Thread: Very Hard Water Soaps/Creams

Take the easy way out and get some distilled or RO water. A gallon is cheap and will last a long time for shave use. Then you don't have to do this hard water dance with soaps.

In these parts water runs around 12 grains of hardness and that's about as hard as it comes anywhere.

I know that Barrister Reserve soaps were specifically designed for hard water tolerance. However, I do not know the availability in England.

Originally Posted by RayClem

I know that Barrister Reserve soaps were specifically designed for hard water tolerance. However, I do not know the availability in England.

Just rub ur face and make it warm then shave it !

You could try adding some lemon juice to your shaving water.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

You could try adding some lemon juice to your shaving water.

Bob

First I heard of that.

Originally Posted by rolodave

First I heard of that.

A member from the UK mentioned that quite a few years ago. Never tried it having nice water locally but worth a try if you have hard water.

Bob

So, first make sure your hard water is the problem. Start by cleaning your brush, soaking in 50% solution of warm water and white vinegar. Shampoo with a dollop in your palm, lather, rinse well and make your lather with distilled water.

If your brush does not bloom fully, it may need another soak. It should bloom fully when dry.

It may just be your brush is loaded and not making lather. I lived with hard water and found a vinegar soak every few months resolved the issue for me. As said worst case, a gallon of Distilled Water is inexpensive and will make lot of lather for an easy solution to your problem.

Originally Posted by rolodave

First I heard of that.

The citric acid in lemon juice serves as a chelating agent to combine with the calcium and magnesium ions in the hard water. Although the ions are still present, they are less available to react with the fatty acids of the soap.
Some shaving soaps contain citric acid to help with hard water tolerance.

Citric acid is often used in powered form when canning fruits and some vegetables to act as a preservative. You can purchase it in the canning section of stores. However, in this instance, the citric acid is not obtain from natural sources such as lemons and lime, but it derived as a byproduct of black mold consuming sugar. If you see citric acid listed as an ingredient in products (including foods), it will have been derived in this manner.

Citric Acid is also used to clean hard water deposits out of appliances. It works similar to vinegar.