Thread: Soap and Lather

Yes, that's what I did. But with this soap, once I kind of added water, very little in my mind just a touch on the tip of the brush, it just turned to suds and very quickly they disappear and I could hear the bubbles fizzle and then gone. So it's just disappointing. Maybe next time I even use no water except from the brush initially to see what happens.

Yes that's very weird, as you see in the video when he lathers his face he dips the tip of the brush in water... which would be way too much water if lathering in a bowl, but it works just fine on the face. That's how I do it and it usually winds up taking 2-4 dips to get the lather properly moist even. Since you did get good lather with your old soap it's sounding more and more like the soap you've got now is bad.

edit: I also totally missed the "all natural" part of the original post. Do you have the ingredient list for the soap? All natural means very different things to different people, and if this soap is some kind of extreme version of it, it's very possible that it's just not suitable for shaving despite what it's sold as.

Originally Posted by IanS

Yes that's very weird, as you see in the video when he lathers his face he dips the tip of the brush in water... which would be way too much water if lathering in a bowl, but it works just fine on the face. That's how I do it and it usually winds up taking 2-4 dips to get the lather properly moist even. Since you did get good lather with your old soap it's sounding more and more like the soap you've got now is bad.

edit: I also totally missed the "all natural" part of the original post. Do you have the ingredient list for the soap? All natural means very different things to different people, and if this soap is some kind of extreme version of it, it's very possible that it's just not suitable for shaving despite what it's sold as.

I like the SRD unscented soap. It's not excessively expensive, granted it's still expensive by my standard. But it works well. For me, that's what's important. The vendor offers a refund but considering the return postage and how lazy I am to get to the post office and all, I just don't bother. It's a sample and I haven't tried the ones I actually bought. It's really emphasized as natural and cold pressed, marketed, shaped and sold as shaving soap. Anyway, it's not a big deal in the sense that it's only my face that we are talking about. Given I am new to this whole shaving business, it could really be my technique but then again, it's not exactly rocket science we are talking about or it could actually be? Anyway. I will try the rest and see how they lather. I am really new to this so the SRD unscented 3.75" soap is my point of reference. Now it really sinks in to me that the scent isn't all that matter, if I want scent, I could get cologne or any kind of smelly stuff to offend people around me. A soap is all about the lather, how your face feels during and after and how it helps the shave.

Or light incense while you shave, since I find shaving soap doesn't really leave any essence... the smell is more about enhancing the experience of shaving.

Originally Posted by IanS

Or light incense while you shave, since I find shaving soap doesn't really leave any essence... the smell is more about enhancing the experience of shaving.

Yes, that makes sense. I never thought about it like that. It's about the whole experience.

I know that's what it is for me. As an added bonus, the fitjar soap I have been using leaves my brush smelling like a fir tree. Very nice.

I hope this helps, because it works great for me... I have a standard pure badger brush, and a small-ish mug. I use Colonel Conk's Bay Rum Glycerine shaving soap (That's a mouthful). My method is that I take a Tea/coffee mug full of steaming hot water and leave my brush in that for about 5 minutes, then, I take the fully loaded brush and let it drip the excess over into the sink... I take the no-longer-dripping brush -still full with a lot of water- and swirl it over my soap puck (small circles, always) until I have a rich thick lather, and I go with it... I do not like the method of taking your lather from the puck, to a scuttle.. It saves soap, but the stuff is just so cheap, and lasts so long anyways... In the end, I get a richer, smoother lather this way, even if I use the soap a little faster... it still gives me a better shave/lather... And it isn't /that/ much more soap anyways.

Good luck.

Do you hand hold the soap when whirling? Or you have it stuck at the bottom of a mug or some sort of container? Are you saying that you whirl the entire whirl over the soap without bringing your brush to an empty mug or bowl to work up a lather? Thank you. Mine is a pure badger brush and once I thought I loaded the brush with soap I will work the lather in a separate mug. I will try again tonight though I am beginning to blame it on the soap than myself ... My face has been pretty busy lately, actually my hand.

Originally Posted by DPflaumer

I know that's what it is for me. As an added bonus, the fitjar soap I have been using leaves my brush smelling like a fir tree. Very nice.

Wow, the fitjar soap looks exquisite and expensive to me. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you. Got to learn Norwegian to read the original text. Might as well not to, remains more exotic .... Does it make nice lather? For now, that's all I care ...

Originally Posted by lcl

Do you hand hold the soap when whirling? Or you have it stuck at the bottom of a mug or some sort of container? Are you saying that you whirl the entire whirl over the soap without bringing your brush to an empty mug or bowl to work up a lather? Thank you. Mine is a pure badger brush and once I thought I loaded the brush with soap I will work the lather in a separate mug. I will try again tonight though I am beginning to blame it on the soap than myself ... My face has been pretty busy lately, actually my hand.

I put it in the bottom of the mug... After using it once and letting it sit, it pretty much cemented itself down there, so it always stays firm while I wisk my Badger across it. YMMV, but I find this gets me the thickest, richest, slickest lather... I don't mind using the extra soap with that method, because it gives a better experience, at least, to me