hey guys after looking at the reviews on tabac on this site up on top..i saw that the reviewer had good lather after only 3 swipes and he showed the lather he had on his hand and brush after 8..i do a good 30-40 swirls and i cant get that lather going..my method is i soak my brush in warm water for 30-60 seconds then i take it out and shake it about 2-3 times and i start swirling and no luck..any tips please?
cant lather with tabac need help please
- Thread starter denali7432
- Start date
I use a damp brush (a couple good shakes, not dry though), and make a lather in the brush... It won't be as dry as the soap tutorial on this site, more like a cream throughout the bristles. Then I palm lather, adding small amounts (several drops) of water at a time. During this lathering step I beat the dickens out of the brush by doing the plunging motion, twisting, scrubbing and painting. It takes me probably a good two minutes of mashing the brush to form a dense, creamy lather. It becomes so thick it is almost chunky.
If this doesn't work you may want to check your water. If it is really hard it may make your life difficult. Try bottled water perhaps.
Sam
When brand new some soaps have a crust on them, throw a jigger of hot water on the soap overnight. ( no it won't hurt it)
What brush are you using? is your water hard?
It can take up to a full minute to load a soft brush, so be patient.
Keep us informed!
It's rare that too much soap is the problem, really load that brush.
- Thread starter
- #5
i just tryed doing it like in the tutorial..soak the brush, and put a tea spoon of water on the soap for a few minutes then removing the tea poon of water from the soap and really squeezing out the water from the brush and it worked really good had a good lather going..but i noticed things when i shaved..one was it was really burning my face when i would go over it with the blade..2nd was in some places it seemed to dry on my face had a chalky look to it on my neck..any reason for this...was it to dry and not enough water..to be honest other then this time the lather has always been watery and at some places see thru..also the brush is this model http://www.classicshaving.com/catalog/item/800550/422225.htm
By putting a tsp of water on the soap, you're softening it up so more soap can easily load into the brush. Using the squeezed out brush creates more drag on teh soap to load more soap. You seem to have this down now.
Now it seem's you've got your lather a little dry. Add a few drips of water at a time from your fingers. All of a sudden it will seem to explode with lather.
I bought Tabac as my second soap based on the reviews. I had a lot of trouble getting a good lather with it but this was in my second week of wet shaving. It wasn't until I used TOBS cream and saw what good lather should look like, that I could go back to the Tabac, add drips of water a ta time and know what to LOOK for in the lather.
Stick with it though! Once you nail it, Tabac will give you a wonderful lather that IMHO, is equal to any other out there. Plus, for me at least, you get that WONDERFUL Tabac scent.
Now it seem's you've got your lather a little dry. Add a few drips of water at a time from your fingers. All of a sudden it will seem to explode with lather.
I bought Tabac as my second soap based on the reviews. I had a lot of trouble getting a good lather with it but this was in my second week of wet shaving. It wasn't until I used TOBS cream and saw what good lather should look like, that I could go back to the Tabac, add drips of water a ta time and know what to LOOK for in the lather.
Stick with it though! Once you nail it, Tabac will give you a wonderful lather that IMHO, is equal to any other out there. Plus, for me at least, you get that WONDERFUL Tabac scent.
Are there any issues with water quality where you live? If the water in your area has a high mineral content, lathering shave soap or cream could be difficult. If you have a hard time with laundry or bathing, it could be your local water. If so, use bottled water or use baking soda in the water you use to shave with.
I recently made the switch to distilled water I get from the grocery store for $1 or less, a gallon. It made a great difference in the quality and quantity of lather from everything, soaps and creams, regardless. I say distilled because it removes the minerals that make water "hard". Bottled water isn't necessarily "soft", could even be tap water from the same source you're currently using, or another one equally loaded with minerals. If you change water, go the whole way and get distilled.
Anyway when I'm lathering the Tabac on my face, I dip the tip of the brush into some warm water and continue lathering. Tabac will come to life for you when you learn what's the best soap to water mix for you. Good luck, and don't give up.
Anyway when I'm lathering the Tabac on my face, I dip the tip of the brush into some warm water and continue lathering. Tabac will come to life for you when you learn what's the best soap to water mix for you. Good luck, and don't give up.
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- Thread starter
- #9
thanx for the suggestions guys i really appreciate the help..i never thought it would be such a science to shaving..lol
You can't get a decent lather with 3 swipes, nor can you with 8. Don't look at these numbers. Here's how I do it:
- Soak your brush in hot water for a minute or so.
- Don't do anything fancy with the soap like putting water on it---Tabac does not need this, and it might be detrimental to the health of the puck too.
- This following is a crucial step. If your brush is too dry, then you don't pick up sufficient soap. If it is too wet, you get a sloppy mess. Fish out the brush from whatever you've put it in to soak and remove water from it until it's damp. 'Damp' in this case means: grab the wet brush by the handle, make two or three jojo-motions. Then softly shake the brush for a moment (or at most two) and turn it over. The hairs should not stand out separately: that means it's too dry. If they are all clumped into large knots, it's too wet. Aim for small clumps.
- Take the brush to the puck, press down gently.
- Begin swirling. Don't count swirls, look at the consistency of the suds and the lather forming.
- Occasionally press down on the handle, then slowly pull the handle back up so the hairs can suck up the early stages of the later. Work lather that is stuck on the sides of the bowl back into the brush.
- Airy suds should quickly form and then disappear again into a thick creamy mass of dissolved soap with a little air. This takes about half a minute or so. If you find that it takes much longer, you should clean out the brush and try again. Tabac is easy-going in this respect.
- Depending on the amount of soap you wish to pick up, continue swirling and occassionally pumping the brush. If you had little water in the brush then at some point the puck of soap will become 'dry' and relatively free of proto-lather. You can stop at this point. If you have more water, it takes a bit of practice to time the procedure. But it shouldn't be more than a minute at most unless you plan on shaving more than just a bit of stubble.
- Transfer the brush to your lathering bowl, add little drips of water and continue building. Alternatively, take the brush to a wetted face and build there; whatever floats your boat.
B
bluefoxicy
Get the brush wet, shake it out so it's not soaked but not dry.
Swirl it around on the soap puck. It'll lather.
Keep swirling, it'll work more soap in and make a thick cream.
Wipe the cream into another bowl or mug. Add a bit of water--since the brush is overloaded-- and it'll turn into lather.
QED, I'm lazy and can't get my brush loaded right.
Swirl it around on the soap puck. It'll lather.
Keep swirling, it'll work more soap in and make a thick cream.
Wipe the cream into another bowl or mug. Add a bit of water--since the brush is overloaded-- and it'll turn into lather.
QED, I'm lazy and can't get my brush loaded right.
Cymric and the others pretty well covered it. I'll jut emphasize loading your brush with WAY too much soap to begin with because it's easier to keep adding a little water until you get it right. Good luck!!
Agree - it's just a matter of getting enough soap and enough water. With any soap, you gotta load the damp brush with plenty of soap first, then gradually add water until it starts to lather. Every soap is different - keep experimenting and you'll get it right!
I build my lather with distilled water... Tabac builds amazing lather with purified or distilled water. I would recommend getting a gallon or jug of purified water and use that for your lather. heat up a cup of water and dip your brush shake shake then start swirling away. once you load up your brush with soap, move to a lather bowl... add tiny amounts of water as needed to keep building the lather.
Tabac contains EDTA if I'm not mistaken and normally performs good under any water quality.
