I have some van der hagen soap and it dries really quick. Could this be technique or just a sub par soap?
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I have some van der hagen soap and it dries really quick. Could this be technique or just a sub par soap?
Sounds like you just need to hydrate your lather a little more. Often you can just put your brush tips under the water tap for a brief second and that's all it takes.
Definitely just needs more water
Thanks! It's a bad feeling when you go to shave the second side of your face and it's sticky from mostly dry soap.
Luckily it is a problem with a very simple solution! Happy shaving!
Been there, done that and it can be really frustrating. Just as an aside, I also find that I have better results when I splash my face with water just before applying the lather as it seems to keep what I apply to my face a bit more hydrated during the shaving process. Sometimes I will even do a refresh to each section of my face immediately prior to shaving that specific section.
If you bowl lather, add 5 drops of glycerin to the mix.
I always re-lather every "half-face." 5% humidity and its going to dry out quick regardless...
Tried more water this evening and it helped. Sadly I'll be without a str8 just sent my one and only off to get honed
Sounds like a perfect opportunity to rationalize owning more than one!:w
OP
You could always just lather 1/2 of your face at a time so the lather doe not have time to dry out. That helped me starting out when I was shaving a little slowly. I also wet my face before lathering up again.
Bob
I'm already working on swmbo for a second. Saving up for it slowly...Quote:
Originally Posted by Splashone
VDH is one of those "it works" soaps. It's basic so don't expect too much from it. You can get a much better soap for not much more money and when you figure the cost amount per shave it's really ridiculously cheap and makes no sense to endure the poorer soaps..
Just saw a puck of VDH in Walmart... As with most of the items there they might work but most likely not very well
So many choices. So little cash. What's a guy to do?
I got sent a puck of VDH from a friend, it is perfectly adequate, I don't use it often though as I seem to have acquired a bit of a mini collection. But I would be happy to use it.Quote:
Originally Posted by scott85
This also works with soaps in a "tin". A couple of drops of pure glycerol on my current SRD soap really bring out the lather despite our hard water.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wayne1963
When I lather on my face I have the problem of the soap drying. When I make the lather in a bowl I get a much better lather that stays moist. YMMV
Great advice. I usually only lather my main face until just under the jawline when beginning the shave. Once the cheeks and upper lip/chin are done then I rinse my whole face and neck with warm water and then reapply lather to the neck area to shave it. Since the neck and adams apple area is a sensitive one prone to irritation, it makes sense to get more water on it in case it has dried out.Quote:
You could always just lather 1/2 of your face at a time so the lather doe not have time to dry out.
Thanks for the tips! I can get decent performance out of my VDH with a little practice. Just ordered a three pack of col conk with bay rum, amber, and almond.
Just out of curiosity, which variant of VDH are you using? I've found there to be a big difference between the Deluxe and Luxury, and I'll bet that the Glycerin version is different as well.
I can get decent performance out of the Deluxe, but with the Luxury I can get lather that's like a milkshake...
Not sure. It came with the the kit. Bowl boars hair brush and soap. Probably just the deluxe...
Yeah, if it's the green/black bowl and a boar hair brush, that's the deluxe.
Try this one (which can sometimes be found in local drug stores like Walgreens, CVS, etc. if in the US):
Amazon.com: van der Hagen Luxury Scented Shave Soap: Health & Personal Care
You'll definitely see a difference, especially if you keep it in a container with a lid.
Going to look for some interesting containers this evening I've seen plenty of glass examples on here. I'd like something that i haven't really seen yet