment.
Besides reducing chlorine, HigherDose makes additional bold claims for its shower filter, which is that the filter removes the vast majority of VOCs, microplastics, mineral hardness, and heavy metals like lead and cadmium. Company representatives cited tests conducted by an independent third party, but did not answer questions about the identity of the tester or how many gallons of water were run through the shower filter to achieve those results. Generally, a reputable laboratory will test the removal of the substance across thousands of gallons of water, not just right out of the box.
In both cases, the total dissolved solids in the water decreased only slightly after passing through the HigherDose filter, dropping from about 26 ppm to 24 ppm. This is a fairly normal result for shower filters, which are rarely able to remove significant amounts of minerals from large volumes of water. However, it does not easily reflect HigherDose’s claims of removing the majority of minerals.