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Discovered "the Marco method" for lathering!

Happy hump day everyone,

So I have always gotten decent lathers out of most of my soaps...or I had thought. I recently came across another thread and several others had mentioned in that thread that they use "the Marco method" to lather. I've only been wet shaving for a little over a year and a half so I was curious and dug around and found THAT thread. I lathered today using the Marco method and boy have I been missing out. My lathers were always slick enough and got the occasional minor irritation every now and then, but today opened my eyes to what a lather SHOULD be! I got the creamiest, slickest lather ever out of my Stirling executive man which made my razor very happy. I guess I just never used enough water in my prior techniques so I can now experiment with that, but the Marco method is what made me discover a true lather.

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I really want to know what this method is all about please.
It's basically you soak/wet your brush, leave all the water in, don't shake it out or anything. The only water that should be let out is what falls out of it due to gravity. Then start loading the brush with light pressure. The soap will become very sudsy and bubbly but keep going until most or all of the bubbles are gone and they turn to a wet cream. Then go straight to your face for lathering gradually adding little amounts of water to the tips of the brush. Boom, there's your lather!

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ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
I used to wring all the water out of my brush when I went from canned foams/gels to proper shaving soaps. Then I stumbled across Marco's Method and BANG, what an improvement. It does work for me. As in all shaving though YMMV.
 
That’s a hard Italian soap. PAA, L & L, sudsy soapery these are croaps

If you say so... SV is an hard Italian soap, Omega "Via Barberia" line are hard soaps. In my book Cella belongs to the family of traditionally soft almond Italian soaps.
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Unless you mean the "kilo brick" properly named "Crema Sapone"
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that from Italian translates as CReam sOAP
 
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If they are both masculine, Lotion soap would be a closer translation. I know in German you don't switch genders, I assume Italian is the same.

The tub seems to be cream to/at/by/from whiskers/beard.

I've never tried Cella, so I don't know what I would call it myself.
 
If you say so... SV is an hard Italian soap, Omega "Via Barberia" line are hard soaps. In my book Cella belongs to the family of traditionally soft almond Italian soaps.
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Unless you mean the "kilo brick" properly named "Crema Sapone"
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that from Italian translates as CReam sOAP

I always go by the method of if your brush leaves a mark in the soap it’s a croap. I have a big ol brick of cella here and it’s a solid piece of soap, yeah I can dent it if I push on it but I can do that to Triple milled soaps too if I push hard enough. It’s all about the water content in the soap itself and cella has barely any which is why the Marco method works so well on it and all soaps like it. When you do the Marco method with actual croaps you have way too much water in the brush and you create mush because the croap has a lot of water in it already, and that wastes your croap because you pick up WAY more than needed. That’s all I’m getting at here. I guess like just about everything else in this hobby ymmv.
 
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Raven Koenes

My precious!
I always go by the method of if your brush leaves a mark in the soap it’s a croap. I have a big ol brick of cella here and it’s a solid piece of soap, yeah I can dent it if I push on it but I can do that to Triple milled soaps too if I push hard enough. It’s all about the water content in the soap itself and cella has barely any which is why the Marco method works so well on it and all soaps like it. When you do the Marco method with actual croaps you have way too much water in the brush and you create mush because the croap has a lot of water in it already, and that wastes your croap because you pick up WAY more than needed. That’s all I’m getting at here. I guess like just about everything else in this hobby ymmv.
It does say on the Cella tub that it is Crema Da Barba and that it is a shaving cream. The Cella tub is an atypical cream because it is harder like the kilo box. The box says it is a Crema-Sapone i.e., Cream Soap or Croap for short because it is too hard to take a finger full and load on a brush like a proper cream. Omega Via Barberia hard soaps are labeled Sapon and not Crema, or cream, and they are a hard soap. The old Omega Eucalipto which is labeled Crema Da Barba is a croap becuase again it is atypical of a cream. It is soft but to hard to take a dab and load on a brush. Proraso Tubs are also a soft soap or croap that are different from their creams in a tube of the same scents. Italians are known for their soft soaps. If you can cut off a piece of Cella and mold/press it to fit in a bowl it is a croap. If you can't mold it into a bowl and have to grate it it's a hard soap If you have to grate Cella the kilo brick has dried out.
 
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Been using a sopping wet brush for 40+ years, never a problem. Generally have to add more water as the lather develops, hard milled or cream, doesn't mater.
 
Just to put my 2 cents into this, I call Cella a croap because you can easily mold it into any shape or put it into a tube to make a shave stick.
Back on topic, I find the "Marco Method" works fine most of the time.
 
Just to put my 2 cents into this, I call Cella a croap because you can easily mold it into any shape or put it into a tube to make a shave stick.
Back on topic, I find the "Marco Method" works fine most of the time.
I agree with this as well. I only discovered the technique a day or two ago, but I can see this working with most soaps and croaps. The only case I could see this not being AS effective is with creams. Just my guess.

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:a47:Bottom line you always have more control over your lather with a dryer brush adding water as you go. This is a fact. Half of my brushes hold enough water for a weeks worth of lather if I just let them drain on there own. This is a terrible method especially for beginners. Let the torches and pitchforks fly :a47::badger::ciappa::crazy::behead:
 
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Raven Koenes

My precious!
:a47:Bottom line you always have more control over your lather with a dryer brush adding water as you go. This is a fact. Half of my brushes hold enough water for a weeks worth of lather if I just let them drain on there own. This is a terrible method especially for beginners. Let the torches and pitchforks fly :a47::badger::ciappa::crazy::behead:
What are you some kind of philistine? Do you not know Italy is the wet shaving spiritual center of the known universe? Sheesh! :001_tt2:
 
I use a method in between the two (dry brush and Marco wet brush method). I take a brush that has soaked in water (badger or boar) give it one gentle shake and load it. There is always enough water in the brush so I don't have to wet the tips. Originally, I bowl lathered but for the past few years I have face lathered. I find that working the lather on my face (or in the bowl) thickens the lather and removes any bubbles.

At one time there were a few posts on B&B of individuals who used a damp brush and never added water to the tips or the bowl. They said they got good shave following that method.

As usual, there are various methods that work. Not one method is suitable for all. Just try them all and see what works for you.
 
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