Thread: Soap disappearing quickly.

So, I regularly hear about how cakes of shaving soap last for weeks or months. But my soap cakes are lasting about a week and a half, I'm wondering if perhaps something is wrong with my technique? So let me describe what I do with them.
I use classicshaving's regular cakes of soap. When I run low on soap in my mug, I drop a cake in and microwave it for 40 seconds to make it fit perfectly in the mug. I then let it solidify for a few hours before I try to use it. I run my water as hot as a I can, then I hold my brush (Vulfix's bottom-of-the-line boar brush) under the water for a few seconds. Then I fill the mug with hot water and submerge the brush in it. I then take a quick shower (usually about 5 minutes on a weekday) then I get out. I drain almost all the water out (I need to keep a little in, because the brush doesn't hold much water, and I usually need to add more water once or twice while shaving because the lather gets pasty) then I just put the brush in, with moderate downward force, then swirl it back and forth in a circular motion until there's a good lather in the brush. At least, I think it's a good later. I work it until there's no bubbles and I can spread it on my face with a slightly creamy feeling instead of a liquid one, and I can't see my skin underneath for about 10 minutes. So that's what I do. Why is the soap going so quickly?

I would imagine it's from using too much water. I'll let some veterans verify this. I'm just finishing up a puck of TGQ soap, and I've had it for almost 2 months (about a week shy I would say). Granted, I used my William's Mug soap a couple times in there, but for the most part I stayed with the one puck.

Here is my process:

1. Soak the brush and towel in very hot tap water while preparing other things. (towel is for wrapping my face while I strop)
2. Flick the brush out a couple times so it's not dripping, but still contains a good amount of water
3. Push the bristles down on the soap a dozen times to charge it up.
4. Swirl the brush around at a moderate pace inside the mug to build the lather. If I need to add more water, I'll add just a teaspoon or little less and continue swirling.

That's pretty much all I need to do and it gives me a great lather.

It is probably the soaking for 5 mins in water that is doing it. From the fact that you microwave your soap it isn't a triple milled soap, these are much harder and can benefit from a little soaking. My GFT coconut is now 5 months old and barely has a dent in the middle.

You missed the part about what you do AFTER your shave.


I used to drop the brush into the cup full of lather and leave it that way overnight.

The brush held enough moisture to ruin the soap overnight. My soaps would last a week.

Now I always rinse the brush out and stand it up, then rinse out the cup (with soap), and invert it to drain it. Then, after I put the razor away, I set the cup back upright to allow the soap to dry.

^^This is almost the exact same routine I use, as well.

Originally Posted by toolarts

You missed the part about what you do AFTER your shave.


I used to drop the brush into the cup full of lather and leave it that way overnight.

The brush held enough moisture to ruin the soap overnight. My soaps would last a week.

Now I always rinse the brush out and stand it up, then rinse out the cup (with soap), and invert it to drain it. Then, after I put the razor away, I set the cup back upright to allow the soap to dry.

I rinse out my brush thoroughly and hang it upside down. I then run hot water through the mug to rinse off all of the lather (or paste, by then), shake it out, then stick it on a shelf right-side up. The bathroom usually doesn't get very humid, since I'm the only one who uses it and I'm fairly quick about cleaning.

The soaking does seem like it might be responsible. I'll soak the brush in a separate bowl from now on, I'll see if that helps. And it might also just be that the classic brand is a softer soap. The only other kind I've ever used is Williams, but it's definitely much softer than that.

Each of my last three soap cakes lasted for between 5 and 7 YEARS. I don't scrimp on lather at all and I shave every day.

I soak in a seperate container, and my soaps last a long time as well. If you are using a glycerine based or soft soap, all that water is dissolving your soap, when you pour it out, you are throwing soap down the drain.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Each of my last three soap cakes lasted for between 5 and 7 YEARS. I don't scrimp on lather at all and I shave every day.

And how?!

triple milled soaps last forever no matter how much water you drown them with but Glycerine soaps are soft and hot water will dissolve them fast. So you want to use only what water you need and make sure to drain it fast when your done making lather.