Thread: Did Mitchell's Wool Fat change its formula?

Originally Posted by BobH

Have you tried using luke warm/cold water to see if that works?

Bob

I have used the same temperature setting on my kettle for years, 190F, and the lather was always perfect. I just can't understand why that would suddenly not work anymore. I could try a lower setting, but I don't think I'd use cold water. I've had cold water shaves in the military and they were without a doubt the worst shaves ever. But your advice is still good. The only variable I haven't manipulated is water temperature.

Originally Posted by BobH

Have you tried using luke warm/cold water to see if that works?

Bob

Bob has a good point. I had good luck with MWF using hot water for many years and then I heard that it likes cooler temperatures. Last time I used lukewarm water instead and I did find the lather to be a slight notch above what I'm used to. YMMV of course but IMO it worked.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

Bob has a good point. I had good luck with MWF using hot water for many years and then I heard that it likes cooler temperatures. Last time I used lukewarm water instead and I did find the lather to be a slight notch above what I'm used to. YMMV of course but IMO it worked.

I guess it couldn't hurt to try. At this point, I'm out of other options except to change the water temperature.

Originally Posted by supersco

I guess it couldn't hurt to try. At this point, I'm out of other options except to change the water temperature.

You don't have to use cold water, just try luke warm and see it the water temp makes a difference. It couldn't hurt any at this point. I have been cold water shaving for over a year now and have not had trouble lathering MWF.

Bob

In my business, water hardness (and ph) are important, so I pay attention to it.

Remember, municipal water supply still has to come from SOMEWHERE, and when the source changes, so will the city water.

You can actually ask the locality for water reports. Get one from last year, and get the current one, and see what may have changed. I have seen water change more than you might expect. Bottled water is always a crap shoot too. Is it bottled tap water? bottled spring water? distilled water? many many variables that do nothing to tell you its mineral content, ph, or other constituents.

Originally Posted by BobH

You don't have to use cold water, just try luke warm and see it the water temp makes a difference. It couldn't hurt any at this point. I have been cold water shaving for over a year now and have not had trouble lathering MWF.

Bob

I've tried a couple shaves with lukewarm water, both MWF and Mama Bear's. No improvement. I'm definitely thinking it's my hard water. Anybody know of any soaps that do well with hard water until I figure out exactly how to treat it?

Originally Posted by supersco

I've tried a couple shaves with lukewarm water, both MWF and Mama Bear's. No improvement. I'm definitely thinking it's my hard water. Anybody know of any soaps that do well with hard water until I figure out exactly how to treat it?

Have you tried a bottle of distilled water also? I think Arko works pretty well with hard water.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Have you tried a bottle of distilled water also? I think Arko works pretty well with hard water.

Bob

Yeah I've tried distilled bottle water, very little difference. Maybe I'll try some Arko until I can figure out how best to treat my water. Thanks!

Originally Posted by supersco

Yeah I've tried distilled bottle water, very little difference. Maybe I'll try some Arko until I can figure out how best to treat my water. Thanks!

That is odd, I had thought distilled water, not spring water or other bottled waters, was not hard at all.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

That is odd, I had thought distilled water, not spring water or other bottled waters, was not hard at all.

Bob

Yes, it's supposed to be. However, I think marketing terms like that are pretty loose. For example, most "natural spring" bottled waters are actually just municipal tap water. We've come a long way from when companies could claim anything they want on their products, but if a claim has never been litigated before, they can still get away with a lot of misleading labeling.