a vast conspiracy against us wetshavers!

[Tallships]

im telling you there is a conspiracy going on to trick consumers into believing shaving soaps and creams are slicker than they really are. there are some brands out there that are worse than other but on a whole there is a conspiracy. even with the artisans ive tried. there is no sweet spot for cushion and slickness. you either sacrifice one for the other, no exceptions. i gust did an experiment. i used a soap and swirld the brush for 30 seconds and then i went to a bowl and kept adding water till i was convinced it couldent hold anymore without being totally uneusable. I COULDENT GET AN EVEN LAYER FOR CUSHION! the **** started dripping off my brush while i was applying it and you could very distinctly see skin under it. not just a hint but enough that ion places where i actually tried to paint it on the strokes put most of it where the painting stoke started and ended. could barely even tell there was any inbetween. i tried even using the bare minimum of contact with my face from the brush and even that was too much. the slickness was markedly better. much better in fact. but anything below this point i would get cushion and very reduced slickness. and i mean litterally everything below it holding the max water it could i only got cushion to greater degrees the less water i added. even just a tiny amount down from maximum water capacity the slickness dropped dramatically. what the **** gives here? are there no kind of compariotive tests these makers can do to give a general rating about slickness without using false advertising. in my history of all the soaps ive used to lather with. it all goes the same way as i mentioned above. oh and noit only that the less water i add not only does it feel less slick it starts to feel sticky. like its holing the blade to my face even at a spine widths. what am i doing wrong here, if its supposed to be that watery how in the **** do you all spread it evenly oin your face, sorry for all the cursing im just irritated beyond belief that after 2-3 years of using stragight razors im STILL getting as much irritation as i do. i know its not my razors b efore anyone chimes in with that garbage they pass every test i put them through with flying colors. and i dont think itsd the pressure cause i havent found a prtessure range where it doesnt jitter when shaving. this is all crap and im really starting to think i should just go back to a dispoasble and canned cream at least then i got a predictable shave

Make lather right on the puck. There is no need for a 2nd bowl empty bowl unless you're using a soft cream. The hard and semi-hard soaps that come in a jar, I shave and press into a larger Ceramic bowl for ease of building a lather. Even The Cella that comes in a plastic container I removed some of it to put into a bowl, the rest I stored in the fridge. Now I get the Kilos, it's cheaper.
Lathering on the puck is easy. After the brush is soaked and shaken, just start to swirl the brush on wetted soap adding drops of water as needed, making a wonderful lather as a result. But that's just my suggestion, Everyone has their way of making lather.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

thank you. ive always found it a little pridefull and intellectually dishonest to say that there could be no error in the soaps and its all on me. which to me feels like a personal attack. ive been working on not feeling attacked when people say things like that. ive just been under a lot of stress about my health the main reason being is that they cannot figure out why i have copd at my age im only 32 and while i did smoke it was very lightly on and off for a year at the most. a pack ccould last me up to 3 days. and my doctor doenst believe that likely to be the case. they have done chest x-rays which scare me because with the way she was hinting it could be something worse that mimics the symptoms of copd in the early stages such as several cancers ad other more serious health issues than copd alone. plus i have to see the heart doctor to. having the mental illness i have takes small things like the issue with soaps and blows them up to catostrophic purportions schizoaffective disorder is a plague on mand kind and i wouldent wish it on my worst enemies. i tend to get paranoid and delusional more than i normally am when im stressed

I’m very sorry to hear of all your health challenges. I hope you will put yourself first and do everything necessary to get better. I frequently suffered from depression when I was younger and, while I never really found any ‘cure’ what did help me a little bit was to go for a long walk and get some exercise. It’s the only thing that made any difference for me. Sometimes I would try to embrace these feelings and write as a creative outlet - I wouldn’t say it made me feel better but it seemed worthwhile to me and perhaps helped me to see that all feelings are part of the human experience and have value for that alone. It also helped me that I knew my depressions would pass - as crushing as it was, it would go away at some point, and it always did. I don’t get these feelings any more and I haven’t for decades. It was something I had to endure and, looking back, I don’t really feel sad that I suffered it - it’s a part of my experience. I am sure what I experienced is not like what you are dealing with, but it will get better all the same and you certainly aren’t alone.

