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Yes you can use soaps in a hard water area, you may need to load your brush more and it may take sightly more time to get a good lather but it's easy to do, give it a go and you may suprise yourself.You gents are fantastic. I posted a question regarding after shave and the responses have enabled me to establish a regime that works for me, and makes DE shaving an even greater pleasure.
So my next question is....I live in a hard water area and the blogs I read and the videos I watched advised that I stick to shaving cream rather than soap. Which is fine. I have, after much trial and error, managed to work up a good lather. But I see so many lovely looking soaps on SOTD. Can I use these? Am I excluded from this world of exotic artisan soaps due to geography? Once again, thanks for any advice.
Thanks for that HourwerkI too live in a hard water area so you need to choose your soaps carefully. Top of my list is OSP as this soap produces and abundance of lather easily. The one to avoid is Mitchell's Wool Fat soap, it's a superb product but is a pain to lather with hard water. The only way round this is to by some soft bottled mineral water. Also synthetic brushes generally produce more lather than their Badger/Boar counterparts.
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I too live in a hard water area so you need to choose your soaps carefully. Top of my list is OSP as this soap produces and abundance of lather easily. The one to avoid is Mitchell's Wool Fat soap, it's a superb product but is a pain to lather with hard water. The only way round this is to by some soft bottled mineral water. Also synthetic brushes generally produce more lather than their Badger/Boar counterparts.
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I've heard that, though I use (oddly enough for Trumper's creams given the OP's concerns regarding soaps) a third of a teaspoon of bicarbonate.I have read elsewhere that some people put a pinch of citric acid in the basin when they fill it to soften the water. My water is on the softer side so I haven't tried it myself but perhaps it is worth having a go of. You can get it from Wilkinsons for £1 in the home brewing section.
does the adding of bicarb make much of a difference?I've heard that, though I use (oddly enough for Trumper's creams given the OP's concerns regarding soaps) a third of a teaspoon of bicarbonate.
Cheers JayGee. Another new world of possibilities opens to me! (And more ways to spend money)"Am I excluded from this world of exotic artisan soaps due to geography?"
In a word, no.
I live in a chalk valley, water here is about as mineral laden as it gets & I get a great lather. I almost only use hard soap, have a couple of creams. To be honest never really thought about it.
A while back someone here lathered wool fat with hard & soft water. The end result was pretty similar, for sure the soft water will have used less product.
Get some hard soaps & enjoy!
Ones I know & love (in no particular order)
P&B
OSP
Valobra
Palmolive stick
Are all great! Buy a Palmolive stick from tesco for 50p to literally test the water!
Thanks nolisco. Its all a bit live and learn with me at the moI have read elsewhere that some people put a pinch of citric acid in the basin when they fill it to soften the water. My water is on the softer side so I haven't tried it myself but perhaps it is worth having a go of. You can get it from Wilkinsons for £1 in the home brewing section.
I too live in a hard water area so you need to choose your soaps carefully. Top of my list is OSP as this soap produces and abundance of lather easily. The one to avoid is Mitchell's Wool Fat soap, it's a superb product but is a pain to lather with hard water. The only way round this is to by some soft bottled mineral water. Also synthetic brushes generally produce more lather than their Badger/Boar counterparts.
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
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