Dallas/Central TX Hard water question

Hi guys;

Finally got moved and have been able to browse the site again.

The water here is quite different than what I was used to in Louisiana.

In Louisiana (softer water) i could use shaving soap with a brush while i shaved in the shower and got BBB shaves consistently; with no razor burn or nicks.

I have gotten smooth shaves here; but I am consistently getting razor burn; This was one of the major reasons for switching to DE in the first place.

So, HELP.

help me find a better combination; I tried headblade cream with my brush on my head (i shave my head) and it seemed to help; so would I be better off switching to creams?

I have a water softener; but it is a good bit harder than what I had.

I am open for suggestions

g

You probably just have to use more soap/cream than you're used to. When you use soap in hard water (in general, not just for shaving), some proportion of it combines with the minerals in the water to make soap scum. You basically have to have enough soap around after that's happened to lather up, that's all.

(also why detergents are so popular vs. soap; they don't react with hard water the same way)

many stores now offer filtered water get a 5 gallon jug of water to use for your shaving just heat it up in a tea kettle before shaving

I'm far from an expert, but I am near Dallas, and I do find that soaps take a lot more work (and a lot more soap, too) to generate the same lather as a cream. Maybe that's true everywhere. Then again, maybe it's the water ... I'll try to load the brush with more soap and see if that works ... or I'll cheat a little and add a dab of Bigelow to the lather bowl with the soap ....

Yep. More product, more time.

For creams, 2x the product (at least) and a little more water to start, then add water a 1/2 teaspoon at a time (I use a medicinal measuring spoon - works great).

For lathering a soap in a bowl, I have found that I need to go back to the puck at least once after the initial load to get enough product to make a good bowl lather. For face lathering, I need to hit the puck after either the first or second pass to have enough lather for the shave.