FWIW, it is immensely impressive to me that you can talk about your trials with us. I don’t think I ever had the courage to talk to anyone about my own problems and I admire you for this. It has to be healthy.

Please don’t feel attacked by us or by your soaps. While we may have expressed some of our inputs in a joking manner, there is actually a lot of good advice that has been offered and you can trust that your fellows here don’t spend their time to do it without a genuine wish to help. And we have all experienced the same - making a good lather is a skill in itself, and it takes time and practice (and some advice) to get there. But we all do in the end - 100% of us - and it is a certainty that lathering will become second nature for you sooner or later.

All the best to you.

 

[Staggers and Jags]

Hello there Brother @Staggers and Jags

We can all become unwell. None of us can claim "that will never happen to me!" It does. Issues of the mind are a curse, sometimes worse than a physical ailment. Having been plagued with often severe anxiety and depression throughout my life, I sympathise and feel for you. Many others will too. The fear of a physical ailment to add to it just increases the pain. I hope things improve for you my friend, and my heart goes out to you.

Have you ever thought of making your own soap? That way you would have complete control over ingredients and methods of preperation. It seems easier than some make it out to be.

Brother @Old Hippie and others would certainly give you guidance if you were interested. There are some fine amateur soap makers on the forum many who would I'm sure be glad to assist.

It may mature into an entertaining and amusing side hobby for you which allows space for your own creativity.

I hope you have good days ahead and that the dark clouds clear for you.

i had thought about it so at some point i may just do it

 

[Staggers and Jags]

I’m very sorry to hear of all your health challenges. I hope you will put yourself first and do everything necessary to get better. I frequently suffered from depression when I was younger and, while I never really found any ‘cure’ what did help me a little bit was to go for a long walk and get some exercise. It’s the only thing that made any difference for me. Sometimes I would try to embrace these feelings and write as a creative outlet - I wouldn’t say it made me feel better but it seemed worthwhile to me and perhaps helped me to see that all feelings are part of the human experience and have value for that alone. It also helped me that I knew my depressions would pass - as crushing as it was, it would go away at some point, and it always did. I don’t get these feelings any more and I haven’t for decades. It was something I had to endure and, looking back, I don’t really feel sad that I suffered it - it’s a part of my experience. I am sure what I experienced is not like what you are dealing with, but it will get better all the same and you certainly aren’t alone.

FWIW, it is immensely impressive to me that you can talk about your trials with us. I don’t think I ever had the courage to talk to anyone about my own problems and I admire you for this. It has to be healthy.

Please don’t feel attacked by us or by your soaps. While we may have expressed some of our inputs in a joking manner, there is actually a lot of good advice that has been offered and you can trust that your fellows here don’t spend their time to do it without a genuine wish to help. And we have all experienced the same - making a good lather is a skill in itself, and it takes time and practice (and some advice) to get there. But we all do in the end - 100% of us - and it is a certainty that lathering will become second nature for you sooner or later.

All the best to you.

thank you for understanding. schizoaffective disorder just be came such a large part of my life in how it affects me down to the minutes and seconds scale that i felt like i could at least do some good by raising awareness on it. when i say this im not being dsrasmatic. im saying how its made me feel since my first episode. it absolutely ruined my life. it ruined my relationship when i was statring to have symptoms but didnt know what was causing it or thinking it was just normal. it took everything frome me that made life worthwild. i slowly lost the ability to work because i just couldent handle the stress cause i was hallucinating at work which could have been dangerous to myself or others. it got down to where i was bringing lies than 150 dollars a pay check 300 a month. you cant live on that even in low income apartments. you can cover rent but not your perscriptions or other things. took my enjoyment of my hobbiers asnd lost interest in doing anything other than sleeping. its a form of hel for me and i wouldent wish it on anyone

