Water quality - the effects on shaving?

B

BlkKnight

Messages
637
HI All,

My little house has the good fortune of having a water softener.

My travels take me to various parts of the UK & RoW. I've noticed that the water quality in different areas massively impacts on my lather build / soap scum deposits.

I was in Newbury at the weekend, and found it impossible to build a good lather with MWF. I resorted to massively loading the brush - 30 seconds of swirling for each pass, where as at home, 15 seconds will do three passes!

Do any of you find the water impacts your shaving in any way?
 
Hey Jason. It does unfortunately. I've had the displeasure of having hard water. I tried bottled water but didn't want to go through hassle of heating it up allowing to cool a bit etc...I sold a scuttle I never used so that's not even a factor. So I found ways working around it. I played with different things. One thing for sure-bowl lathering and hard water do not mix-at least for me anyway. Face lathering was one of the things that remedied the piss-poor lather. Sometimes there are creams that are just unyielding. Some would have you start nearly dry with the bristle while others are tolerant of damp bristle.

Awesome thread.
 
I think MWF is workable in any water, you just need to get used to it for a given hardness. This is not easy when traveling to a new area because by the time you crack it it is time to leave. I always take a La Toja stick when traveling, over the years I have found this the most tolerant soap (or easy to adjust in differing water) and being a stick means face or bowl lathering is easy.
 
Audiolab said:
I think MWF is workable in any water, you just need to get used to it for a given hardness.
Click to expand...
Bang goes my idea for a little business venture then. Seriously though, I do consider myself fortunate to live in an area where the water seems ideal for lathering soap, and it explains why Wool Fat works well for me (it's made just down the road). It's certainly not a matter of outstanding technique, far from it.

Audiolab said:
I always take a La Toja stick when traveling, over the years I have found this the most tolerant soap (or easy to adjust in differing water)...
Click to expand...
Arko for me. On home ground it's almost too good: leave too much water in the brush and the amount of lather is mind boggling.
 
We've got pretty hard water here and I'm sure it affects the lathering greatly. That said, I live here and with a few exceptions when i go away I've never known any different!
 
The last time I lived in a hard water area I was not shaving, but I do remember struggling to get any froth out of soap or shampoo, so I guess lathering up a soap or cream for a good shave would be problematic as well.

However, if I knew where I was going was a hard water area then I would take a soap that would deliver more in terms of lubricity and allow me to shave.
 
I'm up to St Helen's this weekend. They don't have particularly hard water, but it's full of mineral deposits (kettle has what looks like rust deposits in after prolonged use).

MWF will lather after heavy loading - I'll try my new Mama Bears (glyc based?) soap to see how that fairs.

I need a portable water softener!

If you don't have one, I can thoroughly recommend one.
 
quattrojames said:
We've got pretty hard water here and I'm sure it affects the lathering greatly. That said, I live here and with a few exceptions when i go away I've never known any different!
Click to expand...

Do you find yourself starting over at times or no?
 
SiR-ed8 said:
quattrojames said:
We've got pretty hard water here and I'm sure it affects the lathering greatly. That said, I live here and with a few exceptions when i go away I've never known any different!
Click to expand...

Do you find yourself starting over at times or no?
Click to expand...

I've never had to completely start again, (excepting Artisan's fizzy sample :lol: ) but do sometimes need to reload the brush, although this is becoming rarer and I get more experienced and better knowledge of the characteristics of my brushes.
 
quattrojames said:
SiR-ed8 said:
quattrojames said:
We've got pretty hard water here and I'm sure it affects the lathering greatly. That said, I live here and with a few exceptions when i go away I've never known any different!
Click to expand...

Do you find yourself starting over at times or no?
Click to expand...

I've never had to completely start again, (excepting Artisan's fizzy sample :lol: ) but do sometimes need to reload the brush, although this is becoming rarer and I get more experienced and better knowledge of the characteristics of my brushes.
Click to expand...

I stick with them well over a month or until I achieve 30 shaves.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom