The scents on MW are second to none but you need to treat the soap with respect. Lukewarm water at the hottest is the only way to go. Start off with your brush on the dry side after letting a bit of water sit on the soap directly and soak in. Then SLOWLY add water but if you don't feel it neccesary, don't do it. It's easy to over water and if the waters too hot, the lather won't be stable. As long as you follow this, you get an unsurpassed lather with the best smells out there
Consensus on Mystic Waters
- Thread starter Teddyboy
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I haven't had a problem with MW. I exclusively use cold water though, if that makes a difference.
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- #23
Thank you for all of your hints. Next stop, using lukewarm water.
Agreed - cooler water, and very little of it. But for for me to get really great lather I have to load the dickens out of the soap, a good 60-90 seconds. It's a fantastic soap, I just prefer some others.
I either take dental floss to cut off the dry layer or press the sample down into the bowl! Breaking up the surface helped greatly the few times I did not lather it well. Once I loaded for 2 minutes and got fading foam, then broke up the top loaded 45 secs with a dryer brush and face lathered for 2 min getting mounds of amazing lather.
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Never managed a lather. Advise was to use cold water, so I stopped trying.
Love it. One of the best soaps out there. I get tremendously beautiful yogurt-like lather that smells great, shaves wonderfully, and has an unsurpassed face feel after the shave.
I actually was quite surprised with Mystic Waters shaving soap. I bought a sampler and quite satisfied with the first lather that I produced out of Irish Traveler. The lather is definitely slick and gives a descent cushion. I think one of the keys to producing effective lasting lathering with Mystic Waters is what many have already mentioned here, start with a brush with little water and then add a few drops over time as needed.
My first time I loaded my brush for about 20-25 seconds but since it was a sampler the half moon pretty much fell apart, so I had to mash it together again to get it to apply to the brush. I'm not sure if anyone else finds the soap on the softer more malleable side, but regardless as long as I can get the soap on the brush it pulls its weight.
Overall, in my opinion it's a great bang for your buck and the fact that you're supporting a small business is a +1 in my book.
My first time I loaded my brush for about 20-25 seconds but since it was a sampler the half moon pretty much fell apart, so I had to mash it together again to get it to apply to the brush. I'm not sure if anyone else finds the soap on the softer more malleable side, but regardless as long as I can get the soap on the brush it pulls its weight.
Overall, in my opinion it's a great bang for your buck and the fact that you're supporting a small business is a +1 in my book.
Maestrale just worked for me.
For those that cant get it to work, what are all these people doing right that you're doing - well as politely as I can - wrong?
Boar or badger? What size of brush? Hard or soft water? How long to load? How hard to work it in the bowl or face? How long to work it in the bowl or face? Maybe this is incompatible with your wrist movements. I just got a great lather out of a QCS soap that someone else couldn't lather worth a fig. I see people here have trouble with Arko, and not just the smell side.
this is a great soap for what appears to be the majority of users. If you change things up you might get it to work and love it as i do. If not, at the end of the day it's also just soap.....
For those that cant get it to work, what are all these people doing right that you're doing - well as politely as I can - wrong?
Boar or badger? What size of brush? Hard or soft water? How long to load? How hard to work it in the bowl or face? How long to work it in the bowl or face? Maybe this is incompatible with your wrist movements. I just got a great lather out of a QCS soap that someone else couldn't lather worth a fig. I see people here have trouble with Arko, and not just the smell side.
this is a great soap for what appears to be the majority of users. If you change things up you might get it to work and love it as i do. If not, at the end of the day it's also just soap.....
It's one of my favourites and some of the best soap out there in terms of scent and performance. Not to mention Michelle and the customer service is some of the best out there, from any company.
2 BIG thumbs up for Michelle & Mystic Water Soap from me
if there was a 3 thumb smiley, I would have used that one.
2 BIG thumbs up for Michelle & Mystic Water Soap from me
if there was a 3 thumb smiley, I would have used that one.
The Mystic Waters sensitive skin is excellent. Highly recommended.
I've only used MW once so I'm not going to vote. It was the Sardinian Honey which is one of the best smelling products I've ever used. I wasn't able to get a great lather from it but I think that has something to do with it being just a sample. Because it's smaller I think I need to load my brush longer. I look forward to using it again but it may be awhile as I've developed a large collection of samples.
I was not a fan ,"finicky" soaps don't survive in my den.
Did not work for me. They were one of my earlier samples, so maybe I'll review them again at some point due to how wonderful the scents were. (FWIW I could lather MWF and pretty much anything else just fine at that point).
As I stated the last time this same issue surfaced, it was definitely slick and it was a good face moisturizer. Couldn't ever get it to lather worth a hoot. I'm no neophyte to soap and brush either. I have no problems with and am a big fan of Queen Charlotte hard shaving creams, so I don't know what the deal is. Too many good products out there that I like, so I just treat MW as the one that got away.
Given that it's the only soap I've used, I can't compare to others, but it seems to have a pretty narrow sweet spot. But man, in that spot, it is beyond sweet for me. The fragrances aren't generally "hit you over the head" but delightful in their depth and complexity, without any "off" notes at all. Lathers just fine for me in a bowl, loading off the 1/2-oz samples and a B&B boar brush with only a couple weeks on it.
My only complaint is that I can't even narrow it down to two or three scents that I want to buy!
My only complaint is that I can't even narrow it down to two or three scents that I want to buy!
I find MW to provide some of the BEST lather of any of the 40+ soaps I own. it's in my top three soaps and definitely one of the easiest soaps to lather that I own. I don't really pay attention to how I use it because it always work. The thing I don't do is use hot water. I'd give up nearly all of my other soaps before I gave up MW. The only one I can think of that can compete is Tabac.
Love the scents, makes my skin feel really good after the shave. But like others, I am still perfecting my lathering technique for this soap. I seem to have much better success face lathering then lathering in my mug with this soap. Definitely a great soap though.
Edit : I usually lather it using very hot water, after reading some of the replies in this thread I will use cold water when lathering it tomorrow and report back.
Edit : I usually lather it using very hot water, after reading some of the replies in this thread I will use cold water when lathering it tomorrow and report back.
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my tips:
a) 45-60 sec loading lightly, NOT mashing with a drier brush (but don't count or time youself, when you see the lather forming on the brush, load a bit more then you're ready)
b) NO Scuttle, it does not like heat. I soak my brush in brush scuttle with hot water, then use it dry.
c) lather over a mug to catch all the wet drippings for subsequent passes and to refresh between passes.
d) Face Lather.
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