Shaving creams and hard water?

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44
Location
Notts
Has anybody here had issues with getting their creams and soaps to lather in a hard water area?
I live in the Notts area, it is known for its hard water (I am a tropical fish keeper) and I was watching an executive shaving video showing their own cream being lathered with a very small blob of cream and a splash of water. I recently reviewed the cream on their site, explaining that I need about half a teaspoon of cream to get enough lather for a three pass shave. They have replied, asking me if the water is hard? It makes sense to me that hard water could affect the lathering of soaps...
 
Half a teaspoon isn't that much. I normally just put a decent splodge on the brush and lather away. The amount below easily does for for a three pass shave and I have very hard water. Shaving cream and soap is fairly cheap anyway.

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I am in London, which is suggested to be a hard water area that rates right up there. Early in my lathering days, I attributed issues to the hardness of the water. They can be overcome.

I repeat the suggestions above around amount of product. Even paying £10 for a puck of OSP (a relatively premium option), this stuff lasts, and lasts, and lasts. It is cheap per use. Load the friggin' hell out of the brush, and then spend a fair amount of time lathering and adding increments of water. I devote about one and a half to two minutes to this. I now get terrific lathers.

Since I use a hybrid of face and bowl lathering (mostly directly on the face), this is not wasted time. Getting the lather (even in a pre-formed state) onto your skin starts the process of softening the stubble and moisturising the skin. It ensures you are shave ready by the time the blade hits your skin.

Also, try a few different products to get it right, but don't give up on those that don't work at the outset. I thought Proraso green was my problem, and shelved it for more than six months. I got it out again last week and found it capable of producing rich, protective lathers now. That said, OSP, Haslinger, Palmolive, Lea stick, Proraso creams, and many others now can do the business for me regardless of water type.
 
Indeed the water hardness makes a significant difference to the lather and you use more cream to get there. I live in London and use a about 1.5 almond size potions to create enough lather for 4 passes. You just have to work a little harder to get there. I use TOBS creams so the potions may vary depending on on which cream you use.
Proraso in the tub is more dense so you would use less than the softer creams.
 
I tried an experiment last night, I warmed up some Buxton spring water in a saucepan and soaked the brush for a few minutes, then lathered in the bowl. It lathered up well with a small splodge of cream, half as much as I normally use... it's not the cost of cream etc, purely that I reviewed it and executive commented on water hardness :)
I will use the amount of cream I need eg half a teaspoon and enough water in future.
 
I live in a very hard water area and find a great difficulty getting a good lather with some soaps.
I have tried using consistently amounts of time loading the brush and then bowl lathering for about 30 seconds each time.
My best results so far have been with Monsavon and Tabac !
The best results with a cream using the same amounts directly on the brush and bowl lathering has been with Cella !
I might well try out your idea Barry !
What have you other guys found in your opinion to be the best ?
 
I live in a very hard water area and find a great difficulty getting a good lather with some soaps.
I have tried using consistently amounts of time loading the brush and then bowl lathering for about 30 seconds each time.
My best results so far have been with Monsavon and Tabac !
The best results with a cream using the same amounts directly on the brush and bowl lathering has been with Cella !
I might well try out your idea Barry !
What have you other guys found in your opinion to be the best ?
I tried a drop of bottled water, just as an experiment. It was bottled water and so called mineral water at that. I can test water for ammonia, nitrates and nitrites etc, also the PH from my fish keeping kit but it does not test water hardness. The cream did seem to lather easier though :)
 
I did mention lathering with either mineral or RO (reverse osmosis) water to Dr Shave at Executive Shaving in an e-mail reply to my review but he advised "no, thats an expensive option" and advised I persevere with more time spent bowl lathering and a drop more water. I have now since done this and get enough lather for three shaves, it still takes about half a teaspoon though...
 
The Water in London is So Full of Chemicals to Recycle it..Its a Wonder it Doesn't Melt the Soap or Cream or the Face for that Matter..:eek:

Billy
My son who is in the Army is now based in Scotland and told me that the water is nice and soft there. He said it makes his shave really smooth ( he uses a straight )
So you are really lucky with the water up there Billy ! Ship some tap water down to us poor souls in the South !!
 
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