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Am I crazy or is this normal?

Hey guys,

I'm having a problem with lathering. I recently acquired 2 beautiful brushes: a v11 Fanchurian and a Turn-N-Shave tip knot v2. My problem is that I just cannot get a good lather going with either of these, but especially with the Fanchurian. I'm used to using my 22mm tuxedo knot from Maggards and so far it just seems this tiny brush is outperforming my 2 dense badger knots. Is this normal for my little synthetic to be outperforming my badgers?

My method of lathering with the synth is as follows: 1) soak the brush in water, then take it out and shake off any excess water, no squeezing just shaking 2) go straight to the tub to load up; load for about 20 seconds or so 3) go to my face to build the lather and add water as needed until I get a dense, creamy lather going.

I'm using good soaps from well-known artisans: B&M, Mike's Natural Soaps, etc., and I get amazing lathers with my synth but I just can't replicate the same lather with the badgers. With my badgers, I lather basically the same way: soak the brush, squeeze out the water and shake off any excess, then I load for minimum 30 seconds, but I still cannot get a good lather.

Any input would be appreciated! Thanks for your time!
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Synths are reported by some to be easier to lather than badger.
But because one may be "easier", it doesn't mean that the other won't work just as well with the minor increase in "effort".
If you are ecstatic about the synth, and happy with it, I'd just settle in and enjoy the shaves.
Personally, If I had your gear, I would not soak the synth, just wet it, and I would not squeeze out the badger, just shake it lightly.
 
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nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
Just wondering here, but have these knots been treated to create the "gel tips"? I like a natural scrub so I don't have any badgers like that but maybe you're not picking up enough soap?

Do as @lasta says, try more product. It'll be a tried and true, reliable suggestion.

And welcome to B&B! Good first post.
 
Just wondering here, but have these knots been treated to create the "gel tips"? I like a natural scrub so I don't have any badgers like that but maybe you're not picking up enough soap?

Do as @lasta says, try more product. It'll be a tried and true, reliable suggestion.

And welcome to B&B! Good first post.
I don't know about the tip knot but my Fanchurian definitely has extremely gel tips. Does this make it harder to pick up soap?

Thanks, happy to join!
 
No experience with badger brushes but my boar takes significantly more cream/soap then my synthetic brushes.
Personally I'd probably load it with about double just to see what happens and adjust from there.
 
Load your Badger longer. If it feels like it’s no longer picking up soap (especially the gel tipped brush) sprinkle a little water on the tips and continue to load.

Soaps/creams cost loose change per shave…use more and you’ll get wicked good lathers.

Good luck.
 
Welcome to B&B.
With my badgers, I lather basically the same way: soak the brush, squeeze out the water and shake off any excess, then I load for minimum 30 seconds, but I still cannot get a good lather.
Not all brushes load the same and it seems you need a lot more load time for the badger brush. More soap is what you need as others have said.
 

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
Same with different badgers. I load my Paladins for about 25 seconds. Get tons of lather. Enough for 4 or more passes. Yesterday I loaded the same soap for the same duration with a 26mm Elite Manchurian and ran out of soap during the second pass. Had to reload.
 

JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
@Hannah's Dad is spot on. I'm new to synthetics myself but they are certainly different than badgers. The cause of not getting good lather is always the same--not hitting the proper hydration level. You can do this by not having enough product, starting with too much water, or both, those two terms feed into the same equation.

This post was written to help folks dial in new soaps and new brushes and was written partially tongue-in-cheek, but it does work. Different brushes hold vastly different amounts of water, and different soaps require vastly different amounts of water. Sometimes a product is easy to dial in quickly, sometimes it takes a little more experimentation, but I categorically guarantee you the process in this thread will fix your issue. Or your money back. :lol: Good luck!

 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
30 seconds sounds like plenty of load time, but I don't know your water. Certainly if you're not getting good lather you need more soap. Building lather is a pretty easy process: start with enough soap and then add water until you like it.

I'd experiment with how dry the brush is while loading. It's possible that it's a little too dry, which would mean it won't pick up much lather. Now if it's too wet you'll make a mess on the puck, so experiment.

Obviously experimenting with load times might also produce the answer.
 
I’ve used synths boars badgers and all worked well so I don’t think that’s normal myself something here is wrong…. Not much help but just adding another +1 to the something is definitely wrong factor ..plus anything that I would of said people above have already said
 
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I agree, more soap which is not expensive as almost any hard soap lasts ages.
Also, my Simpson chubby 3 badger took a month's worth of shaves to reach its peak performance.
 
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JMO...
I read of guys soaking synthetic brushes. Why? Its Synthetic. It wont soak up water?

Leave more water in you brush when loading. It will pickup soap. Unless its synthetic. Then wet brush, load what you can, then add more water to brush and load more if you need it.

Remember, there is nothing wrong with going back to the soap during a shave.
 
I started with and continue using a PAA Atomic Rocket which is not only large but has a synthetic knot, and, from what I'm told, a good one. I have had zero issues lathering the soaps I've tried. I barely load the brush and then face lather, always ending up with way more lather than I need. I am going to probably switch to bowl lathering to see if I can make a wetter lather because I'm having some slickness issues (I thought thick lathers were a good thing...silly me!).

But I digress. I will try a natural bristle brush at some point and I assume it will be different. From what I've read here, it sounds like I'll need to take much more care in using it than a synthetic. That's good to know going in but it won't surprise me a bit if I still have some trouble adjusting, having been spoiled by having it so easy thus far.
 
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