Scent of soap disappearing due to hard water?

The Truthinator · Post by **The Truthinator** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 5:11 am

Hi folks,

we have very hard water in the part of Germany where I live and so far it did not bother me at all. But over the last couple of days I have been using the Yardley lavender soap in the shower and in a matter of seconds the scent of the soap is gone. Now I am not sure if this is due to the hard water or a matter of skin chemistry (had this problem with other soaps before; Harris almond) or something completely different. One other thing it could be is that the soap loses its scent (it rather changes its scent, I should say) when it comes in contact with the shampoo. I am not washing my hair with the soap, if you know what I mean. Have some of you guys had a similar experience?

Big Ren · Post by **Big Ren** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:46 am

I don't think water hardness would impact the scent of a soap unless it was so bad that you were unable to generate any lather at all, which seems unlikely. A more likely scenario is that your soaps are older and have lost their scent or perhaps your perception of the scent is affected by the fragrance of the shampoo you mention. I have quite a collection of bath soaps, many of which are quite fragrant 'in the box' but less so once lathered. Invariably, none of these fragrances linger on the skin very long after a shower, which I prefer.

Ren

The Truthinator · Post by **The Truthinator** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:56 am

Big Ren wrote:I don't think water hardness would impact the scent of a soap unless it was so bad that you were unable to generate any lather at all, which seems unlikely. A more likely scenario is that your soaps are older and have lost their scent or perhaps your perception of the scent is affected by the fragrance of the shampoo you mention. I have quite a collection of bath soaps, many of which are quite fragrant 'in the box' but less so once lathered. Invariably, none of these fragrances linger on the skin very long after a shower, which I prefer.

Ren

I had a little experiment under the shower (no, not that

) and I think the scent of the soap changes when it gets mixed up with the shampoo; and that goes for every shampoo I have tried so far.
And you're right, Ren, it's not because of hard water. Having read some posts here, I don't even think you could call my water hard in comparison to that of some members who have residue of soap left on their skin after a shower etc.
I am going to experiment with some other soaps. Do you have any recommendations for dry skin?

Big Ren · Post by **Big Ren** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:21 am

The Truthinator wrote:Do you have any recommendations for dry skin?

As far as products, you could try a moisturizing bar like Dove instead of regular soap or use some mosturizing lotion after your shower. You might consider shortening the duration of your shower/bath and using warm rather than hot water, which tends to dry the skin.

Ren

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:38 am

Building on Ren's comments I keep a handful of soaps in the shower, some of them see irregular use, and over time the scents do fade, some more than others, but it happens often enough that the pattern seems consistent.

teabag · Post by **teabag** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 6:34 pm

I agree with Squire, after a period of time, the chemicals in the soaps break down and the scents are not as they were in their youth. I do not think the hard water has anything to do with it as I myself live in a hard water area in this part of the UK of Wales but what I do find annoying is that it is so hard (oops!) to get a really good lather than with 'softer' water.