Beginner having trouble with lather, tried everything

[mightyeskimo]

Welcome to B&B! I'm also going to suggest blooming the pot and loading a lot more product on the brush. I have a shave coming up tomorrow and I'll see if I can snap a picture of a loaded brush for you.

 

[hcoop112]

For soap pucks id say bloom it like most others have said...it really does make a huge difference in making lather....or you can do what i did...soak the entire puck for 5m....it will raise the puck slightly...you may get a little bit less scent however it does not effect the quality of the shaving it just makes it easier to lather...id keep trying a few more times before soaking the whole puck after i soaked it i never had to bloom it again..

 

[dfoulk]

TOBS is more known for their creams than their soaps. As far as soaps go you've chosen one that's about average. That in combination with your hard water and poor technique are the source of your problems.

Do pick up a tub of something from Sudsy Soapery, L&L Grooming or PannaCrema and see what kind of a difference it makes. Hard water will cause you to use more soap as well, which is why people are telling you to bloom the puck making it easier to pick up more soap. Honestly you shouldn't have to bloom any soap as it is, in my opinion, a last ditch attempt to make a poor soap usable. Changing to bottled water is a quick test to see how much your water is to blame.

As far as your technique goes take your time and watch your angle and pressure. There are plenty of videos but a lot of it is establishing the needed muscle memory. It comes with time. The soaps I listed above are a bit slicker than what you're using and will help to lessen the burden of your poor technique. They should also be a lot better in your water than what you're currently using.

 

[lilayZee]

Thanks for all the tips everyone! Will defiently try blooming the puck next time to see if that helps. I live in Australia so i dont have the shops you mentioned. I had to get everything online because no shops sell the gear locally. Ill try everything suggested before I consider trying a different product.

 

[hcoop112]

I live in australia as well..what area if you dont mind me asking there are a few shops that carry soap if you are in the correct town....online isnt to bad either i get allt of my products on ebay

 

[Randall J]

The problem isn't you, it's the soap. Well, maybe the soap and the water. I find TOBS Sandalwood soap very finicky to lather. Then I figured it out. I cover the soap with hot water while I shower and soak the brush. When I'm out of the shower, I shake the water from the brush and pour the water from the tub and load up. It works! But unless I bloom the soap in this manner, my TOBS is thin and useless.

 

[lilayZee]

I live in Adelaide. I know theres shaver shop but everything is overpriced so I just get everything online. Not sure if there would be any smaller private businesses around that sell the gear. Sweet randall. Its good to know Im not the only one struggling with this product. Hope blooming will be the solution for me too.

 

[meliahog]

Lot of good stuff mentioned here.
Here's my take, and I have used both products with NO lathering issues.
1. Soap - use a softer soap, I recommend Captain's Choice Bay Rum (load brush from tub).
2. Cream - I recommend St James Of London - Sandalwood & Begamot (Almond size dollop in bowl.)
Both of these products lather themselves at the sight of a brush and both have amazing scents).
I bowl lather using a Captain's Choice lather bowl and mostly with my Omega Silvertip.
Welcome to B&B, and good luck lathering..you'll get it.
Mikey

 

[smudge]

Too much preshave oil can be a real lather killer. Try less - couple of drops rubbed on your palms and then applied to a damp face should be enough. Or, skip it altogether. Lots of folk don't bother with it and get great shaves.

 

[drwevil]

I am learning to use a good quality badger brush 28 mm very dense knot and with my Ogallala Bay Rum I am struggling to whip up a decent lather... I over water the lather and under soak the brush (I keep forgetting to soak it) it is totally my technique and I am determined to conquer this brush as its really nice. I will try some of the suggestions tomorrow.
Same soap but synthetic brush I get loads of creamy lather every time...

 

[alfredus]

I live in Adelaide. I know theres shaver shop but everything is overpriced so I just get everything online. Not sure if there would be any smaller private businesses around that sell the gear. Sweet randall. Its good to know Im not the only one struggling with this product. Hope blooming will be the solution for me too.

Dear fellow Adelaidean: if you are interested, we have an Adelaide meet-up in the Norwood area this coming Sunday 2pm - bring along your brush and soap and I will show you in person - how about that?

Else: these are the only 2 lathering videos you will EVER need. It works with every soap (well if the soap lathers) every brush and even our lovely Adelaide water:

 

[KeenDogg]

It's gonna take some time and some practice, but you've come to the right place.

First, TOBS is a triple-milled soap. That means it's REALLY dense and hard. Makes it a little trickier to lather than some, but you can do it.

