Tobs and hard water

Hey fellas, I've noticed some thing worth mentioning with tobs creams and hard water. so I generally grow a beard in the winter months and return to my ritual when the air isn't so rough on my bare face. Well, I moved in October of this year about an hour away from my last place, haven't shaved since. I recently decided I needed to shave again and got out a favored Boker of mine and my strop, semogue 2000 (well broken in at this point) and my trusty tub of tobs grapefruit. Well, long story short, I built a magnificent slippery lather just to have it sticky by the time I was halfway through. I know I've got hard water, as my aquarium plants grow wonderously. So anyway, over the past week I've tried with every amount of water I could, to both extremes. Every Single time the lather is either see through and sticky , or dry and flaky with half a face shaven at a reasonable pace. I tried today with a tub of tobs lemon lime with the same results. Reading Around here I am going to try bottled water tomorrow, though I think I've ensured its not technique. The cheap VDH glycerin based puck soap did well.

I have softened water.

My TOBS Sandalwood cream is a really great soap. No problems there.

The TOBS Grapefruit cream is another story. It does not lather, have cushion or glide like the Sandalwood. JMO

I will use the Grapefruit this morning and see it I can get a good shave.

I shaved with the TOBS Grapefruit this morning.

The shave was good. I think I loaded the brush heavier than I have in the past. Maybe I was not using enough Grapefruit product.

Tomorrow I will use the TOBS Sandalwood and see if there is a difference.

You could try putting some citric acid in your hard shaving water. See post #5 here http://straightrazorpalace.com/pre-s...ard-water.html .

Bob

Yes, citric acid can neutralize the PH of the water but it does nothing to change the hardness. The PH is just a symptom of hard water not the problem itself.

I decided to set them aside for now, I'm moving to Ohio this week, maybe they will fair better there. For now I'm back on the soaps, the hard water doesn't seem to affect the VDH deluxe, and I build a damn good lather with that. Thanks again guys.

I have the hardest water I've ever seen, the main culprit is lime and calcium. I have yet to find a soap or cream that does not react as yours do. I simply use distilled water now, microwave it in my shave mug for a minute before I shower. It seems to be my only option. I had to resort to this when I bought xpec, and it was not behaving like everyone else was saying. Also, you could try uberlather, I had some decent shaves when mixing tobs with any hard soaps (mwf mostly) and glycerin. It is a frustrating thing having hard water, and I can not wait until I move again...

good to know..

I've been using the Lemon Lime and it's working great for me.