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Hard water...

Our water comes straight out of a 160-foot deep well. Some hardness and a little bit of iron. A 5-micron filter handles most of the iron. Otherwise we don't treat it. I don't have much problem with Proraso Green, though I admit I tend to really load up the brush. I also make my own hard shave soap, and it is buffered so it lathers well.

We have enough hardness that if we don't do something the dishwasher puts out chalky dishes. The solution for us is a teaspoon of citric acid powder tossed in at the same time we put in the soap. (After the first immediate rinse which otherwise is just a waste of soap...)

Point being: a few crystals -- a tiny pinch -- into your lather bowl would likely buffer that hardness. Hardness is basic, not acidic, so it can be balanced with acid. Look for citric acid powder at health-food stores. People use it in the sprouting process to keep the mould at bay.

Our water makes really excellent pale ales and stouts -- classic beer styles for hard-water locations.

O.H.
Our well is 225 ft into limestone. We treat for sulphur with hydrogen peroxide, which takes care of most of the iron and any bacteria. Don't suppose there are many bugs in water that hasn't seen the sun for 10,000 years, but you never know. We do have a water softener, but neither of us like the taste. Rather the lime than the salt. Buildup of lime is somewhat an issue, but not bad. Little vinegar in the sink takes care of any buildup.

Will have to try the citric acid when our current lockdown is over. Maybe a shot of lemon juice might work?

Gave up wine and beer making after dropping a carboy. What a mess.
 
Tried a couple of experiments last night. First try was a variation on the "changed my life" idea from Invicta. I basically soaked a boar brush in warm water for about 1o minutes, loaded a large walnut dab of cream and beat it to death, slowly dropping in water. Took a while, but worked. Next I tried soft water with another brush (synthetic). Got there with a lot less product. Looks like I'm winning. Need to overcome the load of calcium before lather comes. I bowl lather on top of the soap normally. Don't see the amount of soap that comes off.

Will try citric acid next.
Thanks again for all the advice.
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Tried a couple of experiments last night.

Last night I also remembered the old homebrewer's trick of boiling a pot of water and letting it sit and cool overnight. This flocculates some of the carbonates, which then clump together and fall to the bottom of the pot. Siphon the softer water off the top and you're good to go. I've never actually had to do it even with our 475-foot-deep well in limestone at the old place. But it's a good option if you don't want to go tossing a bunch of chemicals into the water that might affect the taste.

O.H.
 
Some baking soda swirled into my hard water makes my shave water much more slippery. Haven't been able to try the citric acid method yet, but the soda does work for me.
 
I have heard of folks that have really hard water using distilled water to lather. It might be worth a try.

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I live in Texas and we had a bad winter storm come through a few weeks ago; you may have heard about it. While we faired a lot better than many, we didn't totally come out unscathed. We had a pipe burst at our water softener and had a plumber bypass the filter to get running water restored to the house. Plumbers have been booked solid since the storm, so we're patiently waiting in the queue for an appointment to finish the repairs. Okay, that's the preamble...

My shaves since the storm have been less than spectacular due to weak lather (first world problems). I had other more pressing issues to deal with, so I didn't make it a priority. I thought it may have been due to the cream getting old or the brush not holding enough water or lather. And then it finally dawned on me that the water quality had changed significantly for the worse. So, this morning I poured some distilled water into the cup I use to soak my brushes for shaving and dropped in the Zenith boar for a few minutes. While I used the regular water from the tap to rinse my face, I used the distilled water in the cup to dip my brush and rinse my razor between passes. What a difference!

I plan to pick up a gallon of distilled water today. That should be enough for my shaves until we can get the water softener connected again. I had considered the citric acid or borax, but I already had a bit of distilled water available, so I decided to try that first. Thank you for a solution.
 
I have no luck with shave cream. Would love some Castle Forbs, but not till I can get creams to lather. My water is quite hard, to put it mildly. I can get soaps, hard or soft, to lather (even Williams). Tried everything from soft badger, synthetics and boar. The boar sort of worked. My "lather" goes from pastey to watery with no stop in between. One or two drops seem to do it.

Watched a ton of videos, wikis, etc. Looks really easy, but after 3 different makes of creams, I'm looking for help! What am I doing wrong, besides trying....
Should I go back to my MWF?
What creams have you used? if TOBS or DRH aren't lathering for you at all then I'd agree its a water problem. Creams don't need as much water compared to soap and don't necessarily need to be whipped up into super thick lather either. You might not be using enough product as well. You need a touch more cream compared to soap. If it isn't working still, there's no need to torture yourself over a product. Just stick with soaps I guess.
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Would some apple cider vinegar in my water work, then?

I imagine so. It's diluted to 5% acidity, usually, with water. It's going to smell like apple cider vinegar, though. :) I'd say you have very little at risk to try it (maybe about a quarter teaspoon) with a lather and see what happens.

O.H.
 
Water in the U.S. generally tends to be hard because the water utility adds minerals to it if it isn't. This is to minimize the risk of leaching to old water mains, and leaching of lead solder in old buildings. So this problem may be more common than people realize.

I lived in China in a high rise building where the water pipes got clogged periodically with fine sand. I used a two-stage ceramic and solid carbon block filter to make the water drinkable. I bought some silvertip badger brushes and a variety of shave soap, but couldn't get it to lather well, even with my filtered water.

I suspect that some of the problem is due to soap with lots of impressive sounding ingredients that don't actually belong in shaving soap. Olive oil seems to be one.

I also lived in India. New Delhi has some of the hardest water you can imagine. The most popular shaving cream with barbers in India is Vi-John. I've seen them at work, and it never fails to deliver lather and a good shave. So I suggest giving that a try.

But, frankly, I think there's nothing wrong with canned foam, if you wash your face with soap and water first, and give your whiskers a chance to hydrate. Look at the ingredients of Barbasol extra moisturizer and compare it to shaving soap. Actually, I am very happy with Wal-Mart Equate canned foam.

Here's the secret: Shake the can for at least 15 seconds, or until you feel that the contents are no longer moving inside. I suspect most people only shake the can for one second, literally, and then whine that canned shaving cream is no good. You need to mix the ingredients thoroughly, especially if you want the foam to be any good when you are half way through. You would mix shaving soap with a brush for at least 15 seconds, wouldn't you?

If your water is so bad, with iron and sulfur and stuff, I would use distilled water to make a lather for the sake of my face, or just use canned foam.
 
I ordered some pure citric acid powder today. I want to soften the water in the sink- say half a gallon. I know it depends on the degree of hardness in my home water, but what would be a rough estimate of how much citric acid to add to the water?

Also, I ordered a shower head water softener. I have been reading that hard water can inflame and irritate the skin so I will let you guys and gals know how that works.
 
The other day when I shampooed my hair it came out stringy, including after a second wash. Odd. Then I realized we are in a period of snow melt, so the municipal water supply would be altered, perhaps in its pH. Also, they typically add more chlorine in the spring or after heavy rain.

Reminder: Municipal water is not always the same. (Except in NYC, which has always been bottled water quality for about a century.)

As an experiment to reduce the high alkalinity of some hand soap I was trying as a shaving soap, I added a little vinegar to the bowl and brush. The nice foam promptly collapsed, and the bristles looked stringy (like my hair during the recent bad hair day). I rinsed out my brush and started over. (Highly alkaline soap can irritate the skin, especially if you use it as a shave cream.)

Lesson: Making your water more acidic might not be compatible with using shaving soap and a brush. Water pH might be one factor why people get inconsistent results with shaving soap.

Solution to bad water: Use canned shaving foam. Problem solved -- cheap and easy.
 
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