Hello everyone, Here in saudi arabia there's a lack of fresh water/soft water. So I'm forced to use hard water. Looking for soaps that would do well with hard water. Have already ordered Stirling(after a lot of thinking) on Black Friday, is there anything else that would work well.
The first that come to mind right away are: -Any of the Barrister's Reserve® by Barrister and Mann (Formulated Specifically with Hard Water in mind) I think they even tested this with Sea water before release... -Any Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements (Made in Arizona, the capital of Hard Water here in the U.S.). -Any Crown King (also Made in Arizona) The new CK-6 line will rock the Hard Water. I myself live in southern Arizona we have really Hard Water, most soaps do fine, but I think your Technique will determine more of the outcome than anything else.
Mystic Water soaps had a problem with hard water. They reformulated and I've not heard anyone complain. Distilled is a low cost targeted expense - only for making lather. With most any soap. use more product can make the difference. Hard water eats the first measure of soap chelating out minerals. More soap means the possibility of conquering the minerals and having some extra lather after you finish shaving. Is ARKO available either store shelf or mail order? It's Turkish made, strong lemon scented, and will lather for most anyone.
Thank you for the suggestions. I was using drinking water(devoid of minerals, sourced from a spring) to shave but it was a bit of an expense to do so in a country where gasoline is cheaper than water. I've used arko, works fine. It's what's locally available here. Having used many of the more commercial brands, I've wanted to give artisanal products a try. Hopefully can get some recommendations here.
Common desire around here. For me ARKO is exotic. Palmolive is another that is common in European countries, but not available here in the U.S. unless ordered and shipped. Good luck in your search @ drnausheerp! The choices in Artisan soap is an ever expanding field. New and old manufactures develop formulas with new ingredients, scents, and specific qualities all the time. Making a shave soap designed for hard water ought to happen since there are many shavers in need.
Back in my home country of india, I used Palmolive and Gillette quite regularly. Infact growing up, couldn't ever afford anything other than those. Not that the more premium stuff was available either With the advent of globalization and the internet, everyone can buy everything they need. Having said that my remote location here in Saudi Arabia makes things difficult too
Spring water still normally has a decent amount of minerals. Do you not have distilled water available? The few times I've traveled through Europe, or the Middle East, I noticed that it was normally in the cleaning section of the market.
Not in the town I work in unfortunately. The water here is unfit for consumption. So spring water is what we use to drink and for cooking. The tap water lathers okayish I guess, just takes a bit of work.
One of our TSD members lamented no longer being able to purchase a soap from a company based in Syria. There was an issue about being able to contact the supplier because of politics between his country and the supplier. At this point the manufacturer may no longer exist. That kind of scenario makes a case for stocking up on stuff you enjoy while it's still available. I can understand your problem being in a remote location.
Interesting. The only place I know of famous for making soap in Syria is Aleppo. And that was bath soap if I remember correctly. Still available in Syrian stores in Saudi Arabia though.
A cream actually. Here's the thread: https://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/hamol-shaving-cream-naiman.53697/
If cost is not a factor, try some Castle Forbes. I had gotten some empty shave cream containers from Maggard's, and one of them was Castle Forbes: Cedarwood and Sandalwood. The container had maybe three uses left in it. I used it tonight and in the hard water here it blew up into a think creamy lather as soon as I started face lathering, very little effort at all. It was not a typical Cedar/Sandlewood, it smells more like in a mill, with a mix of fresh lumber and damp mustiness. Maggards will scoop out the soap from containers to make samples. They also sell those empty containers, usually with a usable amount...
I'm going to look for this particular brand. Have already asked some Syrians I know if they can do something about it. One is also travelling to syria next month. Hopefully should be able to get some old stock
Cold River Soap Works and Stirling work great in my hard water. Still have a hard time with Mystic Waters, just gave up on them.
Plenty of soaps are finicky. Mystic Water is a princess, for me at least. I don't think my water is all that hard, either. Not like other parts of Indy where I've lived. But when you do get the water ratio just right it's a great shave.
