Just skip ahead to 1:25. See if you notice anything that might be just a tad wasteful. I'm beginning to see why my soaps last for years while others go through it in a month or two.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGLi_m9n_s
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Just skip ahead to 1:25. See if you notice anything that might be just a tad wasteful. I'm beginning to see why my soaps last for years while others go through it in a month or two.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGLi_m9n_s
I don't understand the fast use of soap either! I have been working on the same puck for at least 6 months and it still had months left to go.
Thanks for the helpful hint! :) i guess i have been adding way too little water to my soap.
I may be sitting on more soap and shaving cream than my life expectancy can support. Conserving shaving soap is low on my list of priorities.
Cheers,
Rob
Yea, same here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Donut
Bob
+1 Some literally go through in two days what lasts me a month.
i don't really see what you're referring too. MWF is a tricky soap to get lathered, and it is quite common for people to soak it prior to lathering. I was expecting to see a ridiculous amount of wasted lather at some point, but it didnt jump out at me. Personally i would rather make twice as much lather as i need, rather than try and save a small fraction of a penny just to have to add more soap and water to my brush mid shave.Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
I also have an enormous amount of soaps and creams, and I don't really cars about how much I use. Sometimes I have later for 6 passes, so what? Better have more than to start rationing during the shave :)
Seriously???Quote:
Originally Posted by prodigy
I don't see what the fuss is about MWF but I'll set that aside. Yes, I agree that it is quite common to soak soaps. I do that for all of my non-cream soaps, but I only soak mine in the amount of water needed to pour into the lathering bowl. The soapy water is retained and used in the lathering bowl to make the lather. It usually only amounts to about a tablespoonful, but it is more than sufficient to accomplish the task of wetting the surface of the soap.
Wetting the surface of the soap is all that is needed. Dissolving your puck submerged in a sink full of water is pointless other than to make soap vendors happy. As stated above though, some people don't care how much soap they use. For those people, this method is ideal for, as I said in the thread's title, wasting as much soap as possible
Did you see the video? This had nothing to do with "rationing" lather. Most of that puck will go down the drain without ever being made into lather.Quote:
Originally Posted by jedi7
Yes I did. Point is, if it works for him, then I don't see the problem even if some may consider a waste. . Maybe his water is hard or whatever. My other point about the lather was about not saving product. Life is to short and the soaps and creams are not that expensive.
I agree there is no reason to dump a puck of soap into a sink full of hot water and watch it dissolve. I also just cover the puck in enough warm water to loosen the surface layer so you can get it onto your brush easier. Some days I wish my soap would disappear faster, as it would make me feel better when I buy a new soap although it hasn't stopped me yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
Rock On Mantic59 :beer1:
And as I said, if you want to waste as much soap as possible, this is the way to do it. Everyone is welcome to pour as much soap down the drain as they wish.Quote:
Originally Posted by jedi7
Inspired, I found a waste-free way to use the "sink-soak" method with a premium cream cream. Liking the concept, I left a tube of Proraso cream and, next day, a tube of Bigelow cream (both cap-on) in a sink of room-temp water while I showered. Immediately before shaving I drained the sink, dried the tubes and bowl-lathered per normal. I feel as if I wasted no soap, they shaved equally well and each lathered perfectly. I might make of video of this new technique.
I've never understood this wet the soap first thing. I just use a well wetted brush and I've never had any issues with any soap. Maybe it's a hard water issue with some who do it. At any rate I never worry about soaps being used up too quickly.
It similar to the car forums where some are using gas milage as the final arbiter of whether to buy or not and others say they buy what they like and just spend the bucks to feed it.
I am with Ron on this. You only use about one gram of soap to make a good two-pass lather.
It does not take a sink full of water on top of a puck to loosen up one gram.
But, again agreeing with Ron, you are free to pour as much soap as you like into the drain.
I started reclaiming the unused lather and can tell the pucks and creams are lasting longer. Just be careful not to harm your badger or boar. I just wipe the brush on the side of the bowl/mug and let it air dry.
The tube/stick leftover lather goes into the "bits and pieces, ala EdHewitt" mug which I use for pre-lather. This lather is also reclaimed from the brush, not my face.
Maybe he should try the microwave??? :idea:
Pete <:-}
Talk about overcomplicating things! I never understood this soap soaking nonsense thing either, this completely useless step seems to have quite a following among the youtubitionists ( primarily newbs) and the soap shillers they blindly follow.
Nope, I don't see a problem with this soaking at all. I didn't see soap going down the drain, any softening will remain part of the puck, any dissolved into the water will be insignificant. When you consider the huge amount of soap rinsed off the brush and out of a bowl or scuttle after a shave looking at what might dissolve when soaking is silly.
Any saving of soap (if one really thinks it at all necessary) will be had in learning the minimum loading of the brush to make the minimum lather required for the amount of shaving your going to do.
I wonder if people stay awake at night worrying about all the bars of soap that are uselessly washing away in showers or dish soap that is being wasted by over loading the wash water or sponge.
:rofl2:
Soaking the soap seems to help me make a better lather with the hard pucks.
I put warm water in the mug with the puck, add my brush to the same mug and shower. When I'm ready to shave, I dump out the excess water, shake off the brush and begin to lather. Usually, I don't have to add any more water while lathering. Works nicely for me.
Of course YMMV so, whatever you do to acheive a fine lather, so that you can have the best shaving experience possible; do it.:D
Using MWF, I get cracking and shrinking from the mug walls if I soak the puck. I get a lot less cracking and shrinkage if I soak only the brush while I shower. I get the least soap use per shave if I run a dry brush under the faucet then lather on the puck. My observations seem to be supported when I observe the amount of soap being rinsed from the brush after my shave. Most soaps are not costly and last a long time.
I started this thread just to point out what I considered to be a wasteful method. Again, for anyone who has no problem with pouring soap down the drain, go ahead and have at it. The soap vendors love you for it.
I do however, disagree with the idea that it represents only a small amount of loss. That's just not true and you can see that for yourself when you see how cloudy the water is. You can also see it by how rapidly your soap is used up in comparison to mine that last for years. I do soak most, but not all, of my soaps. However, I only put on enough to moisten the top surface of the puck, as that is all that is needed, and when I am ready to make my lather, I pour that soapy water into the lathering bowl. I never pour that soapy water down the drain. For many soaps, that soapy water is sufficient by itself to make more than enough lather for the day, so it is not a trivial amount of soap that leaches into the water.
I hate to waste anything, be it food , electricity, water etc but with any cosmetic items they have a self life. All of my shaving soaps/creams have a shelf life of 12 months except MWF which is 36 months. I know that once opened certain ingredients start to oxidise and deteriate, add the use of water in humid bathrooms the chances of bacteria growing on creams/soaps is quite high. Giving the fact everyone has had at least a weeper I wouldn't be surprised of someone getting an infection, although a nice splash of alcohol based aftershave would help... Just my thoughts... Anyway, I have quite a few soaps/creams (the wife has banned me from buying more until I've used them up) and I can't see me using them completely by the use by date, so I'm not entirely fussed in wasting some product in the name of a great lather...
Soap is a combination of several fatty acid salts. The most water soluble of these help the soap build lather easier. I would speculate that soaking your soap and then discarding the water would disproportionately wash out the easiest lathering components of the soap. But you are free to do whatever you like.
Yeah, we'll have to agree to disagree all right.
I chuckle wondering why make the lather thicker than your hair is long. And then the blade only cuts the hair at the base. :shrug: