Transylvania shaving secret!

[mhensley]

Just got back from a trip to Romania. I took my backup razor, a plastic tub of Proraso, and my second best (Omega Pure) brush (didn't want the TSA goons to steal my good stuff). I figured I would put up with a somewhat lesser shave for a week...

...and I was astounded by the results! I normally use Tabac, and an Edwin Jagger Medium Best brush, but I was getting FAR better lather with almost NO effort, under poor conditions (unpredictable water temp, no scuttle or bowl, way less time than I normally take, etc.).

And my wife finally explained why: SOFT WATER! I never knew how much difference that would make. It was almost as big a change as switch from Williams to Tabac!

Now I have to figure out how to get soft water here in the San Francisco Bay Area. At least enough (hot) soft water to fill my Dirty Bird scuttle.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[Topgumby]

I've often wondered if my satisfaction with almost every soap I've tried was tied to the softness of the water where I live.

 

[ImaWestie]

In-line water softeners are common for people who are "harvesting their own water", or who rely on bore water (as opposed to boar water, which is yellow and smelly ).

As for something in a home connected to a municipal supply... I'm no use at all sorry.
Especially given you want it heated. I've seen "home filter" appliances that soften water due to eg activated carbon, peat etc in the filtration system.

 

[BladeDE40]

Our water here in Dublin is pretty hard...I can get a good lather now that I know what I'm doing, but I've often contemplated buying distilled water and heating it up in our electric tea kettle and using that to make my lather to see if there is a difference...I've just been too lazy to give it a try.

 

[Proinsias]

I've got nice soft water but I've heard from fellow tea addicts with hard water that using a brita type filter makes a world of difference, a difference that can be easily noticed by heavily reduced mineral deposits in the kettle.

 

[Luc]

And I thought there was a secret, red, shaving cream over there...

Soft water is nice indeed!

 

[HoosierTrooper]

I have a water softener and a reverse osmosis system in my house and I've said several times before that I believe that's why I can get modern Williams to lather as well as I can.

I have no doubt that soft water makes everything like coffee, laundry soap, bath soap etc work better by being able to mix with the water easier.

 

[Ceri]

I've got nice soft water but I've heard from fellow tea addicts with hard water that using a brita type filter makes a world of difference, a difference that can be easily noticed by heavily reduced mineral deposits in the kettle.

Brita filters definitely work, but the life is more limited than the manufacturer claims. Maybe it's just the water here in North Hampshire, which is very chalky, but I find myself changing the cartridges every two weeks not four. I use filtered water for cooking too, as even a short five minute boil will turn green vegetables grey in tap water.

 

[causalfault]

The water in my neck of the woods is very chlorinic, and using water from the tap instead of from the Brita pitcher makes our coffee and tea taste like bleach. I'm almost certain that this is the main culprit in all my lathering woes, but our townhouse is a rental, so there's no possibility of installing a water softener into our main line. I've not tried heating the filtered water in a kettle, mostly because there's very little room in our bathroom for any appliances on the vanity -- it's cramped if my wife even leaves her curling iron out in the morning.

mhensley, the most common practice I've seen among members here is to keep a small electric kettle in the bathroom. You could fill it up with filtered water from a pitcher or something like one of those Pur filters that attaches to your faucet, and then heat the water in your bathroom in the kettle. I'd imagine flicking the switch just before you jump in the shower would give it plenty of time to warm up. Depending on its capacity, you might only need to fill it a couple times a week, since you mostly just need that filtered water for brush-soaking and lather-building.

 

[mhensley]

The electric tea kettle plus distilled water idea sounds good, but I'm afraid if I add any more processes and/or equipment to my morning shave, my wife will die laughing.

I'm still gonna try it just to see if it works -- the next time she's out of town without me.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

The electric tea kettle plus distilled water idea sounds good, but I'm afraid if I add any more processes and/or equipment to my morning shave, my wife will die laughing.

I'm still gonna try it just to see if it works -- the next time she's out of town without me.

mhensley:
I think I'll also try using the 'distilled water' method...

But for me...I get-up in the morning...way-too-early for my Mrs. to 'die laughing'

Christopher

 

[M80]

you could try one of these

http://ohsoftwater.com/index.html

 

[OkieStubble]

The water in the municipality where I live is very hard. I own a water dispenser that uses the 5 gallon jugs on top for drinking, cooking and what not. It also has a cold & hot water tap.

I fill the outside and inside bowl of my scuttle with the filtered hot water. I then soak my brush in the inside bowl while I shower. The scuttle sits on a $5 candle warmer plate that I bought at Wal-Mart and it sits on the counter next to the sink, so the water in the scuttle never cools.

When I dump the water from the inside bowl of the scuttle, I'll put some of the water that's left over on the soap to sit. After I load my brush with soap, if I'm not face lathering, I can then transfer the brush to the inside bowl of the scuttle to build my lather.

The scuttle is warm, the outside bowl is filled with 2 1/2 cups of filtered water that is being kept nice & warm by the small $5 hot plate. If I need a little more water, I just pour a few drops of the hot filtered water from the scuttle on my finger tips and add it to my lather.

For those with hard water,it's a lot cheaper then buying a home filtration system. The unit and two 5 gallon bottles cost me 50 bucks initially, But it only costs me 37 cents a gallon to refill from a machine. that's under $2 to refill the 5 gallon jug that sits on top of the dispenser. I'm always at Wal-Mart it seems for one reason or another so refilling them while I'm there isn't that big of a chore. And you can buy as many extra bottles as you deem necessary.

If you like not only drinking better healthier water and better shaving lather, it's an inexpensive idea to consider.

 

[BladeDE40]

The electric tea kettle plus distilled water idea sounds good, but I'm afraid if I add any more processes and/or equipment to my morning shave, my wife will die laughing.

I'm still gonna try it just to see if it works -- the next time she's out of town without me.

I'm committed to trying this tonight....I will post the results on this thread.

 

[mcat1906]

I have been heating tap water in my electric kettle and pouring it into a Nissan thermos. Then I just take the thermos into the bathroom, so there is no need for any extra equipment. I have not tried using water from my Britta pitcher yet, but think I will give it a try tonight.

 

[Blondie]

I can't believe I am the only one that caught this:

"I normally use Tabac", also known as Tabac-crap.

In Romania he was using Proraso, one of the easiest lathering products out there that is far superior to the other one.

Just sayin'

 

[mhensley]

I'm not the only one here who normally finds Tabac very easy to lather with. I've always thought it was easier to get a good lather with it than with the Proraso (I have the tub of Proraso becuase I bought and used it before I bought the Tabac).

But you have a point. In the interest of science, I will try the Proraso and my "2nd best brush" this weekend. I should have done that as soon as I got home.

 

[Proinsias]

Brita filters definitely work, but the life is more limited than the manufacturer claims. Maybe it's just the water here in North Hampshire, which is very chalky, but I find myself changing the cartridges every two weeks not four. I use filtered water for cooking too, as even a short five minute boil will turn green vegetables grey in tap water.

I'm in Glasgow, Scotland. I use the brita max filters, they claim to last four weeks, I change mine every 2/3 months and prefer the water afer a few weeks. I only tend to filter water for tea, coffee or diluting juice for the wee one though, that's still quite a bit of water here. Okay, maybe for a bit of cooking.

I imagine the 4 weeks is an average, if you're using it for more than a few litres a day and have chalky water it's gonna die fast.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Yeah water filtration is an answer but what about soaps that work well in brackish water?

Any ideas anyone?

 

[M80]

what about soaps that work well in brackish water?

http://www.victoriasoap.se/Eng/SoapSaltsjo.htm