Thread: Newbie soap puck questions...

As mentioned by many, it is a matter or personal preference.

A few weeks ago I was contemplating the same thing for my clear shave soap bowls. I use clear glass sugar bowls for most of my soap bowls. I noticed that these bowls look better displayed on my shelf after they were rinsed with water post shaving, rather than left with the left-over lather in them. I figured that I could either leave the left-over lather and save soap, or rinse the bowl and have a nice looking bowl on display. Shave soap lasts me a long time. On the other hand, I like the pretty bowl display . So, I compromised by swirling my finger in the bowl to remove the left-over lather post shave; that way I don't remove much soap and still have the nice looking bowl.

Greg, I believe personal preference is the best. I agree with everyone about what they have suggested. This Leeds me to give you my preference now.
I am a little OCD so I always wash out my brush, wash out my mug or bowl. I don't leave my razor in the bathroom after it has been cleaned up either. I keep the razor in a clean dry place. Trying to prevent corrosion on the blade I have worked so hard to either make or restore!
I will say that my routine is to shower, run hot water into the sink, put brush in hot water, put small towel in hot water.
I then put a couple drops of glycerin on top of the puck especially if it is Williams soap or a hard puck that doesn't give me good lather.
Put hot wet towel on face and after a couple minutes pull brush out of water shake a bit and start to mix lather.
I do my shave then "aftershave" of coarse. But I even clean the puck of soap off and set it back into the cup on its side, not flat.
I do this every night before bed.
Like I said everyone has their routine and preference. Mine by no means is the norm!
So with that no warranties, impressed, expressed or implied!! LOL
But the glycerin does help if you let things dry out.
As far as my brush is concerned, washed well, shaken out vigorously, and always hung on a stand with knot down!
By what I have described it sounds like a 4 hr. routine. Naw, about 20 minutes, I just make it sound worse than it is.
Give everyone's routine a try and go with what works best for you.
Its better to have tried than to wish you had!!

Ray

I am a believer in cleaning your tools after any job. After-all, we clean the razor and the brush and keep the strop clean as well as our hones and our towels and even our faces so what's different about the mug or scuttle? I clean my scuttle after every shave. The container the soap resides in is rinsed briefly which is where I load the brush.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I am a believer in cleaning your tools after any job. After-all, we clean the razor and the brush and keep the strop clean as well as our hones and our towels and even our faces so what's different about the mug or scuttle? I clean my scuttle after every shave. The container the soap resides in is rinsed briefly which is where I load the brush.

Same here...all of my soaps are in little pyrex dishes. I give them a quick shot under the tap and dry the dish just to keep things tidy. My lather bowl is of course rinsed out.

As someone said, how many stars are there in the sky? The one thing I would emphasize (unless you Own a brush factory) is rinsing your brush well and shaking it out well after each use. It will last much longer that way.

Yes, I have a puck of soap that I keep in my mug. I usually lather up in the mug itself, then apply to face. After I have finished shaving, i have been rinsing and cleaning out the lather that is still in the mug. I like to keep things clean and tidy, but I feel that when I rinse the mug it "melts" away a bit of my soap.

Just to add another option. I keep a disposable plastic tea spoon i use to skim out an almond sized piece of soap and then just leave that to soak with maybe 5ml of water in my lather bowl. With Proraso i tend to use a little more, with Col Conk a little less. Gives me full control of how much soap and water i put in which helped immensely learning to lather. Also saves a ton of soap IMO. Only problem is that its going to be a year or 2 before i can buy more fancy soaps with justification!

When I first started using a brush, I wouldn't rinse it out. It started stinking. After that I rinse it out. No more stink.