Thread: brushes, lather & water

Originally Posted by criswilson10

Floppy brushes can take some time to learn. I don't soak mine, I just dampen the tip and swirl lightly on the soap.

That's an interesting suggestion, I'll give that a try!

Following this thread, as I have also been struggling to get good lather. I've tried a few things, and I always seem to end up with a thin lather that dries very fast. It feels like I'm not transferring enough onto the face, as my brush also seems to have plenty of soap left in it when I clean it. I'm going to try a few of the new suggestions I've seen here and see if it helps.

Thanks everyone!

I tried this today, I didn't find it made a lot of difference, but I'll give it a few more tries to see if anything changes.

Originally Posted by joelkerr

I tried this today, I didn't find it made a lot of difference, but I'll give it a few more tries to see if anything changes.

Might be time for a new brush or even better, why not try to hook up with a meeting or one on one help from one of our members up your way? Could fix your problem in just a few minutes. Tc

Might be time for a new brush or even better, why not try to hook up with a meeting or one on one help from one of our members up your way? Could fix your problem in just a few minutes.

Yeah, I think you're right. I just bought a new, stiffer brush with (supposedly) a good backbone, we'll see how that goes.

I'd definitely be interested in meeting up with anyone in Montreal willing to give me a few pointers.

Private message Badgister. He is in Montreal and has a reputation for being a great mentor. He is also very good at honing. He has not been around much so PM him, I'm sure he will respond.

A quality brush with a good dense packing, loft to diameter, all vital aspects.

It's just soap, so don't be afraid to really load the brush - a good 30-45 seconds of loading should be required for a three pass shave.

I use a scuttle, which allows me to control the water, and allow the soap to develop.

Try a good glycerin based soap - the Truefitt and Hill creams, like Trafalgar, Grafton etc., are high quality soaps that's lather effortlessly.

But a good quality brush is essential, Simpson, Thater, Plusson, Rooney, all quality brushes that are well worth the investment.

Originally Posted by BlueJazz777

I have also been struggling to get good lather.

If your lather is really frothy at first, but dries out fast, you probably need more water and more loading.
I have found that some soaps respond better if left a couple minutes. They later get creamier.
Just a suggestion
Mike

Thanks everybody for their input, it's been really informative.

A few weeks ago I bought a stiffer brush (Semogue 1305 if you're interested, boar bristles). It's taken a while to get worked in, but it's starting to produce really nice lather. It still doesn't lather as well as my silvertip, but the application is way better. Hopefully the Semogue will continue to develop, too.

As a side note, I started using a shavette in order to practise for when I can afford a good straight razor, and wow! What a difference! I can get such a close shave, it's impressive. I thought it was a big difference when I moved to a DE, but the shavette is a whole new world. I can't wait till I get a real razor. But anyways, I feel like having a good lather is now imperative, so I'm working it out.