Confused with soap

So I got my starter straight razor kit yesterday from SRD. This kit came with a mug and SRD soap. So I think one of my problems I need to work on is my lather, at times it felt like it dried up on me which I would think is not suppose to happen, or I was just going way to slow.

When building this lather from the SRD soap (west indies bay) are you suppose to melt the soap out of the tub, just swirl the brush a bit in the soap container then transfer that to the mug? Some videos show many options, just unsure of what to do with the container of soap.

Never the less the shave went well, just a few things to work on.

Thanks for the help

You can keep it in the container and go straight to face lathering. Soaps are funny sometimes; depending on the formulation some take more some less water to build up a lather. You just gotta play with it a bit to figure that particular soap out. If my lather is getting a bit dry I just turn the faucet on and do a quick swipe of the brush under the water and rebuild the later, doesn't take but about 15-20 seconds or less. I have a few soaps and creams that do that on me.

Hopefully, this video will help you.

Shaving Lather with Badger Brush - YouTube

Have fun

Thanks, Lynn. I was actually about to link that video. It helped me a lot starting.

There's nothing wrong with using the container the soap came in. That's what I do. If the soap is drying up on you, try to using a little bit more water for your lather. You can add more water to the container or just dip the tip of the brush in water before you apply the lather to your face. How long is it taking you to shave? If it's taking you awhile, I would suggest doing a your face a section at a time instead of lathering it all at once.

It took me roughly 40minutes, but a lot of it was making sure I had a good grip on the razor and carefully placing the razor. Maybe I was being too cautious, but I will definitely consider just lathering up a section at a time as I continue to become more comfortable with razor.

Wow, I see where my problem was, i just did a few swirls and thought that was enough. Hahaha what a noob! Thanks for the video really informative!

Hey, Harris.
The vid was good for me also. When I started, my shaves probably averaged an hour. No soap or cream on the planet is going to stay hydrated that long. One approach the honorable Mike suggests is lathering a section at a time. It works. I like to lather up completely, so the beard is kept waterlogged - easy to mow. I periodically touch my brush to some water and re-wet any suds that are getting too dry. Drying lather is a setup for a nick. How to tell if its too dry? When running water won't remove all suds from the blade. Painting water on the surface of drying suds will not help at all. Only the moisture surrounding the beard hair at skin level helps. So rewet, work the moisture down to skin level - keep going.

It seems ironic, but lather that's too much water and not enough soap - dries out much faster. I took alot of notice of how much time Lynn spent loading his brush.

Keep going, keep asking the questions. Your face and the significant others in your life will thank you.

I usually soak the brush and soap in the container top off in a warm water sink bath while I'm showering then remove from sink and lather away usually works great !!

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Originally Posted by harrisor

Wow, I see where my problem was, i just did a few swirls and thought that was enough. Hahaha what a noob! Thanks for the video really informative!

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Yeah, I've seen that a lot with new guys. Heck, even I did that years ago when I first started wet shaving. It takes a lot more than just a few swirl strokes to get a good lather. Also, different soaps require different strokes. Building a good lather takes time. Enjoy it. :)

Great video posted by Lynn. Making lather takes a bit of practice. Use more product if you have to and add water little by little! Good luck.

You have to get a little strange about it; you have to practice making lather in your spare time.

Seriously.

Don't waste the lather, though, use it to wash your face.

If you experiment enough you'll get to know pretty much exactly the right water/soap formula. I face lather with most soaps and bowl lather with most creams.

Making an Überlather is also a good way to get a really nice lather while actually learning to lather.

As you get better you'll find you don't need to 'cheat' by mixing soaps and creams and adding glycerine (I mean 'cheat' in a polite way; I really like an Überlather)...