Water softener recommendations? London

I'll be honest, when talking to different suppliers after requesting a quote, I'm more focused on sounding normal than really considering what they're saying (social anxiety lol).

I'm looking at a water softener for two main reasons. My skin is dry and itchy to begin with, and it's always been an uphill battle. But since moving to the UK, it's gotten so much worse.

I also like to dye silk at home, and hard water interferes with the colors. I have to buy giant bottles of water, which is a pain.

I live alone in a 1 bed flat. It would go next to my washing machine, and there is a socket there, but the machine is already using it. Not sure if I could use a split socket there or if that would overload the socket? Or if I should just get a battery powered softener. I also like to take baths so I want a unit that could at least accommodate that.

Harvey has already come to my home and gave me their whole song and dance, but they seemed way higher priced than other places, so I wanted to take a step back and get a better idea of what I actually needed vs what was an upsell.

Any input would be appreciated!

tl;dr: Water softener for one person in a one bed flat for baths/showers and silk dyeing hobby. The area where the softener would go does have a socket, but it's already being used by the washing machine.