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Hey fellas, I'm new to straight shaving, and just have two lather questions. I'm using Conk's Bay Rum soap; after reading the various posts on this site, I now know that this isn't the best soap, but I'm still learning. Now, for my questions:
1) Should I be making enough lather at the begining to cover all of my passes, or build new lather between each pass?
2) When there is excess lather in my mug when finished shaving, should this be cleaned out or reused?
Thanks for all of the help.
you need to make enough lather for all your passes, and after you are done rinse what is left off.
+1 to mainaman. If you build lather this way it's also a good test to see if your lather is quality and that you're building it properly. If any of those are not up-to-snuff the lather will not hold for all passes.
Hello, Chay2K:Quote:
Originally Posted by mainaman
My friend mainaman offers sound advice.
I might add one more note: if by chance you feel, say, on the third pass your lather is not enough, it's all right to give your brush a few swirls in the soap and then build some more lather in your lather bowl. If you face lather, the same rule applies: a few additional swirls of the soap and build lather on your face. You might have to add a little water here, but that's all right, too.
Definitely wash everything after the shave.
Regards,
Obie
+1 on Stefan's advice :tuQuote:
Originally Posted by mainaman
Make enough for 3-4 passes...You'll get the nag of how much soap to load after a few tries...If you fall short at the beginning, you can always load up (as Obie suggested) and face lather (that way you don;t spend too much time bowl lathering in between passes)
I know that most will disagree, but there is no need to remove the residual lather at the end of the shave. The dried residue will still be perfectly useable when building lather on the following day.
Good advice has already been given. I'd just like to add, always put lather on your face when you make a pass.
Its sometimes tempting to go back and touch up an area without any lather on it if you find you missed a spot at the end or something. Dont do that, always take the time to re-apply lather to the area. Your face will thank you for it! :)
It's soap and wont hurt a thing. Unless you vary your soaps from time to time and do not want one mixed with the other, there is no need to rinse it out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
I actually agree...I tried that too and the "used" lather is equally good the next day. However, keeping the old until the next day is just not worth it for me. I clean up (less "stuff" on counter that way and less clutter) and just use a fresh batch the next day :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
I don't understand the source of the clutter. Whether your lathering mug does or does not have lather in it, the mug takes up the same amount of space.Quote:
Originally Posted by BladeRunner001
You simply don't get it because you're not here to see...You would if you knew what the setup was my friend...So here it is:
I am sure you know of the "Pauli Exclusion Principle" where two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time (except in quantum physics). Same things applies here (at the macro level).
The mug along with the shaving creme tub goes into my hot pot, which in turn get put into the the cupboard...Now if lather was there, I'd have to put the tub in it, which would be messy. Can't do that with creme in it now, can I? Lather and Creme tub cannot be in same space at same time (well they can if you like it messy)...Very simple...no mess!! Hope that clarifies it for you a bit!?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
Ok, now I understand. It's amazing the number of years I have gone without any consideration of the Pauli exclusion principle. Fortunately SRP is here to help me expand my mind!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
It's all good Maestro :).
I suppose I'm a tightwad, but I use a gentle "milk a cow" squeeze to get the excess lather in the brush back into the shave mug. Since I have a goatee and mustache, there's always surplus and in the name of all that's thrifty I just can't wash it away when it's still useful. I do, however, rinse the remainder from the brush so it will keep a good shape as it dries.
I really need a smaller brush, but then I'd have to account for the carbon footprint caused by the manufacture of yet another brush. Just kidding, I'm a tightwad and I just need to work up a spreadsheet to find the break-even point, and consult my doctor to see if I'm expected to live that long. It just makes good economic sense to plan your important purchases carefully. :rofl2:
I'm amazed at the number of people agreeing with me here. Every time I have mentioned this in the past I have been piled on for how non-hygienic my lather recycling was.
I too am a tightwad, or should I say, a conservationist, so I have never seen the point in throwing away unused lather. As a result, over the past 25 years, each of my soap pucks has lasted between 5 and 7 years. Thanks to SRP, I no longer buy one puck at a time. No, now I have to try at least a few of the soaps recommended by the soap fans within this forum. Now I have the following soaps:
Williams
Marvy
unknown Sandalwood
C&E Sandalwood
MamaBear Northwoods
SRD Vetiver
SRD Frankincense
SRD Lavender
Tabac X 2
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Cella
In other words, I now own a minimum of 60 years of soap. Given my age of 48, I'm pretty sure that my current stock of soap represents the upper limit of my own mortality! Not only does it represent my own end, it also means there is no need for me to buy any more soap, ever! :boohoo:
But then I'd have to buy a brush for every soap. I'm OK with that, but my loverly wife may consider it less than thrifty. I love her, but she can be remarkably illogical at times.Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian
More seriously, doesn't leaving the later in the brush cause the brush to broom out over time? I did that years ago and the bristles of my brush quickly became, uh, "directionally non-specific". It was a perfectly good dollar-store brush, too, I think, although it may have come in Cracker Jacks. It's a shame the boxes don't hold the good prizes anymore.