Thread: can i make decent lather with 'any' soap?

Natural Skin Care for Men Bar Soap - Burt's Bees

i can get my hands on the bar soap of the burt's bees line, but not the shaving soap

Bay Rum Shaving Soap - Burt's Bees

it smells nice, but i don't know if bar soap would be any good for shaving? with enough technique/elbow grease/luck, can i pull of an equivalently good lather?



edit: so, i was just reading the description for the shave soap. it seems as if you're supposed to put quite a bit of soap (i.e. the entire 'puck') in to your shave mug?
i guess that explains why i can't get a good lather going...

Originally Posted by jehan60188

edit: so, i was just reading the description for the shave soap. it seems as if you're supposed to put quite a bit of soap (i.e. the entire 'puck') in to your shave mug?
i guess that explains why i can't get a good lather going...

this answered my second question: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21136

as for my first question, now that i know the 'right' way to make lather, i'll just try it with both soaps
and yes, i am going to make lather with no intention to shave (seeing as how it's the middle of the afternoon, and all)

Originally Posted by jehan60188

this answered my second question: How to make great lather from a soap ~ Tutorial - Badger & Blade

Not bad, but no real match for ours: Making basic soap lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki (not to mention Glen's guide to Überlather).

Jehan, Burt's Bee's shaving soap is not really among the top notch.
You may have some luck with starting out like this:
Wet your brush under running hot water.
Tumble or smack most of the water out again.
With the semi humid brush you work on the soap then.
You can put it all into a mug or keep in your hand.
When you have worked up a really sticky stuff like glue, change to a cup.
Push the glue out of the brush and add one drop of water, then lather up.
Add another, go on lathering up.
When you get a lather you like, stop adding water and use it.
It should be stiff enough to hold a coin upright.

Everything is relative and what's decent to some isn't to another. Personally, I think even with Williams which is as basic as it comes the stuff will do the job.

Originally Posted by jehan60188

Natural Skin Care for Men Bar Soap - Burt's Bees

i can get my hands on the bar soap of the burt's bees line, but not the shaving soap

Bay Rum Shaving Soap - Burt's Bees

it smells nice, but i don't know if bar soap would be any good for shaving? with enough technique/elbow grease/luck, can i pull of an equivalently good lather?



edit: so, i was just reading the description for the shave soap. it seems as if you're supposed to put quite a bit of soap (i.e. the entire 'puck') in to your shave mug?
i guess that explains why i can't get a good lather going...

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

Not bad, but no real match for ours: Making basic soap lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki (not to mention Glen's guide to Überlather).

yeeeaaahh, i read that one buuuut
it didn't say anything about the status of the soap in/not in the bowl

Originally Posted by jehan60188

yeeeaaahh, i read that one buuuut
it didn't say anything about the status of the soap in/not in the bowl

I am not quite sure I can follow.

Hi Jehan,

Yes I've also been experimenting with trying regular soaps - some seem to make lather, but I can only get the bubbly foamy kind, not a nicey creamy lather.

Wet face and hand-soap (no lather)
Before I discovered the DE and the straight,
I'd been wetting my face with hot water, rubbing some hand-soap on my face, then rubbing a bit more with my fingers

- this seemed to create a slippery surface that was fine for disposables.
If it dried out, I'd just splash a little more water on and I was fine.


(Though I do think good face prep does make a difference to the shave).

I presume you can shave with just a wet soapy (not lathered) face - I was doing that with disposables - I'm just not sure if the shave is better.

Hmm...maybe I'll try this with my straight tomorrow...

Thanks for putting this topic out there.

All the best,
Michael

Originally Posted by jehan60188

it smells nice, but i don't know if bar soap would be any good for shaving? with enough technique/elbow grease/luck, can i pull of an equivalently good lather?

Bath and shaving soaps are different. They are obtained using different combinations of fatty acids. The main function of bath soap is cleansing not lathering. Short chain fatty acids, which are often used in making bath soaps, are good cleansers but poor latherers. I do not see how this could be changed with technique, elbow grease or luck.

Originally Posted by jehan60188

edit: so, i was just reading the description for the shave soap. it seems as if you're supposed to put quite a bit of soap (i.e. the entire 'puck') in to your shave mug?
i guess that explains why i can't get a good lather going...

You could use a single bowl for loading your brush and lathering but I would not do it that way, especially if you are still trying to figure the correct ratios of soap to water that work best for you. I would use a separate bowl for lathering and add water progressively after you have loaded your brush. I think that a visit to the wiki may be in order:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...ategory:Lather

I always recommend people that are working on their lathering skills this video, i helped me greatly:

YouTube - How To Build And Apply Traditional Shaving Lather