Drying soap

I've been shaving over a month now and getting better at it. My problem is the soap on my face dries out before I get finished so that I have to reapply a few times to finish. What am I doing wrong or is it the soap or brush or lack of experience?

Yes.

Heh, probably a bit of all of those things. As a newcomer to the game you are probably taking quite a while to complete the shave, no shame in that. In fact, it's recommended that you take your time and enjoy the experience. There is also nothing wrong with re-applying lather or building more when needed. I suspect that the most common actual problem with building lather is not loading the brush - or the face if using a stick - with enough product making it difficult to get a really thick, rich lather. You should experiment a little.

It's true that some soaps are easier to lather than others but almost any can make a decent lather. Don't worry about it, it'll come to you with a bit more experience.


rs,
Tack

Could be that the shave still takes enough time to dry even a good lather. But if not, see how it dries: if it dries as an even layer of soap, you may want to use more water; if it dries with patches of nothing, you may already be using too much water.

Thanks Tack and Deepweeds!

Either you need to add more water, or you simply aren't shaving fast enough.
:chapeau

Couple of things that affect lather drying on the face. The hotter the lather the quicker it will give up its moisture to the air and evaporate faster than a colder lather. Another is the humidity in your house more humidity inhibits evaporation as well. I find in the winter months here in the east coast the humidity inside can get down to 20 percent or so and lather dries much quicker than our hot and humid summers. Try to whip up your lather until it has a noticeable shine to the lather, a matte looking lather is probably to dry to begin with. most lathers applied I have found don't last more than 20 minutes or so and reapplication is required. If you shave slowly don't rush take your time reapply as needed and don't try to shave over dried lather it wont lead to anything good it will make you struggle to cut your beard and shave more aggressively leading to nicks and cuts. Keep lathering your face and have fun.

I appreciate the information Razorfaust!

You might try adding a few drops of pure glycerin helps richen the lather. JMO

Thanks Outback! I'll give that a try.

I had the same problem when I started. Found an answer. Shave the cheeks and neck first. Then add some new lather to the chin and upper lip. I found I was spending so much time trying to shave those delicate areas and the lather dried out on the rest of my face. Most people can do the big areas quicker then the hard areas.

I started out lathering sections cheek, neck, chin then lip because I read a few of these threads that made the same recommendations to new guys. I could now most probably shave in one whole whack but enjoy the routine and have not changed.

Crackers does the same thing I do! I had the same issue you did until I started lathering sections. I might be able to get away with lathering my whole face now that I can shave a little quicker but no need to change what is working:)

I take my time shaving and have always only lathered half of my face at a time.

Pete :-}

Good info and thread. Thanks fellas!

I do lathering in sections, usually half of my face at a time. When I go WTG, I'll lather the right and then the left. When I do XTG/ATG, I'll do above the jawline and then below the jawline.

If I notice the lather drying in a section, I'll add a few drops of water to the lather and whip it up more, so the next application is better.

Also, I use preshave (Noxema and glycerin, or Poraso) so my face is lubricated, before lathering, so one section, even though not lathered yet, has cream on it. I reapply the preshave, after completing a full pass and rinsing briefly.

Plus 1 on the sectional lathering. At least until you get some good shaves in.

Also, when I first started, I was literally seeing soap flakes floating in the air. Once I went to sections, there was none of that. What I would notice, was that the lather was getting a bit sticky, as it dried too, so I would then add water drops to the lather and whip it some more. Just another sign to look for.