1. "Bloom" the puck. That means pour a little bit of water on top of the soap and let it sit while your brush soaks. That will soften up the top of the soap a little bit. This technique can be a little controversial, and you'll eventually get to the point where this is optional, but I definitely recommend it while you're learning.
2. Load WAY more than you think you need. Looking back at my learning phase, my biggest problem was always that I didn't start with enough soap loaded. Load a TON of soap, then then add water VERY slowly, a tiny bit at a time.
3. Badger brushes are great for many, but I honestly had my biggest breakthrough with regards to lather quality when I switched to a synthetic brush. Way easier for me for some reason. If you can spare about $15 bucks, go to Italian Barber, Maggards, or Stirling and pick up one of their budget Plissoft style synthetics.
4. If you find the pre-shave oil helpful, make sure you go light on it and rub it in completely before attempting to lather. As some have mentioned, it can kill a soap's lathering ability.
5. Stay away from the bowl, especially if it doesn't have a grooved surface. To this day, I still can't quite get a good lather from a smooth-sided bowl.
6. You can try the distilled water, but I don't think it's going to make a huge difference. It didn't for me. The other items in this list made a much more significant impact for me.
7. Practice by palm lathering. Just load the brush and then try to lather it up on your palm. Do this a couple of times a day and it will speed up the learning curve.

Don't give up. My guess is that it will take you about 3 - 4 weeks to get it close to where you want it. If you want some other videos, Ruds Shaves has a pretty good one.

Good luck.

This.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[smorg]

I can't talk for the soap but I use the TOBS sandalwood cream and it's extremely easy.

 

[Mitretnuh]

Everybody should be lucky enough to have a Alfredus living round the corner!

 

[Invicta]

I load the brush with soap, tried everything in regards to this, used to do a good 30-60 seconds till the brush was obviously loaded then I tried doing around 20-30 seconds because I read somewhere to much soap could stop the lather from happening, still no luck. then I go to the bowl and swirl away.

Welcome to the forum.
I live in a hard water area and used to load on a soap puck for at least 60 seconds. If your water is harder then double the loading time but bloom the soap first. It seems you are not getting enough soap on the brush. Increase load time till you get a result. Even with a floppy brush I have managed to load from a soap puck but don't mash down. Work only the tips or you will damage the brush. With hard water you cannot load too much soap. Once you get it right you can adjust load time to suit.
As an alternative, try Palmolive shaving cream to get you started whilst you sort out the soap problem. I hear the tubes are readily available in Australia.

 

[stook2001]

I am going to say that you are not loading as much as you think you are loading. Try pressing a harder on the puck while loading. Wet brush, two shakes. Lather. It's either than or too much water. That's my guess. I can't speak to the hard water since I don't have it.

 

[alex2363]

It's gonna take some time and some practice, but you've come to the right place.

First, TOBS is a triple-milled soap. That means it's REALLY dense and hard. Makes it a little trickier to lather than some, but you can do it.

1. "Bloom" the puck. That means pour a little bit of water on top of the soap and let it sit while your brush soaks. That will soften up the top of the soap a little bit. This technique can be a little controversial, and you'll eventually get to the point where this is optional, but I definitely recommend it while you're learning.
2. Load WAY more than you think you need. Looking back at my learning phase, my biggest problem was always that I didn't start with enough soap loaded. Load a TON of soap, then then add water VERY slowly, a tiny bit at a time.
3. Badger brushes are great for many, but I honestly had my biggest breakthrough with regards to lather quality when I switched to a synthetic brush. Way easier for me for some reason. If you can spare about $15 bucks, go to Italian Barber, Maggards, or Stirling and pick up one of their budget Plissoft style synthetics.
4. If you find the pre-shave oil helpful, make sure you go light on it and rub it in completely before attempting to lather. As some have mentioned, it can kill a soap's lathering ability.
5. Stay away from the bowl, especially if it doesn't have a grooved surface. To this day, I still can't quite get a good lather from a smooth-sided bowl.
6. You can try the distilled water, but I don't think it's going to make a huge difference. It didn't for me. The other items in this list made a much more significant impact for me.
7. Practice by palm lathering. Just load the brush and then try to lather it up on your palm. Do this a couple of times a day and it will speed up the learning curve.

Don't give up. My guess is that it will take you about 3 - 4 weeks to get it close to where you want it. If you want some other videos, Ruds Shaves has a pretty good one.

Good luck.

Welcome

 

[drwevil]

I nailed it with my Zenith Manchurian this morning...after following advice in this thread...

This is what I did using the Ogallala Bay Rum.. I didn't bloom it
Load it like you stole it... then load it some more
run your finger around the soap dish and transfer any lather to the brush
Face lather and add water to the brush at a time or carefully dunk a tiny bit of the brush..

The end result I looked like father Christmas and the lather had the required slickness and residue.

The Zenith Manchurian is an amazing brush and you cannot treat it like a synthetic and expect good results. I suspect other badger brushes are the same.

 

[alfredus]

Everybody should be lucky enough to have a Alfredus living round the corner!

Thank you sir - but some might say I can be a curse to be around as well...I have been known to enable the odd person here and there

 

[mightyeskimo]

Loaded brush.