Thread: Now what!!!

You hit that one right. Breaking down the sl8ckness too much is what happens. There is a happy medium to reach. Good luck and remember it takes time. Its not like we can shave 5 times a day. Lol.

When making your lather try putting a little bit on your finger and swirling it in some warm water, if it dissipates quickly your spot on, if it stays on you need to add more water to your lather or if it just slides off you've added too much water.

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

When making your lather try putting a little bit on your finger and swirling it in some warm water, if it dissipates quickly your spot on, if it stays on you need to add more water to your lather or if it just slides off you've added too much water.

That is quite possibly the best tip I have read for knowing when lather is dialed in! I will have to try this.

Yes. This sounds enteresting. I too will have to give it a try.

I tried the warm water dissipation test and the shave did work out better, however ever the Maggard razors London barbershop which smells amazing! I will keep practicing with this test, I won’t put all my eggs in one basket on the first try! Thank Markbignoeskelly!

After more practice I will try adding some glycerin to see that would help...

Are you loading enough soap onto your brush? If you aren't and you are adding too much water, then this would be the issue why the soap is breaking down.
Once you have enough soap loading onto your brush, you should be able to add enough water to have a well-hydrated lather.
Out of curiosity, which artisan soaps do you have?

Originally Posted by celestino

Are you loading enough soap onto your brush? If you aren't and you are adding too much water, then this would be the issue why the soap is breaking down.
Once you have enough soap loading onto your brush, you should be able to add enough water to have a well-hydrated lather.
Out of curiosity, which artisan soaps do you have?

Yeah I am loading the bologna out the soap... The brands I am using with water retaining issues are Maggard razors London Barbershop (love the scent), blackship grooming or beaver woodwright, sometimes Phoenix artisan accouterments.

My lather is such that I can pinch the soap and pull apart over an inch before it breaks apart, high peaks too.

I haven't used any of the soaps you have listed. If they are veggie-based, then the coconut oil and insufficient adding of water might be contributing to the drying of the soap.
Best of luck.

Update... So for what I thought would be humor (because I thought I have been shaving with a straight for over 3 years and I know what I am doing lathering a soap or creme right???) I watched a tips and tricks video made by Ruds Shaves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnoD9jL0Tbs

After watching his suggestions as many here is SRP have made in this post I realized I don't do what he and others are doing. So tried his suggestions step by step with a soap and a creme at different SOTDs and as if it were magic everything worked wonderfully!!! My lather had plenty of moisture and lasted way longer than I have ever had a lather last. The slickness had also greatly increased making for an excellent first shave of the year with one of my Koraat razors.

I linked the video because perhaps I am not the only one who thought they knew what they were doing in the soaps and creme lathering dept only to find out I was way off. Nothing wrong with going back to the basics and trying something new it may improve the end result and I couldn't be happier in being wrong about something lol!

I learn something new or a better way of doing something I thought I had mastered on this site every week.
You are never too old or too knowledgeable to learn.