Hi all, long time lurker (well since I got into DE shaving last November), however I have arrived at a point where I'm not making the progress I should, and probably need some advice.
So, as the title states, my main issue is with lather. I originally started with a cheap Edwin Jagger badger brush, TOBS cream and a Merkur 34c, because of me feeling like I have fairly sensitive skin, it took me a while to realise that with that razor, Feather blades worked the best (makes sense with a mild razor), however even with those blades, two passes (WTG then XTG) with the razor wouldn't give me a proper DFS without touch-ups or a third pass, but the only issue was a third pass or touch-ups would have my skin feeling raw and burning and wasn't worth the discomfort. I realised that my lather for the second and subsequent passes were not good enough.
So I decided to get myself a Muhle Rocca Jet brush with the Synthetic Silver Tip and ditch the TOBS for some Stirling soaps. I was originally hesitant on using soaps as they weren't really novice-friendly especially with a lesser quality badger knot and I thought I had really hard water. After trying a sample and doing a quick test lather, I had no problem (or so I thought) and got myself a tub of Deton-8 and Executive Man.
So it turns out, my water actually isn't as hard as I thought it was. According to a report this year from my water supplier, it comes from a mixed source and the Calcium Carbonate content ranges from 91-139 mg/l and Magnesium content of 2-4 mg/l, which I would guess makes my water moderately soft to slightly hard and therefore shouldn't be too much of a detriment to my ability to create a good lather, so it's obviously my technique.
So what I normally do, is scoop out about a almond size dollop, and spread it thin at the base of my ridged bowl. I then take my brush out the water (I know synthetics don't need soaking like boar knots), gently squeeze the knot of the excess water, give it a couple shakes and begin swirling the brush in the bowl, trying not to splay the knot too early. Then once I feel the brush drying up and most of the soap has been absorbed and a paste is formed, I then begin adding water, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp at a time, working the brush in clockwise then anti-clockwise and then laterally across the ridges, then adding the same amount of water again, I repeat this process about 3-5 times, splaying the knot a bit more later on once the volume is building. I then begin working the brush on my wet face, finishing it off with a painting motion.
At this stage, the lather in the bowl, brush and my face has a nice sheen, barely any small bubbles and it is very translucent nearly opaque on my face. However, towards the end of the first pass, the lather begins drying on my face. Then weirdly, for the second pass, when I relather, it's very thin and the opaqueness is a lot less (probably because there is barely any stubble for it to cling to), and depending on the blade, the XTG pass is just too irritating on my skin.
My facial hair is weird in that I would say my actual whiskers are thick and coarse in terms of diameter. But the actual density of the hair follicles on my face aren't too dense, (although a bit more dense on my moustache area).
I should also mention that this issue is apparent no matter the prep, if I have a hot bath or not first (I don't have a shower), or if I wash my face with a face scrub that has glycerin as well.
The dry lather on the first pass sounds like I need more water, but the thin second pass sounds like too much water/not enough soap. I had another shave earlier, this time putting in more soap in the bowl (I scooped out a level 1/2 tsp), and while the second pass lather was a bit better, still wasn't good enough and still had drying lather during the first pass. Like when I watch Kevy or Mark Szorady, their second pass lather is better than my first pass lather!
I would also like to avoid loading from the tub or face lathering if possible, just because I'm still living with my parents until I start my new job and I'm conscious about making extra mess, and don't want to be leaving dripping soap tubs around while they dry etc, at least when I do move, I'll be able to have showers again which should improve my prep a bit.
I also feel like my issue with lather is hampering my ability to find the right blade for my Rocca Jet razor as well. A couple blades that were smooth but not efficient enough in the Merkur (Nacet, Shark Super Stainless, Super Chrome) now feel like a broken beer bottle with the Rocca, but I think that is more to do with my sub-par lather rather than the blade now being too aggressive for my skin with the Rocca, as while a bit more aggressive than the 34c it should still be smooth especially with the v4 head. Luckily GSBs are still smooth enough for me with it even with sub-par lather.
