Any tips for getting a good lather?

[CzechCzar]

My apologies in advance. I know there are probably multiple threads dedicated to this already, but I could not find any of them.

I have a Merkur 38c, uncombed, and just bought a nice shaving bowl with a handle, a plastic container for my tabac soap, and a badger brush, the second best kind.

In the morning, I wash my face with soap in the shower while I am soaking the brush. Flick the excess water out of the brush, move it over the soap a couple of times to get soap in the bristles, and then take to the mixing bowl.

My problem: although I do get some lather, it's not thick enough, and it's awfully thin. Is there some other technique I could use to get a thicker lather that would provide a better barrier between my razor and my face? I know that I am using a good razor, soap, and brush, so the problem lies in my technique...

Any help you could offer would be much appreciated!

 

[Pirate-M.Lifnen]

Make sure you're loading your brush with enough soap.
Go until the bristles are clumped up with soap. There should be no lather in the brush or on the soap, just pure soap in the bristles.

There's a great thread (from Kyle I think) with great pictures showing the process step by step.
I'd recommend following the thread exactly as is, and you should see some serious improvment.
Let me go get the thread really quick.

Edit: How to make great lather from a soap ~ Tutorial
It was Jim's thread, and he's done an excellent job documenting the process.
I follow this exactly with my Tabac to great results every time.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[cymric]

In the morning, I wash my face with soap in the shower while I am soaking the brush. Flick the excess water out of the brush, move it over the soap a couple of times to get soap in the bristles, and then take to the mixing bowl.

Lather is a mixture of soap, water and air. If there isn't enough air, you get a paste. If there isn't enough soap, you get a runny, bubbly mess. If there isn't enough water, you get a very thick paste.

So with that in mind, make sure you:

• leave some moisture in the brush, don't flick it as dry as you can---this water is needed to dissolve the soap as the brush hairs aren't stiff enough to scrape the solid product off;
• don't swirl a few times but instead look at the consistency of the very thick paste forming on top of the soap as you're loading, this takes longer than just a few swirls;
• try to keep the amount of air in that paste to a minimum, so don't swirl like a madman, take it easy and don't press down hard on the brush;
• don't soak Tabac---this will damage it over time, so just rely on the moisture in the still somewhat wet brush; and
• while building in a bowl, add little drips of water until you reach the desired consistency.

One more tip: practice without the pressure of a shave behind it, when you have time to explore how brush, water and soap interact. In time, you'll hone your sense for the product, be able to get the amounts right (including the lather you produce) with ease, and do it much more quickly too. Good luck!

 

[Jarmo P]

I am not sure if this advice applies to lather building, but I give you anyways.
I load the good shaken brush heavy with soap. And apply to my face. Dip to sink once or even maybe twice to build a good lather. Final touches with all the passes smearing the lather sideways with the brush.

If the brush is not shaken out of water very well you cannot load your brush with the good amount of soap !

For the other passes I dont rinse my face, but apply the brush. It is clearly too dry, so I dont believe face lathering builds the lather on the brush for the 3 passes I use. But instead keeps it too dry and have that soap paste to apply first?

So the dip to sink goes again after I have smeared the soap onto my face. And I face lather again without reloading my brush or any and get a good lather.

Same goes for my final pass.

And if I need a touch up pass there is a whole lot good lather just squeezing a brush a bit. Just you dont want to squeeze out that lather until the that.
Hope this helps. Works very well for me as a face latherer.

 

[cooltide]

simple answer
too much water
squeeeze the brush as opposed to flicking
enjoy the experience

 

[Trotters]

FWIW, I add a few drops of water to my puck whilst soaking my brush. I squeeze & shake my brush a few times & empty what water is left on my puck into my bowl.

I tend to swirl my brush on my soap like im lathering up a blob of cream in my bowl to get my lather going. A shaken & squeezed brush on dry soap seems pointless to me and thats why I add water to my puck & lather my soap as much as poss...

...then I go to my bowl to continue lathering & add drops of water if I need to.

Not sure if my lathering on the soap is the correct technique, but it seems to work for me...thats unless I can improve even more in any way???.

 

[joto]

I also wet the puck a little- I pour a little water in there, rub it around to make sure the surface of the soap is wet, then I pour off any excess and let it sit for a few seconds- not enough water to start forming actual lather on the soap as I load, but just enough to dampen the surface and soften it up.. For me, this has greatly enhanced the brush loading process.

I would, however, recommend NOT shaking the water off the soap before loading, as I did this afternoon. The wet glass soap container flies out of my hands and shatters on the sink. I spend the next hour carefully picking glass shards up off the floor and out of my Trumper's Soap. It was $17! I'm not pitching it!!

 

[chris.hale]

Flick the excess water out of the brush, move it over the soap a couple of times to get soap in the bristles, and then take to the mixing bowl.

There's your problem, that's not close to enough soap. Try loading for a lot longer, about a minute is a good place to start.

 

[SliceOfLife]

This thread is five years old. Though, more soap will always be good advice, especially when the person asking for help describes their loading as "a couple swirls".

 

[buffalo]

5 year old thread, bit stilk great info!!