I Need Help With Mama Bear

Hey fellas, I've been straight shaving for a while now, and up until this point I've been using the obligitory puck of Conk's that came with my badger brush. Recently I ordered a few Mama Bear soaps, and couldn't wait to try them. So, this morning I broke out the Fleur de Soul; it whipped up beautifully and looked great in the mug and on the brush, but when I put it on my face it came out flat, and dried out very quickly. I tried adding more water and re-whipping, but to no avail. I've read and reread the lather wiki, and don't know what else to do. Is anybody out there using this soap, with any tips for a newb?

Given what you describe, I would say that you added more water than needed. If would repeat the process using less water. I think that you may find this video useful. YouTube - How To Build And Apply Traditional Shaving Lather

Al raz.

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Originally Posted by chay2K

Hey fellas, I've been straight shaving for a while now, and up until this point I've been using the obligitory puck of Conk's that came with my badger brush. Recently I ordered a few Mama Bear soaps, and couldn't wait to try them. So, this morning I broke out the Fleur de Soul; it whipped up beautifully and looked great in the mug and on the brush, but when I put it on my face it came out flat, and dried out very quickly. I tried adding more water and re-whipping, but to no avail. I've read and reread the lather wiki, and don't know what else to do. Is anybody out there using this soap, with any tips for a newb?

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I currently have two Mamabear's Soaps in my rotation and one that I do not use. The two that I have (Dragon's Tears and Trade Winds) are amazing and I did not experience the thin lather that you described. I will agree with Al in that I tend to use less water with Mamabear's than I would with other soaps or creams.

However, I do have the Cocoa Mamabear's soap that I no longer use because I experienced the exact thing that you described. I tried it twice and both times the lather seemed thin, dry and did not provide the comfort and glide of my other two.

Have you tried other MB soaps?

I've only used her Rosemary Mint (which rocks). Never had that problem, but don't know if other scents might be susceptible. Is it possible you aren't loading enough soap on the brush? I would try loading it more (slow swirling on the soap with very lightly damp brush) for say a minute, and when the brush is good and soapy, add a drop of water, and face lather like crazy, and see if you have more luck.

Now that you mention it, I remember reading somewhere that cheaper soaps (like Conk's) require more water. So, maybe I just got in the habit of using a large amount of water. I did buy two other scents, Beau Brummel and Sandalwood, which I haven't tried yet. Hopefully it's not the scent, because that Fleur de Soul smell is outstanding. Thanks for all of the help.

Also, you can try switching from a badger brush to a boar one. You would be amazed at the difference. Boar absorbs and holds a different amount of water than badger, which is sometimes the perfect amount that you need to lather soaps.

I always approach lather making starting with a teaspoon of water in the mug and then adding more as I go. You can tell when you've added enough as the lather almosts explodes out of the mug.

If you try to guess the amount of water you'll end up with too much or too little for sure. Start with a little bit and add more as you need it.

I have half a dozen mama bears soaps, and they are excellent!

Good luck and keep us posted!

Hello, Chay2K:

Please take a look at Mama Bear's lather making video. That might help.

Handmade Shaving Soaps, Mama Bears Soaps

Regards,
Obie

My first thoughts were that you didnt load enough soap into the brush.
As well as the water thing, try staying on the puck of soap for another 30sec maybe?

+Sz

Well, I gave it another shot this morning (this time with the sandalwood scent), and it worked like a charm! You guys were right, I was using too much water-- my old Conk's required substantially more. The Mama Bears Soap whipped up to a rich, creamy lather much faster also. Coupled with the amazing scents, I now know why so many people have raved about these soaps. Thank you all for your helpful tips and videos. Once again, I'm so glad that I found SRP.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chay2K

Well, I gave it another shot this morning (this time with the sandalwood scent), and it worked like a charm! You guys were right, I was using too much water-- my old Conk's required substantially more. The Mama Bears Soap whipped up to a rich, creamy lather much faster also. Coupled with the amazing scents, I now know why so many people have raved about these soaps. Thank you all for your helpful tips and videos. Once again, I'm so glad that I found SRP.

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Excellent job!

I am still curious to see if you can duplicate the results with the "Fleur de Soul" that you were having problems with. Like I stated, I could not get the Cocoa to work for me. It would dry out on my face no matter what I did where my other two are amazing. I think each formulation might be slightly different.