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It's a very good point - it's sometimes said that 80-90% of lather problems can be solved by using or loading more product and adding the requisite amount of water needed to achieve the correct lather consistency. What you're essentially doing is sacrificing some of the product to react with the ions within the hard water, leaving the rest of the soap or cream to actually lather, whereas with soft water the amount that isn't available to form lather is reduced as there are many fewer ions present in the first place.Thanks Supermangs. That makes perfect sense
It may be Soda Crystals (Sodium Carbonate) you're thinking of; very cheap from the supermarket. It acts as a water softener. I've tried adding a fraction of a teaspoon to the water in my sink and it does make the water feel softer but doesn't seem to make much of difference to the lather. I agree with the others that using more soap overcomes lather issues.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.
It may be Soda Crystals (Sodium Carbonate) you're thinking of; very cheap from the supermarket. It acts as a water softener. I've tried adding a fraction of a teaspoon to the water in my sink and it does make the water feel softer but doesn't seem to make much of difference to the lather. I agree with the others that using more soap overcomes lather issues.
Hi Boru62. I have used a few soaps now, including MWF and I'm delighted with the lather I'm getting. Thanks for your input.I live in the Midlands which is a very hard water area and MWF is one of if not my favourite soaps.
I dip my brush in hot/warm water shake a bit on the MWF return the brush to soak and nip off for a shower, result, a lovely lather.
Hello Merkurologist. Yes I concur with your thoughts, and part of the fun for me now is learning which soaps respond best to the various factors involved. I get a good lather from MWF, but I do have to work at it a bit. This morning, I tried an OSP soap for the first time. Goodness me! Within about 20 seconds I had lather all over my bathroom! But one thing is for sure. I needn't have avoided soaps because of my hard water.I live in a hard water area and I used to have the same concerns but reading about other people experiences I have no doubt that you can use pretty much any soap with hard water..... it might take a few more seconds to build a lather but that's not a big deal.
Just make sure you load your brush enough and with some soaps like PAA you only need 12 - 15 seconds load for a 3 passes shave.
Very hard soaps need a lot longer before you get enough on your brush.
Yesterday, I used Loccitane Cade soap and I loaded the soap for 20 seconds and I just couldn't build a good lather. The lather quickly dissipated from my face. This is the first time it has happened and also the first time I loaded the soap for only 20 seconds.
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