Thread: first shave with brush

well, i left my str8 at home so i had to use my gillete fusion, but my stuff came in today. i shaved with a dovo travel brush using col. conks bayrum soap. all in all it was a good shave. the brush had a bit of an odd smell but that was explained in the manual. the only thing i'm not sure if i did right is lather. i got a decent covering but you could definitly see my skin. however, there was no razor burn and it was a fairly close shave, w00t. any tips on building up more lather? this is what i did:
wetted down the brush with warm/hot water, let it drip.
didnt put any water or anything in my soap, just brushed the bursh arounduntil it look kinda full
i rubbed it on my face in a circular motion and a painting motion
i suppose i should take pics next time so you can see the build up

anywho, tips?

I've found that when you make the transition to brush and "puck" shaving (how can a Canadian resist a hockey reference) you need to understand you won't look like the guy on the shaving commercials with the shaving foam beard that looks as white and thick as East coast snow. Now I use just basic MUG soap from Shoppers Drug Mart (been meaning to move on to better soaps) and have a boar and a badger brush that both give me the same density of lather, which isn't that thick. If you want to to be thicker it really just needs more soap in the mix, but I personally like a wet lather because I find it lubricates my face really well. You could try wetting your brush, giving it a quick swirl in your mug, then leaving it for a few minutes while the puck softens (make sure you really stropped your razor) and then re-wet your brush and build your lather. I would be careful of getting too soapy though because it could no longer lube your face as much as you need, which is really the main thing, right? I find that on my second and the occasional third passes I will wet my lather even more as I find it decreases the friction even more. Just play around and you'll find the right combination of water, soap and brushing to give you the slickness you're looking for. Hey as long as you're not stalling mid-pass (uhh I even get chills just typing that) you're doing just fine. Best of luck.

I get a full face covering lather with soap. I like to wet the soap a little then swirl a damp brush over it. When the brush is well loaded and pastey with soap, I go to my face. Spend a good couple of minutes working the lather there and add small amounts of water to the brush as needed. Load more soap than you would think you need and spend more time working the lather. Play around and I'm sure you'll get a lather you like. I've also found a back and forth "painting" motion compliments circular brush movements as well.

Jordan

I usually rub the top of the soap puck with water until some suds start to form, add a few drops more water and let it sit while I run the brush under HOT water and strop the razor (maybe a minute or two). Then I run the brush under the HOT water one more time, flick the excess water out and begin swirling in the soap mug. You should see the lather work it's way down to the base of the bristles and begin to thicken up. I usually continue swirling the brush on the soap for approx. 2 minutes and get a consistently THICK, SMOOTH lather. Now begin swirling it onto your face until the whole thing is covered, then paint it down to a smooth even layer, repeat if you want it to be thicker (depending on the soap you use, it may not do anything).

I can't say enough good things about Colleen Hurley's soap (Shaving, Bath and Body, Skincare, Home Fragrance, Brushes, Creams, Soaps ). It's just awesome.

Leatherneck, Cavendish Black, Desert Ironwood. You can't go wrong.

You need less water on the brush and more soap. I shake my brush once over the sink then swirl it on the soap until it is full of creamy foam, more like soft peak egg whites than bubbles. Col. Conks isn't known to be one of the best latherers out there but you shouldn't be able to see skin through the foam.

I have yet to get my brushes sharp enough to shave with ,how did you do it?









































Seriously, Congratulations on your first wet shave, and my apologies for the heckling, but someone had to do it lol. Feel free to return the favor anytime. lol

+1 on what seeton said. There is no point in covering your face in goop a la canned stuff. Most of it just end up going down the sink without doing it job. There is no need. You need enough to work up a good lather but dont make it so its 1/2 inch thick!

That said it does sound like you need a bit more lather. Give the brush one light shake after you let it drip. If its not making lather as thick as you like go for less water and more soap. You'll get the hang of it, its not rocket science.

EDIT: Oh and you should have wet your face with warm water beforehand. This opens the pores and softens the face in preparation for the shave. Ideally try taking a good hot shower beforehand.

I don't know, I have found that if I am not getting a really good lather, dipping the end of the brush in some more watter and adding it makes a big difference.