Glycerin Soap Tutorial - Part 2

[rtaylor61]

Perry,

Glycerin soaps are normally "see through" or soft if you squeeze them. L'Occitane is not a glycerin soap, but a "hard" soap. Glad you found success!

Randy

 

[soapbuddy]

Great pics!

Thanks for posting!

 

[michaelskar]

Just got my soaps from charles (fresh lime and lavender) and tried my first shaving soap this morning. using Scotto's techniques I had huge success in creating a really nice lather that equaled a perfect shave! Thanks for the info, as I would have probably done it all wrong and blamed the soap. The loading it up part was especially helpful as most places suggest just seeing the foam start before transferring to the bowl...waiting for a nice lather in the tub before the bowl helped create 5 passes worth of soap 9though I only did three).

 

[netsurfr]

Wow! This was excellent. Thanks, Scotto. Wish I would have run across this several months ago when I started straight shaving. This explains why my shaves are much better with the soft tubs than with my glycerin soaps.
Thanks again,
Steve

 

[AaronP]

Scotto -

I too am glad this thread got bumped. I have been struggling to get a satisfactory lather with my soaps. I could get a good qualitiy lather, but not the quantity I wanted for four good passes. Followed your technique this morning and ended up with loads of great lather. I just wasn't using enough water and was not spending enought time loading the brush with the soap.

Thanks again.

Aaron

 

[SilverKarn]

it has GOT to be my Boar Hair Burma Shave brush thats preventing me from getting lather like this.

i swirl it in the bowl of MamaBear Lime for at LEAST a full minute, theres so much lather coming out of the bowl that i cant see my hand anymore.

i then swirl and swirl in a bowl, adding water as i go little by little.

i have only managed to get lather like yours ONCE, never since.

i cant wait for my C&E best badger to come tuesday so i can try this out.

I also have very hard water, and its nice to know you can still make a good lather even if you dont have soft water

 

[ratcheer]

That's odd, I always get great lather when I use my el cheapo Burma Shave brush. But I only use it about once a month.

Tim

 

[SilverKarn]

Maybe i got a bad Burma Brush

i just got my C&E best badger today, tried the same thing i tried with my Burma and i got a great lather, though not as good as Scotto's

I just have to practice more

 

[Richard]

Great stuff Scotto!!! HUGE difference in my shave - bbs WITHOUT the irritation and tiny blood spots on my jaw!

 

[Arthur J Cummings]

Very helpful!. I think since I'm retired and got on to a DE razor, that the morning shave has become a pleasurable ritual. The point is to change ones thinking and allow enough time. Easy for me to say. When I was working, I used to get up at 4.30A.M daily and had to rush rush eyc. Ah! Ain't life grand?Now it's so much fun I'm going to have to confess it. " Bless me father, I think I'm in love with my razor!!!"

Art Cummings-
AKA; connman

 

[Jim]

Welcome Art!

 

[Arthur J Cummings]

Would the process be enhanced if I were to heat the soap in a metal container
and leave the container in the sink in hot water.?( Note I didn't say speed up the process, shaving is now a pleasurable event.Greaat instructions- specific,and easy to understand,
A,J. C. Aka Connman ( from Connecticut)

 

[Patrick D]

Would the process be enhanced if I were to heat the soap in a metal container
and leave the container in the sink in hot water.?( Note I didn't say speed up the process, shaving is now a pleasurable event.Greaat instructions- specific,and easy to understand,
A,J. C. Aka Connman ( from Connecticut)

Arthur, a Moss Scutttle would brighten your days and shaves a lot!

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14783

 

[Desiderius]

Thanks for this informative thread, I've copied your way of making lather and I've adjusted it a bit.

1: Prep the surface of my 'Taylor of old bond street' Sandalwood soap by getting some hot water on it. I let it sit in for a minute like you.
2: I pour that water in my shave bowl.
3: Start to work the Sandalwoord soap. I also press down a fair amount here. I keep working that soap until there is real lather going. As you already mentioned; This might take a bit of work.
4: Now I grap my shave bowl and start swirling. ... Swirling and pumping the brush up and down hard to get the lather deep into the brush.
5: Now I wipe my brush, so all the lather is still in the bowl.
6: I repeat step 3; Working the soap again.
7: I go back to my bowl and start swirling again untill I've got a thick lather.
8: Now I add some Proraso Shaving Cream and start swirling again. Again until the soap looks nice and thick.
9: Now I start adding water to my bowl, little by little, until the mixture is glossy and rich.

Lather up the face now !

 

[BarryR]

Great post, but I got two questions:

1) Is the technique any different for hard (milled) soaps? Seems to me like it would be pretty much the same.

2) I think I've been using too little water and too little soap. But if so, why don't I just wind up with a small amount of good lather? After, the only two things in the lather are soap and water. Wouldn't it be mostly the ration that matters?

 

[TOB9595]

I'm thankful that I came upon this post.
GREAT Tutorial!
Thanks
Tom

 

[Lelander]

Great post, but I got two questions:

1) Is the technique any different for hard (milled) soaps? Seems to me like it would be pretty much the same.

2) I think I've been using too little water and too little soap. But if so, why don't I just wind up with a small amount of good lather? After, the only two things in the lather are soap and water. Wouldn't it be mostly the ration that matters?

Not enough water and not enough soap results in large volumes of lather made up mostly of air that has been whipped into the soapy matrix. This won't last long, provides little cusion, and fails to soften the hair. Water to soap ratio is only part if the equation, you also have to take into account the time spent creating lather as well as the size of the brush. Big brushes need to be loaded with quite a lot of soap to develop lather of correct consistency. You will almost always be able to whip up a large enough volume of lather if you try hard enough; however, if there is not enough water to make the wet lather really wet or not enough soap to bind with that water you get either really light frothy lather or thin runny lather. You need to have the correct amount of water for the soap and the correct amount of soap for the brush.

 

[masonjarjar]

it has GOT to be my Boar Hair Burma Shave brush thats preventing me from getting lather like this.

i swirl it in the bowl of MamaBear Lime for at LEAST a full minute, theres so much lather coming out of the bowl that i cant see my hand anymore.

i then swirl and swirl in a bowl, adding water as i go little by little.

i have only managed to get lather like yours ONCE, never since.

i cant wait for my C&E best badger to come tuesday so i can try this out.

I also have very hard water, and its nice to know you can still make a good lather even if you dont have soft water

I dunno, the Burma is the only brush I've used for 15 years. Maybe I'm just good at it, but I've never had a problem getting good lathers with my Burma. Sorry to be blunt, but you've just got to attack that soap. Beat the living $hit out of it. Don't be afraid to put your wrist into it..

-Mason

 

[Androclese]

Tried this tonight with some of my Col. Conk's Almond and it was the best lather I've gotten so far. I probably could have added still more soap and water for even better results. I got three passes out of what I lathered up and I think 4 would have been pushing it. Practice, practice, practice.

Thanks!

 

[Hoos]

My thanks to Scotto and the rest for this thread.

Received a tub of glycerin today, so stumbling across this thread is very timely.

Probably will save it for the weekend - when I have both time and time to get it right.