Thread: Lather vanishing problem

Thank you so far! I've been soaking my brush and also tried to squeeze it really dry after that so I've have got lot of soap and just a little water. And then added few drops of water at once. I think I've been able to produce a pretty thick and nice looking lather but it doesn't survive long enough to shave even one pass with it. Although it's hard for me to say anything about quality of lather because pictures and videos is all I've seen besides the one I've made. I'm not sure if I have right relation of water and soap but I've had too much and too little water and neither seems to work.

Is it normal to have short lifespan of lather if it is too dry and also if it is too wet?

Tap water quality here in Finland is really good and hardness in my area is between soft and semi hard. I don't think that is a problem but could always test some bottled water. Glycerin helps also with lathering? How much should I add?

Oh and one more question. I usually wash my face or take a shower before lathering. But my face is usually dry when I'm ready to put some lather on it. So should I spill some water to my face just before I put some lather on it?

I always have my face wet before lathering.
Have you tried shaving creams? I find the ladder from cream just great and long lasting. Try Proraso or C.O. Bigelow (made by the same company I believe)

I haven't used Col Conk soap, but whenever I use any shave soap I make sure that I " mash " the brush on the soap when I'm charging it. I make a motion like I'm using a plunger on a sink hole to get the soap well and truly into the brush. When I move the brush to a bowl I whisk the brush around the sides of the bowl to generate lather, avoiding the bottom of the bowl initially.

Are you using a bowl just to generate the lather, or are you lathering directly on the soap?

Originally Posted by smark

Oh and one more question. I usually wash my face or take a shower before lathering. But my face is usually dry when I'm ready to put some lather on it. So should I spill some water to my face just before I put some lather on it?

What you could do is soak your towel into hot water and wring out excess water. Wrap your face with towel for couple minutes. I usually end up drying my face when I get out of shower. I find that this worked me.

It's easier because it softens your skin and hair making it easier to shave. :beer:

Take care bro

Hi,
Just wanted to add that I use Col Conk soap as well. When I tried to build lather in the mug I did not get that much lathery response, but I switched to face lathering and it works fantastic for me-- I get rich thick creamy lather in no time. Similar to the advice here:

-Soak brush in really hot water
-Put about 1/4 teaspoon of hot water on top of the col conk puck, let it sit for a few minutes
-Squeese out about 90% of the water from the brush
-Load the brush, pressing down pretty hard (15-20 swirls ought to do it)
-Swirl on face to build lather, if too dry drizzle a bit of hot water into the brush (I drizzle it into the base of the brush and let it work its way to the tips, I get nice warm lather that way)

I've also found the hotter the water, the faster I can hit the lather sweet spot. Try it once with boiling hot water and you'll see what I mean.

Good luck!
-Chief

Extra hot water does help- I just moved to Taiwan and there are hot water dispensers everywhere that give near-boiling water on demand. It's great for shaving.

If you use glycerin, just a few drops on the puck (with the hot water, usually) will help. Most glycerin is a synthetic product, but I've been very happy with a vegetable glycerin. (My wife is allergic to many synthetic products, and I'm not allowed to use what she can't.)
J.