Getting the lather building thing down.

I bought my first brush (a Burmashave) and shave soap (Williams Mug Shave Soap) on Monday. I've been experimenting trying to figure out how to build lather, and last night I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with the results.

Day 1: I took an old straight walled coffee cup out of the kitchen that is way too small for actually drinking coffee out of (I drink mass quantities of caffeine in the morning, and would get nothing done but refilling this particular cup if I drank out of it), dropped the soap in the bottom, and then used a second, larger coffee cup filled with hot water to soak my brush in while I took a shower. When I got out, I dumped the hot water out of the 2nd coffee cup, squeezed the excess water out of the brush, and carefully loaded the brush with soap. I then transferred the brush to the 2nd coffee cup and tried to whip the lather. I learned some important things: Too little water, and the soap won't lather hardly at all. Too much water, and the soap just drips off of your face. And don't use just your wrist to move the brush, you'll get tired in no time. Move from the shoulder(I think...It worked much better for me that way.) I shaved with the too thin lather(still using cheap disposable razors), then rebuilt the lather and relathered, doing a much better job of controlling the amount of water the 2nd time. Still got a much better shave than just using the canned cream stuff.

Day 2: I used almost the same technique, but didn't squeeze the water out of my brush before loading soap into it, and used a 6 inch pyrex glass bowl instead of the 2nd coffee cup this time. A little better result, and a much thicker lather, but not great. I think I did a better job of controlling how much water went into the lather this time.

Day 3: Used the pyrex bowl only as a kind of warming dish for my mug. I set the mug in the bowl, set the bowl in the sink, and then filled the mug and bowl with hot water from the tap. Then I dropped the brush into the filled mug and took a shower. After showering, I dumped the water out of both the mug and bowl, and then refilled the bowl with fresh hot water and set it on the counter. I actually made the lather in the mug on top of the puck of soap this time, with amazing results. The lather came out rich, thick, and creamy! Lathered up, and set the mug back in the warm water in the bowl. Shaved, and then built up the lather a little bit, which only took about 5 seconds. Relathered, and then went for a 2nd pass. Awesome results! And I'm still just using cheap disposables. Can't wait till I actually get me a straight razor!

Now I just need a styptic pencil, some good aftershave, an alum block, a razor, a strop, a G5 scuttle from Georgetown, a brush and razor stand, some more razors....I think I may already be a hopeless addict to the actual enjoyment of shaving. Oh, no. Somebody please help me!!!

Congratulations. Williams is an example of a soap that if you can lather that well, you can lather virtually anything. Enjoy your shaves :)

First off, welcome to SRD. I've found that with some soaps and Williams is one of them, when the soap is brand new, it takes more work to build a lather. After a few uses, it softens up and becomes easier. With a better soap such as Gentleman's Quarter or SRD, this is not as much of a factor. After a few days of using a new cake, I find the less water the better. It's easier to add more than to take some out. You'll probably also find after you start using a straight, that it will take longer to shave initially and the Williams lather may not last throughout the whole shave. You may need to whip up more throughout the shave. As far as the addiction goes, you've taken the first step by acknowledging the problem: "We admit that we are powerless over razors and ask our higher power for help."

Congrats!

Dont fight those aquisition disorders, learn to embrace them! They are your friends! :D

You have adjusted well Gratz and enjoy your new journey :)

Went out today and got a styptic pencil and some aftershave, so my acquisition lists are slowly being pared down. At least until I made the mistake of clicking on the Classifieds link here! Hmmmm......which one to get?