Finally! Proper Lather, courtesy Col. Conk

[Gammon]

Well, today I recieved soap #4 in the mail today. That is, the 4th soap I've tried for shaving.

I'm LIME addicted (this is as "going green" as I'm gonna get!) so I have limited my trials to lime soaps, except #2, Ivory.

#1: Classic brand lime. Great scent. Burned my clean skin like alcohol on freshly Fusion'd skin.

#2: Ivory. Only used it because I stopped using the burning Classic. Packaging actually sliced my knuckles up like you wouldn't believe. And, soap milled itself. It exploded into powder when I tried to get the wrapper off (it's been sitting in my drawer for at least 3 years, maybe that's why).

#3: Pirate's Cove lime. Good scent. Not what I'd call great, but good. Now, maybe I'd adjust to it..?

#4: Col. Conk lime. Poor scent. Nice package: Didn't have to get another bowl and mill soap into it just to try the soap out!

Soaps 1-3 would not give me good lather at all. #1 and #3 gave me *real* thin lather. With all three, the lather on one side of my face would vaporise before I finished shaving the other side. Very annoying. Water was always 'soft' with these.

Soap 4 gave me what I thought lather was supposed to be like. I actually lathered up my whole head and neck just to try it. I left it on for almost 20 minutes and the lather never disappeared. It didn't change much at all. Now, what's odd here is that I didn't run the water softener this week, so my water is likely very hard right now. Could this actually cause better lather? Or is the soap just that much better?

Granted, I face-lather only. And I've not been doing it all that long.

The scent of this soap, in the package, smelled more like Pine-Sol (or Lime-Sol?) than a good lime-parfum- soap. Even my wife commented that it was bad compared to the others. And she hates lime altogether. By the time I had lather on, the smell was not so bad. But, my sense of smell comes and goes, and I'm pretty sure it went, so I can't tell if the soap was ok or not.

Now due to my sudden skin problems which may or may not be shaving related (soap?) I'm forced to give up shaving for a few days so I don't yet know how this soap is for shaving. But, at least I won't have to lather up 3 times per pass.

Wow. This soap made my hair soft so if nothing else it'll make a good shampoo.

 

[dashmaverick]

Well, it sounds like your definitely not using enough water. Generally, it is said, that soft water actually makes it easier to build lather. I'm curious what your lathering routine is. Here's what I do:

- soak your brush in hot water and apply a small amount of water on the top of the soap puck. Shower or do your normal routine while your brush is soaking.

- squeeze out your brush and give it a good shake; you'll want to leave that small layer of water on the soap.

- proceed to load your brush. Don't be shy, really work the brush into the puck. Once the lather resembles a thick meringue it's ready for your face.

- wet your face and begin to lather in all directions and circles to build the lather. If the lather appears too thick or paste-like you'll need more water. Wet your hand and apply a few drops to the brush and continue to face lather. Repeat this until you get the consistency you like. If your lather is too thin or appears runny or bubbly, you'll need more soap. Load you brush on the puck again and face lather.

It's really not as hard as it may sound, its just a matter of becoming familiar the with proper soap to water ratio.

Hope this helps in some way. Also, you may really enjoy lime but it sounds like your skin doesn't agree with it. Citrus can be an irritant to those with sensitive skin. I'd recommend picking up a puck of Van der Hagen soap and using this until you get your lathering down and you skin calms. You can then go back to the lime, if it's still causing irritation then it just isn't for you.

 

[Gammon]

I'm pretty much doing all that. Sans hot water. I'm trying to avoid all hot water, my skin does not agree with it.
With the 3 soaps that wouldn't give good lather, I could not get the right amount of water, no matter what. It was always obviously too much or too little, no matter how carefully I tried adding water. If I did get what seemed just the right amount of water (based on the lather consistency), it would magically disappear from my face in a short time and I'd end up with a sticky film on my skin.
With soap 4, I haven't changed anything (that I know of) and the difference is drastic.
I'm aware of the possibility the lime soap is bothering my skin. The whole reason I like the lime soap though is that I've been using other lime non-shaving-soaps for years now for washing. And I've not had any problems with those. I'm too lime-addicted now to switch Changing to non-lime soap is a last resort

I'm guessing that the hard/soft water is not affecting my lather much. I should test my water hardness. I have some test strips for this. But, I think it's completely illogical to get better lather with harder water. It's most likely a coincidence.

 

[kg4ghn]

Using the same amount of water on different soaps can cause different effects too. Different soaps may need more or less water to have the consistency you want.

Oddly enough, my Conk's lime doesn't lather worth a crap, even though my Conk's Bay Rum and Almond both lather fine. I could probably play around with it and get it there, but I'm really not too fond of that lime scent.

 

[dashmaverick]

I would try working with hot water. You don't need to apply the hot water directly to your face, as you say this irritates your skin, but do use it to build your lather. Also I'd suggest to practice lathering in a mug or bowl for awhile instead of face lathering. Practice making lather even if you don't need a shave. This is how I got my technique down, by contstant lathering practice. Even today I'll sometimes whip up some lather for no apparent reason; I dunno, I find it kind of relaxing.

Keep trying and good luck!

 

[Gammon]

Well, I tried hot water, and it doesn't seem to matter either way.

I did get good lather with Soap #3 (Pirate's Bay Lime) with hard water. I'm still not going to give credit to the hard water though, it just makes no sense. Not #4 (Col. Conk) lather, but adequate.

But, now, dashmaverick, you may be on to something. I've been alternating #3 and #4, and #3 is making me burn now. #4 never does. It's a crying shame if it's the lime. I'm going to have to keep trying different limes to be sure.
#3 does not burn as much as #1 (Classic Lime) did, but still pretty bad. Just when i was really getting used to the scent
#4 still smells like some kind of floor cleaner.

I probably will get some VDH just to see, if I can find it locally, which it sounds like I can.

 

[Gammon]

Dry Soap + Dry Brush = Perfect Lather

Yes, no kidding!

I finally figured out how to get Soap #3 to lather perfectly.
Maybe it's my brush. I noticed whilst playing around, trying, that no matter how long I try and load up the brush, it seemed like the brush wasn't loading up enough. The way Soap #4 loaded up on the brush was totally different than the others. After 2 minutes with Soap #3, I would get the results of about 10 seconds with Soap #4. After 3 minutes, no change. I noticed that the soap was foaming up early and not really sticking to the brush. Soap #4 does not do this.
So, what'd I do? I put a totally DRY brush to a 99% DRY soap. The soap was very very slightly damp, it's not been used in a while, and it's stored in a sealed bag. It was a little slippery to the touch, but by no means wet. I tried loading up the brush, and sure enough! It loaded up just fine.
So, after loading up, I added water to the brush (a quick swipe under the faucet), and proceeded to lather on my face. The lather was excellent! Maybe even a little better than Soap #4.
Has anyone else had this result?
If my theory is correct, this would explain why I get better lather with hard water than soft.

Sadly, I can't say that I got a good shave with this lather, as I'm still not shaving. Waiting for my skin to heal from unknown issues..