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Art of Shaving Mug Soaps - Does this happen to you?

So I've used the AoS soaps that fit in their mug insert for years but I'm always annoyed when I get towards the end of it. Because I build my lather on the soap itself, I end up wearing down the middle and poking a hole in it. This causes issues with getting enough lather built up, trying to get it onto the brush, and then what do I do with the excess? I usually always wash everything - razor, brush, and soap - when I'm done shaving but with this last soap I have started leaving the excess lather in the bottom of the insert and trying to occasionally consolidate it into one cohesive piece to use after the rest of it is gone.

Am I doing something wrong? Does anyone else use this type of soap and end up with the same problem? And does anyone else leave their lather in the mug when they're done shaving?
 

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I don't rinse the lather from my puck (unless I'm storing it away). Nor do I leave any extra lather in the mug when I'm done. . I don't think the lather contributes that much "soap" back into the mix. Soaps wear down. That's just an unfortunate fact.

I get a "doughnut hole" in any hard puck I load from a mug. There are a couple things I do. You can fill the hole with the remnants of another used puck. Or you can try to reshape the soap to fit into a different container. Or you can grate a new soap and use it to fill the hole.

But at some point I accept that I have to throw the soap away, leftovers be damned.
 
You can redistribute the soap and flatten it out to make it easier as the puck wears down.

If the soap base is veggie based, and I understand that the most recent is, you can microwave it for about 20 to 30 seconds so it becomes liquid and it will be flat when dry. I have a mug like yours and the insert handles microwaving fine.

If it is tallow based it won't melt down. If it is a hard soap, remove it from the mug with a spoon, shred it with a cheese shreder, then firmly press it back into the mug.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I suggest that it is not correct to build your lather on the soap itself. To me that is wasteful of product, difficult to control hydration, and just plain wrong. To my mind you simply load your brush on the soap and then either face lather as I do, or transfer to a separate lathering bowl where you build your lather and where you can control hydration by adding water if necessary. Some may disagree and of course if your method works for you then keep on doing it 👍
 
I have found that creating a doughnut is just a part of using a hard soap. I tend to remove the ring and add it to the top of my next soap. I have found that water from loading the brush eventually adheres the ring, or pieces thereof, to the next puck. If the two soaps are different, I end up with a frankensoap for a while but the old soap is eventually used up.

I used to break up the ring and try to centre it on the new soap in order to use the old soap first, but I eventually realised it doesn't make much difference and I would end up with small chunks of soap on the brush.

It's entirely up to you what you do though.
 
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