Sorry for the essay of a post, I feel like it's one of those where more information would be helpful for you to try help me.
So, as the title states, my main issue is with lather. I originally started with a cheap Edwin Jagger badger brush, TOBS cream and a Merkur 34c, because of me feeling like I have fairly sensitive skin, it took me a while to realise that with that razor, Feather blades worked the best (makes sense with a mild razor), however even with those blades, two passes (WTG then XTG) with the razor wouldn't give me a proper DFS without touch-ups or a third pass, but the only issue was a third pass or touch-ups would have my skin feeling raw and burning and wasn't worth the discomfort. I realised that my lather for the second and subsequent passes were not good enough.
So I decided to get myself a Muhle Rocca Jet brush with the Synthetic Silver Tip and ditch the TOBS for some Stirling soaps. I was originally hesitant on using soaps as they weren't really novice-friendly especially with a lesser quality badger knot and I thought I had really hard water. After trying a sample and doing a quick test lather, I had no problem (or so I thought) and got myself a tub of Deton-8 and Executive Man.
So it turns out, my water actually isn't as hard as I thought it was. According to a report this year from my water supplier, it comes from a mixed source and the Calcium Carbonate content ranges from 91-139 mg/l and Magnesium content of 2-4 mg/l, which I would guess makes my water moderately soft to slightly hard and therefore shouldn't be too much of a detriment to my ability to create a good lather, so it's obviously my technique.
So what I normally do, is scoop out about a almond size dollop, and spread it thin at the base of my ridged bowl. I then take my brush out the water (I know synthetics don't need soaking like boar knots), gently squeeze the knot of the excess water, give it a couple shakes and begin swirling the brush in the bowl, trying not to splay the knot too early. Then once I feel the brush drying up and most of the soap has been absorbed and a paste is formed, I then begin adding water, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp at a time, working the brush in clockwise then anti-clockwise and then laterally across the ridges, then adding the same amount of water again, I repeat this process about 3-5 times, splaying the knot a bit more later on once the volume is building. I then begin working the brush on my wet face, finishing it off with a painting motion.
At this stage, the lather in the bowl, brush and my face has a nice sheen, barely any small bubbles and it is very translucent nearly opaque on my face. However, towards the end of the first pass, the lather begins drying on my face. Then weirdly, for the second pass, when I relather, it's very thin and the opaqueness is a lot less (probably because there is barely any stubble for it to cling to), and depending on the blade, the XTG pass is just too irritating on my skin.
My facial hair is weird in that I would say my actual whiskers are thick and coarse in terms of diameter. But the actual density of the hair follicles on my face aren't too dense, (although a bit more dense on my moustache area).
I should also mention that this issue is apparent no matter the prep, if I have a hot bath or not first (I don't have a shower), or if I wash my face with a face scrub that has glycerin as well.
The dry lather on the first pass sounds like I need more water, but the thin second pass sounds like too much water/not enough soap. I had another shave earlier, this time putting in more soap in the bowl (I scooped out a level 1/2 tsp), and while the second pass lather was a bit better, still wasn't good enough and still had drying lather during the first pass. Like when I watch Kevy or Mark Szorady, their second pass lather is better than my first pass lather!
I would also like to avoid loading from the tub or face lathering if possible, just because I'm still living with my parents until I start my new job and I'm conscious about making extra mess, and don't want to be leaving dripping soap tubs around while they dry etc, at least when I do move, I'll be able to have showers again which should improve my prep a bit.
I also feel like my issue with lather is hampering my ability to find the right blade for my Rocca Jet razor as well. A couple blades that were smooth but not efficient enough in the Merkur (Nacet, Shark Super Stainless, Super Chrome) now feel like a broken beer bottle with the Rocca, but I think that is more to do with my sub-par lather rather than the blade now being too aggressive for my skin with the Rocca, as while a bit more aggressive than the 34c it should still be smooth especially with the v4 head. Luckily GSBs are still smooth enough for me with it even with sub-par lather.
Sorry for the essay of a post, I feel like it's one of those where more information would be helpful for you to try help me.
