MWF - Am I doing something wrong?

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When my first MWF puck was coming to an end (about 6 years ago) and had formed a donut in my container, I was loading it like normal and it looked like there was sufficient proto-lather but the lather was thin and a bit airy, even though it looked OK.

I then took the donut out, mashed it into a ball and stuck it back in the container. The loading was much easier and I could tell from how the lather was building up, that there was a big difference in the quantity of soap loaded into the brush!!

The key with MWF is to get a sufficient amount of soap, which doesn't mean 1+ mins of loading but just until there is some friction between the damp brush and the soap. This is usually the trick I use for most of my soaps, except Haslinger which needs only 5 seconds otherwise, it's just to gummy!

 

[VW_ninja]

Damn you post about MWF. When I read post about it I always think maybe another try from the container that is sitting around. So I read and try and read and tray and fail.

 

[VW_ninja]

Well tried the fat again for today. Just horrible lather. Sure I get tons of fluffy non usable lather. Just doesn't build on to the face. Just bubbles and fluff. Washed it off and went with Proraso.

 

[nick_s]

Thankyou gents for some light entertainment this evening I've yet to order The Fat, but is next on my hit list!

 

[VW_ninja]

Thankyou gents for some light entertainment this evening I've yet to order The Fat, but is next on my hit list!

Might want to check the PIF or GDF if you are not opposed to using pre used soap.

 

[Highspeedlane]

I get great lather from MWF. It's a go-to for me. Leaves my skin feeling nice and smooth.

 

[Brasso]

I had trouble with it at first.

I went to a 25mm Omega synthetic brush and it's been shaving bliss ever since. Load that brush, and work the lather. It will turn into a nice slick lotion like consistency that can't be beat. Like liquid silk.

 

[shoulderpet]

I think I have just had a breakthrough with mwf, I couldnt lather it and relegated it to shower soap status, anyhow after using it daily in the shower I noticed that the soap developed a slightly slimy texture and would start lathering quite thickly when I was using it as a body soap in the shower. This lead me to believe that the key to lathering this soap was probably keeping it moist so I soaked the soap for a couple of days (yes you read that right ) then used it last night, poured off the water and used a dry brush just using the moisture on the puck to load then once loading was done I added water till i got to the right consisitency

 

[Jarick]

MWF is a super picky soap, but it's cheap enough to give it a shot. I've tried it twice. The scent is fantastic and if it works for you I could see it being your only soap.

I would start out with a soaked, then squeezed, then shaken brush. Then load for a long time, at least 30 seconds. Add water very slowly and make sure you work the lather completely before you add more water.

If that fails, pick up a puck of Haslinger. That stuff lathers up very easily and it's fairly inexpensive.

 

[Z blade]

I got a brand new ceramic dish of MWF and like the smell very much. It doesn't really give the greatest lather to me in my not-so-hard-water here. The conditioning is amazing, but the shave isn't as good a lather with my Art of Shaving cream.

I shredded the puck, and pressed it into the dish after first shave and that helped to soak some water on it before shaving again.

I mixed the two and got a better shave with it. Just needs more lathery-slickness cushion for me.

 

[snowman]

One morning years ago I was struggling with MWF. It didn't seem to like the super hot scuttle I was punishing it with. Well, I like to have a good stiff Gin & Tonic first thing in the morning while I'm enjoying a shave and this particular morning a splash of my G&T landed on the MWF proto-lather I had cooking in the scuttle. A bit of swirling here, a couple snorts of G&T there...pretty soon I had a great lather that smelled just like a flock of wet sheep walking through an old pine forest during a light rain. Oddly, the shave ended up a bit patchy, but I plowed through another G&T and it didn't matter anymore anywho.

Make every morning a MWFG&T morning. Cheers!

 

[IMightBeWrong]

I found that MWF exploded with lather when I used it. I have soft water. However, in spite of how easy it was to lather I could never get a good shave with it. It was slick, but the lather lacked cushion. The result was plenty of slickness, but also plenty of irritation after the shave. I also got dried out by the soap, and it wasn't due to lanolin as I have other soaps with lanolin that leave my face feeling GREAT. Not sure what it was, but it didn't work for me at all.

Regardless, I want to try it again someday. Maybe my skin will change by then, or maybe it has something to do with the water in my home, or I don't know what... But just the sheer popularity of the stuff makes me wish I could get a good shave out of it to see what the fuss is about. Maybe it just isn't meant to be? I've tried 2 pucks now and both struck out, so one of these days when I try a 3rd puck I think if it still performs poorly then I'll call it a strikeout.

 

[nav]

I found that MWF exploded with lather when I used it. I have soft water. However, in spite of how easy it was to lather I could never get a good shave with it. It was slick, but the lather lacked cushion. The result was plenty of slickness, but also plenty of irritation after the shave. I also got dried out by the soap, and it wasn't due to lanolin as I have other soaps with lanolin that leave my face feeling GREAT. Not sure what it was, but it didn't work for me at all.

Regardless, I want to try it again someday. Maybe my skin will change by then, or maybe it has something to do with the water in my home, or I don't know what... But just the sheer popularity of the stuff makes me wish I could get a good shave out of it to see what the fuss is about. Maybe it just isn't meant to be? I've tried 2 pucks now and both struck out, so one of these days when I try a 3rd puck I think if it still performs poorly then I'll call it a strikeout.

Any soap that has given me slickness but no protection/irritation has meant I added in too much water (or didn't load enough soap).

One prime example is Mystic Water. When I first used it, it was super slick but the shave was horrible with lots of irritation and lack of protection.
I then loaded much heavier and got great thick, slick lather.

Same thing applies to MWF, which is very susceptible to too much water if you don't load it fairly heavily (with a not too wet brush).

 

[shubes]

Pulled out the fat this morning for the first time since moving to Washington DC. Could not get it to lather for the life of me. I really hope it's not the water and and that its just a fluke this morning. Never had an issue back in Michigan from day one it was easy to lather as MdC for me.

 

[BSAGuy]

MWF is good. Glad you found it.

 

[czbeme]

i though we were supposed to be helpful?

 

[zeuloa]

This will be my next soap after I finish my tub of Cella... Hopefully I'll be able to lather this sucker!!!

 

[KDW712]

only just purchased my first puck of MWF and wow what a soap, hard water area so wasn't expecting great lather, but it didn't disappoint fantastic lather and slickness