Effects of hard water on lather

[Maul555]

I was wondering what the effects of hard water are on the slickness and other attributes of lather. I have heard some other members complain about having hard water and it messing with thier lather. Here in San Antonio we get pretty much all of our water straight from a natural limestone aquifer, and my house has no water softener. I was thinking the other day that perhaps I shouldn't write off some creams that I have had trouble with, like musgo real, because my water may be messing things up for me.

 

[cymric]

Hardness 'eats up' soap and causes it to come out of solution in a gunky mess. In essense you'll be needing more soap just to get to the right concentration of soap to make a decent lather... But that still doesn't make the gunk go away. it will definitely affect your shave in any case.

Try using water which is, depending on the hardness of your tap water (can you call the supplier to find out?), 1 part tap to 2 to 4 parts distilled. Aim for a hardness between 5 and 10 dH. I'm deliberately introducing some hardness here because pure distilled water is the other extreme. Soap tends to form yucky films on the skin then, and requires a lot of rinsing.

 

[dpm802]

Have you considered a charcoal filter like Britta or Pur? They are very cheap and easy to use, either faucet mounted or pitcher style. Not only will it make your soaps and creams lather up better, but it will make everything you cook taste better, too.

As for Musgo Real, it is a very thirsty cream, even with soft water ... I normally use 2 or 3 times as much water with MR as I do with other products, and it works best when its mixed to a sloppy-wet consistency. The traditional picture of thick, rich foam doesn't work that well with MR ... just keep adding water until it almost, but not quite, falls off your face. That's when it gives its best performance.

 

[jwhite]

I can tell you that hard water makes a big difference with some products. We have very hard water but use a whole system filter and softener. The filter does well for removing anything in suspension and some metal solution but minerals in solution wont be filtered out for that you need a softener or use bottled water. I have forgotten to replenish the salt in my softener and not noticed until my shower and seen the some products that I liked just fall apart in terms of their performance and lather. Soaps seem to be the most sensitive but it will affect creams too.

 

[mretzloff]

Some products cannot be lather in hard water, while others are not affected. You could get a water softener

When I use hard water with creams, the cream does not lather up well. It usually looks as if I added way to much water.

 

[Maul555]

great guys, thanks for the info... the only water filter in the house is in the refrigerator... so I may go bottle some water from that, and then let it sit in some hot water before I use it to try and see any difference.

 

[itsjustjim]

I have hard water. I have no problem with Tabac, Arko, Cella, VDH select/delux, classic shavings house brand, or Ogallala.

 

[Barbarian]

Here in Arizona we have some of the hardest water around.

I am happy with most soaps. The key is that I don't know any better.

If I had a point of reference I would probably be bummed out.