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What soap will give me this?
Im used to using the G*ill*tt* gel which foams up, when i have tried in the past i have never had much success gettin a good lava with soap and brush
Also I want to get hold of a decent brush but not got too much to spend. Maybe a nice wooden bowl too.
Other than that my setup is nearly complete :)
Cheers for any advice on this
Charlie
Charlie,
I'm not a soap person, so my advice is a bit biased, probably. I get really thick and creamy lather from creams - Wahl Traditional Barbers shave cream or Omega shave "soap" (which is actually a cream in a tube). The Wahl smells like an old barbers shop to me. The Omega is a bit mentholly and cools the skin the longer you leave it on.
I lather up in a mug too, not on the face. I can really whip up the lather in a mug which is something I've found I can't do straight on the face (or at least not to the same extent). The lather goes cold, sure, but I've never found that to be a particular issue.
James.
I've had very good results using William's mug soap (lots of water) with a dab of palmolive cream. The lather is nice and creamy, very slick.
Colleen's soaps, used with only a bit of water.
You can find her contact information in the vendor's corner.
I also find it helps to dry my face with a towel before lathering up, and not rinsing my face before the second pass. That way the lather stays thick.
Just my 2ct of course.
For a creamy lather get Colleen's glycerine soaps. They'll also overwhelm you with amazing scents. They're the best overall performers in my books and I've tried all kinds of stuff. PM her at churley or e-mail at thegentlemensquarter@verizon.net
However, I got the best overall lather in a soap from Giovanni's Tryphon soaps. The scents are nice and refreshing. Just pm tryphon.
im a soap guy and with a little practice and good soap you can get "lava" that rivals any cream. each soap maker is unique and the water/soap ratio is different with each. it takes a couple of days to play figure out the best ratio with any soap you buy.
that being said, you can make fantastic lava with colleens, QED, honeybee or mama bears soaps. each requires different water/soap ratios but the resulting lather is fantastic.
the key with soap use is making sure that you load your brush with enough soap to get that thick lather you are looking for. load it up good and then make your lather adding a bit of water as needed. you can always add water but can't take it out of the mixture. more twists and plunges with your brush till you get the lather you like. don't skimp on the soap!!
soaps are wonderful, once you get your lather making down i'd reckon to say that you won't be going back to creams and you definitely won't be going back to any foam in a can junk!
~J
ps. personally i find that QED makes the easiest lather but any of the above will get to the same creamy goodness with a bit of work.
I realize you prefer these thick layers of lather on your face but you know its not necessary. As long as your skin is wet and lubricated that's all you need. If one soap can do that with 1/8th of an inch of lather and another needs 2 inches, well take your pick.
I tried Collen Hurley's soap for the first time about 15 minutes ago. Just got it in the mail today.
I was working the lather up in the mug and I kept thinking, when is this ever going to work up? Then I realized, the brush had sucked up all the lather and there wasn't a bit in the mug. I have no idea why, but it went right in the brush. Usually, I'm working up a mugful of lather and fighting to get it in the brush. I would have to work up the lather and load the brush three or four times during the shave. It's a boar brush, by the way.
One brushful was all I needed for the with and against the grain applications. The brush still full of lather when I finished. The stuff was so good, I kind of hated to rinse it off.
This was the closest shave I have ever had out of my straight razor. I followed that up with some Clubman after shave lotion and a light dusting of Clubman talcum powder with another brush. It was my best shave yet.
I got the World War II-theme Leatherneck soap and smell like I just walked out of Floyd's barber shop. The bathroom smells like a raging musky wolverine at Bastogne. I feel like finding some Germans and saying "Nuts!"
This stuff is awesome.
I also got a lilttle of the highlander soap. It smells good, but manly although it doesn't have the John Wayne smell the leatherneck soap has.
Castle Forbes is the best shave cream out there. Huge lather......but you do pay for it. Only comes in two flavors....lime and lavendar. If you haven't tried it, you really can't compare. Colleen's soaps are very nice as well.
Lynn
I don't think you can go wrong with Honeybee Spa, Mama Bear's or Colleen's. Don't forget about your water quality.
Justin
If you have a Crabtree and Evelyn near you and you prefer a soap over a cream go buy a puck $8 of Seinna or Sandlewood. Soap on the brush, lather is up on your face. You'll feel like a lather machine is built in your ears not to mention extremely soft skin after the shave.
I'd have to say that the thickest and creamiest lather I've seen from a soap comes from Tabac. I also use most of the others mentioned so far and like them as well, but Tabac is different from the glycerine based soaps and never fails to impress me.