I'm also new to boar (well I had one, but it was 1/3 of the size of this one), and I'm having the exact same issue. The brush for the first pass is LOADED with lather, and as I put it aside (brushes down in the space-scuttle) by the time I get around for the second pass, it soaked up all the lather? I think I'll burn through my TABAC a lot faster than usual if this keeps up