Soaps and Hard Water

Gareth · Post by **Gareth** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 11:12 am

It's been two years since I moved to where I am now, and in that time I've mainly used creams with our very hard water from the tap.

Recently, I've used some of my soaps, but they don't seem to be cutting it like they used to with the soft water. The lather is very thin; in fact it hardly seems to lather at all, really. I've tried adding more soap from the puck but to little avail.

Any tips?

Gareth

Teiste · Post by **Teiste** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 1:01 pm

I live on an area with very , very hard water and with soaps I load my brush over 40 or 50 seconds ,specially with triple milled soaps.If the soap is not a "dud" , then I obtain plenty of thick lather with no problem , even from Mitchell's Wool Fat.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 1:02 pm

Gareth when I had hard water I just kept working the soap with the brush until it produced a suitable lather. I suspect more air in the mix is more important than more soap.

JRTASTER · Post by **JRTASTER** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 1:28 pm

Gareth,
Perhaps much too obvious an answer but how about distilled water nearby solely for building lather. In a small cup or scuttle, popped in microwave to heat , load brush with water, scrub on soap, face lather and voila a soft water shave!
Either my suggestion is too simple or too complex if the goal is to keep the process manageable.
Mind you, I've never tried it so...
jr/john

marsos52 · Post by **marsos52** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 3:30 pm

we have hard water, here in southern new jersey. loaded with iron.

and i have mainly used soaps for my lather. MWF is my main soap.

i get great lather and dont do anything special to get it. a few years back i was sent to Alabama and the water was softer there and that was my first time to experience making lather with different water. I admit I loved the lather I made there.

went I returned to snj i could really tell the difference. with in a couple weeks being back home with hard water I adjusted and still make great lather.

if anything i probaby use a bit more soap to get my lather as compared to when I used softer water

marc

druphus · Post by **druphus** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 3:44 pm

Teiste wrote:I live on an area with very , very hard water and with soaps I load my brush over 40 or 50 seconds ,specially with triple milled soaps.If the soap is not a "dud" , then I obtain plenty of thick lather with no problem , even from Mitchell's Wool Fat.

I do a full minute - as in "...1000-1, 1000-2..." - I sprinkle more water onto the soap with my finger tips every 15 seconds, and never take the brush to either my face or the bowl until 1000-60!

I don't think my water is even considered that hard (150gr).

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 5:01 pm

Our water's hard. It works with creams, but not soaps. On the counter in the bathroom, next to my brushes and lather bowl, I have a 16 ounce plastic water bottle filled with distilled water. When I use a soap, I pour a bit of the distilled water on the soap, and in a separate little bowl I soak my brush. Then I just do what we all do, build the lather and shave. All the washing and rinsing is just tap water. I have a gallon jug of distilled water under the counter so I can refill the little bottle every so often.

Nitrox · Post by **Nitrox** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:18 pm

Gary, you don't heat up the distilled water? I like my lather warm, and find it easier to build up with hot tap water.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:26 pm

I don't heat my water any more. I find that room temperature water is a non-issue with the distilled, and when using tap water with creams, warm tap water is also a non-issue. I don't use cold water to shave with.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:32 pm

Gareth, Yeah, that has been my experiance also. The water here is fairly hard and while I can get an acceptable lather with hard soaps, it is not as good as what I get with the top shelf creams and it's obvious that the soaps would lather better if the water was softer. I've seen films of guys lathering up hard soaps in areas that I know have really 'good' water and they get mounds of lather with little effort. That is just not possible here.
Regards,
Gordon

Gareth · Post by **Gareth** » Thu Oct 04, 2012 12:12 am

Interesting to hear how you all deal with it; I think I'll just have to try loading more soap into the brush for longer. I guess the 30 or so seconds I've been doing just isn't long enough. I'm a little reluctant to go down the whole distilled water route because of the perceived hassle factor.

I've just had an exemplary shave with Trumper's Rose cream (as usual), and I'd love the soaps to work just as we'll.

Thanks, guys.

Gareth

Esoteric83 · Post by **Esoteric83** » Thu Oct 04, 2012 2:41 am

Never gone as far to test it, but otown suburbs have been stated to have fairly soft water.

Over the past year, when using soaps, my method is to load with a brush that is on the wetter side (soak, shake very lightly) and load for an extended period of time, as opposed to drier brush with drops into the mix as the lather progresses. Then face lather. A tad bubbly and messy at first, but comes to life about 60-80 seconds in. This method has brought DR Harris to a new level for me. I would use the Arlington soap 4-5 time a year, maybe. Now it gets 3 -4 weekly runs. Don't worry about the puck, it is not going anywhere anytime soon.

This method works well with MWF and creates a lather with Tabac that barely makes it down the drain. My guess is that Tabac ridicules the threat of hard water

Stuff could stop a bullet.

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Thu Oct 04, 2012 6:35 am

have to be the odd one.....I luv the hard water and think lathering was easier with it and in fact i often half jokingly comment whenever this topic comes up that I would be more than willing to trade bottles of soft water for bottles of hard

clive

slackskin · Post by **slackskin** » Thu Oct 04, 2012 5:40 pm

I heard a report today, that about 85% of Americans have hard water. Wow - more than I would have thought. So those of us who have soft water are in the minority AND very lucky.

vtmax · Post by **vtmax** » Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:42 am

Here in Vermont the water is 'stated' as being right in the middle but I suspect it is actually hard. We put in a water softener a couple of years ago for the laundry & dishes and the difference is night and day. Soaps lather beautifully. My favorite though really is the NYC water. Soft and I find it lathers anything you have.

Max

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Fri Oct 05, 2012 8:55 pm

Max, Yeah, I've had really good results with shave products when I've stayed in NYC also. The water in the greater San Francisco area is said to be aces for lathering. Several of our members, including Chris Fisher, live in that area and they seem to have no trouble lathering just about anything. But that's not the story in most of Florida unfortunately.
Regards,
Gordon

ShadowsDad · Post by **ShadowsDad** » Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:47 pm

NYC water is mostly rainfall that collects in surface reservoirs and doesn't contact limestone. I know because I fished those reservoirs many years ago. Rainfall is soft (distilled) water.

Florida water travels through underground acquifers made of limestone and is quite hard.

My water comes to me through granite and it's extremely soft, but some places in Maine do have limestone deposits and the water is hard. We have a friend who lives 60 miles inland (20 road miles from us) and her water comes from a water deposit from the iceage and her water is quite salty, clearly 10,000 years old at least.

MaxP · Post by **MaxP** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 8:48 am

@Gareth.

Where I live the water is moderately hard. I rent a softener. Cost is about $17 a month.

I feel that is a very satisfactory price for the benefits. It may be something to consider in your circumstances.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 2:55 pm

Brian, Yeah, the limestone acquifer is the deal here ( which, incidentally, they are rapidly depleating ). Makes for hard water pretty much all over the state.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 4:29 pm

Makes for some great fishing streams thoughl