Thread: Shaving Bowl Soap?

My gf bought me a shaving set (Feather pro blade handle, feather blades, mohle shaving bowl, hjm brush and dr.harris shaving bowl soap) since I've been talking about trying to shave with a straight razor for a while. I just didn't have the balls the go through and get it.

Anyway, I got this Dr. Harris Soap labled Shaving bowl. It looks like a round brick of soap. I'm guessing this is probably my source of lather, but I'm not sure how to use it. Do you leave it inside the shaving bowl? It does look like it fits in there nicely. Or are you supposed to apply it some other way?

I'm going to have to thank you guys in advance, I may not be able to reply if I lop my own head off.

Welcome to SRP!

if the soap is wrapped unwrap it and place it in the bowl wet you brush and swirl it on the face of the soap and you are good to go. check out the shaving and latehring videos in the stickies and the wiki.

peeper ous with questions too sometimes we answer quick!

welcome again!


my head is still attached and it is near 30 years of straights for me.

Don't worry, you might lose an earlobe or a chunk of lip, but your head will still be there

Generally speaking, there are two ways to get lather from a puck of soap. First is building lather on your face. You sprinkle some water on the puck, swirl your damp brush on it, then work up a lather on your wet face. This is a faster method, but uses more soap and work than needed (in my opinion).

The second way just uses more hardware. You'll need something to keep the soap in (a mug works well) plus your bowl. You get your brush wet, but flick out any excess water. Then you sprinkle water on your soap. Put a little bit less than a tablespoon of water in your bowl- just eyeball it- then swirl your brush on your soap to load it up. Then just act like you're whipping up some cream and whip the hell out of the water in your bowl. If you don't build up lather, add a tad more water. If your lather is there, but it seems flakey, add more water. If it's too runny, whip it more. You should have a wonderfully thick and fluffy lather that will stay in the bowl even if it's upside down. You're aiming for Barbasol consistency.

It'll be tough to get right the first few times, but you can just do what I did- whip up lather, experiment, then try it again. When I started, I think I practiced it for about an hour until I got it right.

Welcome to SRP. If you put a splash of hot tap water on the puck (leave it in the bowl it came with) while you are in the shower it will be easier to load the brush. DR Harris can be a little tough to get loaded before it is softened up a bit. Here is something you might want to read before you get started and here are videos that will help as well. Smooth shaving and

Wet the brush in hot water for 15-30 seconds, so it will absorb water if the bristles are so inclined. Shake the brush off twice so you don’t get too much water in the shaving soap you will mix up. Leave the soap puck in the shaving bowl. Start scrubbing the soap with the brush, circular motion with the wrist. Press a little down into the soap puck, mostly swirl around the sides of the bowl. Each 15 seconds you don’t see obvious lather building, scrub a little harder on the soap puck for a few seconds. If you are getting nothing after about 30 seconds, add a teaspoons worth of water (and don’t shake so much off the brush when you start your next later up). If you are producing wet soapy glop that flies off the brush if you try to apply it to your face, you used too much water. Place the bowl in a pan of tap-hot water, let it sit for two minutes, scrub it up again picking up more soap, and you should quickly get lots of creamy lather. Shake off more water from the brush the next time. You will learn quickly and each person’s reality will be a bit different from the next guy.

Good news - your gf got you the best shaving soap out there! DRH rocks! which scent? lavendar, arlington, marlboro or almond?

Thanks for the replies guys!
The DRH soap I got is the almond scent. It does smell very nice.
Another question I have is regarding the storage of the soap.
Do I simply leave in the bowl when Im done?

I'm totally impressed that there is such a large active community about straight razor shaving.

Originally Posted by sharked

The DRH soap I got is the almond scent. It does smell very nice.

The DRH Almond is a fantastic soap, in fact it's my go to soap, just play around with the soap/water ratio and you'll be good to go in no time.

I jus leave the soap in the soap bowl when I'm done, and it doesn't seem to hurt the soap

Each of my soaps are in their own covered container. I lather in that container, when I am done I leave the soap in said container with any extra later, covering the whole mess up with the lid. I just try not to have a lot of runny wet stuff left in there. In the case of tallow soaps, it gets the puck a little mushy. But occasionally will not hurt, or just leave the lid off for the day if you are worried.