Brush loading time - this is totally crazy!!

[KrstGor]

Alright gents,

I see countless threads here where people go smth. along the lines of ... after loading my brush for a minute...

It's not uncommon to see people saying they've been loading for 2 minutes.

2 MINUTES??? WTH?

IDK, but to me this seems like an eternity.

In my however limited experience, I am yet to find a soap, be it a truly hard one or a soft one, a stick or you-name-it that I need to load for more than say 10-15 seconds.

Maybe it's just me, but I dump my Silver Tip badger brush in the bowl filled with hot water before taking a shower. I then shake the brush, run a very hot water over it briefly, shake it again and load. Most of the time this gives me enough lather for 3 passes. I'm not saying I never ever re-load for the final pass, but it's seldom.

So, what's this business of loading the brush for a full minute or 2 minutes all about?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Most soaps are under a five second load for me. A slow loading soap might take me between five and ten seconds. If I haven't got enough soap by then, I've probably left the lid on...

 

[KrstGor]

Most soaps are under a five second load for me. A slow loading soap might take me between five and ten seconds. If I haven't got enough soap by then, I've probably left the lid on...

Exactly, hence my original question.

Maybe I should have mentioned I bloom all my soaps, always. That probably helps cut the loading time.

 

[Invicta]

So, what's this business of loading the brush for a full minute or 2 minutes all about?

Two minutes sounds excessive to me and hard to believe.
The triple milled soaps do take time to soften and load so I can understand that and have found Mitchel's Wool Fat {MWF} does take longer to load. The softer soaps like Cella and Proraso don't need as much load time as MWF which needs about 25 seconds load for a four pass shave.
However I tend to use the same soap for weeks at a time and as a daily shaver they load easily from the previous day. Now take the shaver with a large rotation of triple milled soaps, I can see they may need an extended time to load the soap. It is these variables that determine the load time; I cannot see two minutes load time for any soap though.
A further complication is hard water which inhibits the lathering process. I do have to load more soap to achieve the same lather as with soft water.

 

[Atlantic59]

There is not just one way to do this. There is the dry brush method, wet brush method, and something intermediate between those. You have to understand the wet brush method does not require much or really any pressure of the brush on the soap. You are slowly picking up particles of soap and gradually mixing them with water in the bristles. Done right, your brush starts out charged with all the water you will ever need for your lather. If you try to go too fast, you end up with a bubbly mess. Done properly, you end up with a rich "proto-lather" that can then be painted on the face or taken to a lather bowl to build the lather. The loading process might normally take 30 seconds to a minute, depending on the soap, water hardness, type and size of brush, etc.

Explained in more detail here:

My lathering technique with Italian soft soaps

Lately I've seen that some B&B members are having issues regarding how to create a good lather with Italian soft soaps. And I have personally received several PMs regarding this subject, with many asking me what kind of lathering technique I actually use. Here is a simple tutorial for new wet...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[KrstGor]

There is not just one way to do this. There is the dry brush method, wet brush method, and something intermediate between those. You have to understand the wet brush method does not require much or really any pressure of the brush on the soap. You are slowly picking up particles of soap and gradually mixing them with water in the bristles. Done right, your brush starts out charged with all the water you will ever need for your lather. If you try to go too fast, you end up with a bubbly mess. Done properly, you end up with a rich "proto-lather" that can then be painted on the face or taken to a lather bowl to build the lather. The loading process might normally take 30 seconds to a minute, depending on the soap, water hardness, type and size of brush, etc.

Explained in more detail here:

My lathering technique with Italian soft soaps

Lately I've seen that some B&B members are having issues regarding how to create a good lather with Italian soft soaps. And I have personally received several PMs regarding this subject, with many asking me what kind of lathering technique I actually use. Here is a simple tutorial for new wet...

www.badgerandblade.com

OKAY, so what?

It's a nice ed op, but what does that has to do with my original Q?

Achieving different methods doesn't mean that each of those methods makes sense or is desirable. people do stupid things all the time, it doesn't justify doing them.

To reiterate - if I can get a superb lather for 3-4 passes by blooming my soap and lathering for 15 short seconds, why would I wanna bother with some dry brush nonsense with 10 times longer loading time?? No offense meant.

 

[camoloc]

triple and quad milled....

45 seconds at least.........but nothing I have would require two minutes.

might want to keep in mind some are shaving their noggin which may require some additional suds.

camo

 

[Atlantic59]

OKAY, so what?

It's a nice ed op, but what does that has to do with my original Q?

Achieving different methods doesn't mean that each of those methods makes sense or is desirable. people do stupid things all the time, it doesn't justify doing them.