 

[Mr. Shavington]

thank you for understanding. schizoaffective disorder just be came such a large part of my life in how it affects me down to the minutes and seconds scale that i felt like i could at least do some good by raising awareness on it. when i say this im not being dsrasmatic. im saying how its made me feel since my first episode. it absolutely ruined my life. it ruined my relationship when i was statring to have symptoms but didnt know what was causing it or thinking it was just normal. it took everything frome me that made life worthwild. i slowly lost the ability to work because i just couldent handle the stress cause i was hallucinating at work which could have been dangerous to myself or others. it got down to where i was bringing lies than 150 dollars a pay check 300 a month. you cant live on that even in low income apartments. you can cover rent but not your perscriptions or other things. took my enjoyment of my hobbiers asnd lost interest in doing anything other than sleeping. its a form of hel for me and i wouldent wish it on anyone

Yeah, that’s a great deal more severe than anything I’ve experienced. I really feel for you. I don’t know anything about schizoaffective disorder but I truly hope if gets better or at least you can learn to adapt and get your life back on your own terms.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

thank you for understanding. schizoaffective disorder just be came such a large part of my life in how it affects me down to the minutes and seconds scale that i felt like i could at least do some good by raising awareness on it. when i say this im not being dsrasmatic. im saying how its made me feel since my first episode. it absolutely ruined my life. it ruined my relationship when i was statring to have symptoms but didnt know what was causing it or thinking it was just normal. it took everything frome me that made life worthwild. i slowly lost the ability to work because i just couldent handle the stress cause i was hallucinating at work which could have been dangerous to myself or others. it got down to where i was bringing lies than 150 dollars a pay check 300 a month. you cant live on that even in low income apartments. you can cover rent but not your perscriptions or other things. took my enjoyment of my hobbiers asnd lost interest in doing anything other than sleeping. its a form of hel for me and i wouldent wish it on anyone

That's heavy, man-- and I have a loved one who have similar struggles.

In light of that, take a minute to remind yourself that your soap/lather struggles are real. The soap-makers' conspiracy is not. That's just the disease talking.

I'll repeat my suggestion that there's nothing wrong with using canned foam, with whatever razor you choose, if it makes for a less frustrating shave for you. Be well.

 

[Staggers and Jags]

That's heavy, man-- and I have a loved one who have similar struggles.

In light of that, take a minute to remind yourself that your soap/lather struggles are real. The soap-makers' conspiracy is not. That's just the disease talking.

I'll repeat my suggestion that there's nothing wrong with using canned foam, with whatever razor you choose, if it makes for a less frustrating shave for you. Be well.

thank you man for understanding

 

[Staggers and Jags]

Yeah, that’s a great deal more severe than anything I’ve experienced. I really feel for you. I don’t know anything about schizoaffective disorder but I truly hope if gets better or at least you can learn to adapt and get your life back on your own terms.

schizoaffective disorder is like taking the symptoms of schizophrenia and adding it to a mood disorder which in my case is bipolar disorder so i chave schizoaffective disorder bipolar type

 

[Lane101]

@Staggers and Jags , Have a look at the recent thread on cushion from shaving soaps and creams (link below). There is an open question as to whether cushion is anything beyond a marketing term used by manufacturers and retailers. What really what matters is the ease of lathering, lather stability, thickness, moisturizing ability and residual slickness during a shave.

I've found that I can get good lather from almost all of my shaving soaps. Note that I generally use 26mm synthetic plissoft shaving brushes that enable much easier lather generation.

P.S. Appreciate your openness regarding your personal challenges. Best of luck in managing them. Happy Holidays!

What is Cushion?

Cushion is a very specific lather ruining property, which mutes awareness of what's happening with the sharpened piece of hardened steel traversing across your face. It's purpose is to lure gullible shavers into buying more stuff. To produce effective cushion in your lather, you have to use far...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[Steve56]

Haven’t been watching the thread - Happy Holidays Jeff, best wishes and hope things get better!