So, I have hard water. Really hard water. I heard that if you dissolve baking soda in your bath water, it softens it. So I decided to see if it would have an effect on the lather of my shave soap. Now, I didn't use the scientific method. I only used one shave soap. (Col. Conks Bay Rum) and my El Cheapo VDH brush, AND I'm totally inexperienced at lathering soap since I've only been doing this for two days. However, it did seem that I got a little bit better lather from the water I put baking soda in. The soap I have doesn't really seem to care about the hard water so much so it was a little hard to tell. That, coupled with my technique (or lack thereof) means my results are totally unreliable. Anyone else have any input on this?
If your water is really that hard use bottled water. A buck a gallon will not break you and last quite a while. And the benefit your lather will get from it will be well worth it.
You're probably right. I'm figuring the next thing I need to upgrade in my El Cheapo™ shaving set is the brush, and I probably don't want to ruin it with Calcium deposits.
I have pretty hard water here too. I did try using distilled water & that made a huge difference. I personally didn't want to have to rely on distilled water so here is what worked for me. I use creams primarily & I upgraded from my VDH boar to a Frank Shaving Fine Badger brush. The creams & the badger have helped me to get splendid lathers each & every shave despite hard water. Good luck finding what works best for you.
Don't sweat the Ca deposits too much, periodic vinegar soaks for your brush will take care of most of that. There are some very good and inexpensive brush option out there when you decide to upgrade. Don't give up on that VDH brush either. Unless it is shedding really bad they break in nice, just takes them a while.
I don't understand how adding sodium and not removing the calcium will soften water. It's the calcium that makes water hard, and adding sodium won't soften the water but replacing calcium with sodium will. The key is the removal of the calcium.
I think the hard water excuse is over used actually, yes softer water produces lather faster, but in the end hard water works just as well, it however does make for more frequent brush cleaning though.
Hard water doesn't mean that good lather can't be made. It may take more time and it will adjust the water to soap ratio; however, you can lather just about anything in any water. I have been wet shaving in hard water for years. However, what throws me for a loop is soft water because it isn't what I am used to using.
With a little bit more experience. I'm finding I can make a thick luxurious, stable lather with the soaps I have. It does take a lot of soap, and it seems like I'm loading the brush forever. However, I'm finding I can now get a lather that doesn't disintegrate after the first pass. I'm still feeling like it takes a lot of soap though.
Nick, go get a puck of triple milled soap, trust me you won't mind the extra soap usage as they tend to never die....
I ordered some Tabac today. since I was only buying the one thing I just got it off Amazon, still getting free two day shipping from my free year of amazon prime. Should have it on Tuesday. 21 bucks didn't seem horrible with no tax, and no shipping charges. I don't know what I'm going to do when the free year of prime runs out. That was pretty evil of their marketing department.
Just order $80 worth of stuff from Phil, Seriously though, the Tabac should do you well, I have a love hate relationship with mine, hated it, loved it, now I reach for MWF... I guess I'm one of the odd ones now in that I prefer MWF to Tabac.
SWMBO would kill me. My next "big" purchase is probably going to be some Eau de toilette (I think I'm just going to keep calling it cologne) We went "testing" today for now real reason with no intention of actually paying the prices at the store.
I know how that goes too, its fun messing with the sales staff, since the majority of them never seem to leave you alone anyway.