To reiterate - if I can get a superb lather for 3-4 passes by blooming my soap and lathering for 15 short seconds, why would I wanna bother with some dry brush nonsense with 10 times longer loading time?? No offense meant.

I'll let someone else explain it to you. No offense, but your attitude can be really annoying. When someone takes the time to answer your question as best they can, and you just dump all over them? Excuse me, Your Majesty.

 

[Benoni]

5 seconds tops for Martin de Candre; if I use another soap from time to time, 10-15 seconds.

 

[samhain666]

If I try to load Stirling for 2 minutes I will get enough lather to shave mamooth.

But while I was using that gigantic omega boar brush and Tabac in puck it took A LOT of time to properly load that beast of a brush. So yeah load times can be also long

And @Atlantic59 - I agree with you in the attitude department

 

[gsurko]

I don’t time it, I load until it’s right and go to it.

 

[Macduff]

I think the answer is probably one of the following: Some people “face lather” and some “puck lather.” If you’re loading the soap you’re face lathering and yes, it’ll most likely take you much less than 2 minutes. When puck lathering, you’re building the entire lather on the soap to take to your face which takes longer. Then there the fact that people load their brush differently. Some people are super gentle whilst swirling the brush on the soap so as not to “damage” the brush and others just grind it in there. Lastly the soap hardness and whether you bloom it first contributes to how long it’ll take as well. Say someone puck lathers with an unbloomed triple milled soap and is trying to go easy on their brush? Easily 2 minutes.

 

[Quaznoid]

15 seconds tops

 

[bigbrucefan]

10-15 seconds will give me more than I need for a shave.

 

[BigJ]

Loading time really depends on the soap, how hydrated it is and how wet my brush is at the start. However, it is well under a minute usually under 30 seconds for me.

 

[ackvil]

I guess if you want to make a lather that looks like some of the photos on B&B you can take a minute or two. But for me, it never takes more than 20 seconds no matter how hard my soap is. Also, I never bloom my soaps.

 

[KrstGor]

I'll let someone else explain it to you. No offense, but your attitude can be really annoying. When someone takes the time to answer your question as best they can, and you just dump all over them? Excuse me, Your Majesty.

@Atlantic59 - as I said - NO OFFENSE MEANT and I mean it.

It always helps to stay focused on the exact Q, instead of giving a long winded litany, as if you were lecturing someone who doesn't know first thing about it. I'm not saying you had any bad intentions, but this is how it comes through.

I've been shaving for more than 30 years, been rather active on this forum and yes, I know the famous Marco's method, as well... but I didn't ask about that. I simply asked why for some people it takes 2 minutes to load a brush, when it's a simple task that most accomplish within seconds, at most half a minute.

Imagine you ask me "Why do you prefer a Badger brush" and I start lecturing you on all types of brushes, their history, handle type materials, etc, etc... instead of simply saying smth. like "I prefer a softer bristle". You get the picture, right?

 

[ackvil]

It always amuses me when I see some of the photos in the thread below. I could never imagine shaving with a brush filled with that much lather.

Lather - post up your favorite brush with a head of lather

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[KrstGor]

I think the answer is probably one of the following: Some people “face lather” and some “puck lather.” If you’re loading the soap you’re face lathering and yes, it’ll most likely take you much less than 2 minutes. When puck lathering, you’re building the entire lather on the soap to take to your face which takes longer. Then there the fact that people load their brush differently. Some people are super gentle whilst swirling the brush on the soap so as not to “damage” the brush and others just grind it in there. Lastly the soap hardness and whether you bloom it first contributes to how long it’ll take as well. Say someone puck lathers with an unbloomed triple milled soap and is trying to go easy on their brush? Easily 2 minutes.

Well... I face lather and in never takes me that long.

If I am using a hard triple-milled soap, I bloom it. That's the basics. I then pick up my brush, swirl it vigorously over the surface of the soap, holding the puck at about 80 degrees in my left hand, loading with my right hand. The excess water and foam drips into a bowl. When I'm done loading, I proceed to my face doing swirls, figurine motions and painting motions. I use the excess water, slurry basically from my bowl to dial in my lather. Works like a charm.

If I am using a cream, I will take a tiny bit, an almond-size amount and massage it on my wet face, like a "pre-shave". I'll then put another almond-size or so in my bowl and build the lather in a bowl, then proceed to face-lather on my face.

In either case, the loading takes seconds and definitely not minutes.

 

[Owen Bawn]

It always amuses me when I see some of the photos in the thread below. I could never imagine shaving with a brush filled with that much lather.

Lather - post up your favorite brush with a head of lather

www.badgerandblade.com

Those photos always remind me of a British or Irish "99 Flake" ice cream...