Help with lathering using a synthetic without the "flood"

[Teppanyaki]

I'd like to know if anyone has any recommendations about a problem that I have with synthetic brushes.

My usual technique is to soak my boar brush (Semogue SOC boar), take a shower, and then gently flick excess water off of the brush. I then lather on the puck, and at some point I get enough soap loaded no the brush that I then face lather. During this process I get bits of lather dropping off, and have to dip the bristles a few times to get a nice lather. No problems.

My usual technique with synthetics (Muhle 25 mm XL and, more recently, 28 mm Frank Shaving Pur-Tech knot) is simply to rinse the bristles to get them damp and try the same technique. What ends up happening when I switch from puck loading to face lathering is that I press firmly with the brush and a bunch of water from deep inside the knot comes out, which feels like a "flood" and runs off of my face, taking some lather with it. It's incredibly annoying.

My fix has been to get the bristles of my synthetics damp, and then shake it like heck to get any water out. I then end up with a brush loaded with mostly soap, and I need to add significantly more water/dip the bristles a lot more often to get a similar lather to my boar.

As I type this, the idea of splaying the synthetic more when loading so the water ends up on the puck rather than running off of my face comes to mind, although I think that I've tried this with less than spectacular results.

I suspect that I'm doing something wrong, and I'd like to correct it. Any suggestions or advice? Thanks!

 

[Eamrein]

No brush expert here, but I wonder just how "firmly" you press with the brush. I use mostly synthetics and hardly have to press at all to splay. Are you pressing all the way to the knot?

 

[ackvil]

I have been traveling for three weeks and using only a synthetic (Muhle) brush and a shave stick. I dip the ends of the brush in water and with a fairly wet brush lather up. I periodically dip the brush in water to add more to the lather. I use a lot of product so the lather is always thick. The only problem I have is that the mirror gets a bath.

 

[VerbaVolant]

...Any suggestions or advice? Thanks!

My advice is to switch from face lathering to bowl lathering. The only way to properly use a synthetic brush, in my opinion.

 

[Jarick]

I would spend more time loading and essentially building some lather on the soap itself. Then when you are bringing the lather to the face to work, it's more incorporated and less water. You may also want to squeeze the brush and then just wet the tips before loading.

 

[Foyle]

Synthetics require a different approach to make them work well. I uses a Muhle STF for about a year straight, and I developed a pretty good technique for it. Dip the brush in your water to get the knot wet. Instead of shaking the water out, just give the knot a gentle squeeze. Shaking gets too much water out. Squeezing seems to leave just enough water in the knot to do the job. Load your brush as normal. When beginning to lather on your face, start out with slower motions than you would with a natural brush. Go slow for a few seconds until the lather starts to become a little bit more formed. Then you can face lather as you normally would.

I've used this technique with both the STF and the Black Fibre knots, and it works equally well.

BTW, I'm back onto natural brushes again. I just prefer them, but I do have one synthetic that I keep for travel.

 

[celestino]

Synthetics require a different approach to make them work well. I uses a Muhle STF for about a year straight, and I developed a pretty good technique for it. Dip the brush in your water to get the knot wet. Instead of shaking the water out, just give the knot a gentle squeeze. Shaking gets too much water out. Squeezing seems to leave just enough water in the knot to do the job. Load your brush as normal. When beginning to lather on your face, start out with slower motions than you would with a natural brush. Go slow for a few seconds until the lather starts to become a little bit more formed. Then you can face lather as you normally would.

I've used this technique with both the STF and the Black Fibre knots, and it works equally well.

BTW, I'm back onto natural brushes again. I just prefer them, but I do have one synthetic that I keep for travel.

+1 Take it a bit slower and don't force the bristles to splay so much.

 

[pejay66]

I use synths when traveling. The gentle squeeze works for me as synths do not hold water as well as the real deal...

 

[Teppanyaki]

Thanks - I will have to try this.

The idea of only wetting the tips initially . . . never occurred to me.

 

[FireDragon76]

I just give my synthetics a gentle shake and use the water held in the brush to build a lather.

 

[keller]

I've personally never experienced this problem but you've got a few different methods to try from the guys posting above. Here's one more you can add and this approach works for me every time with all of my synthetics - Muhle, Plisson, and Omega.

I dip the tips about half an inch and then shake it gently until any heavy dripping stops - doesn't take much. I load my brushes quite heavily as I like a very thick and creamy lather (+ I have hard water). I face lather almost exclusively and only re-dip into water about 2-4 times during the initial lather building. I dip only the tips (maybe 1/4 of an inch) and then give one gentle shake to make sure not too much water has absorbed in. Everyone has their technique of course but if nothing else works for you, you can give this a try. Good luck!

 

[Jarick]

Thanks - I will have to try this.

The idea of only wetting the tips initially . . . never occurred to me.

It's something I've just been doing recently with all brushes, though I mostly use badgers. I think of it like a little bit of a Marco method but without all the water in the knot that dumps out.

 

[Tommy Tutone]

Thought I saw a thread here or on Mantic's site about runny bubbly lather in the "breach" of the brush caused by starting with a too wet brush and too much pumping and mashing the brush during loading or lathering... Have personally experienced this with not only synthetic brushes but boar and badger, too. Not sure if this is what the OP describes as "the flood".. Good to load soap like you hate it, but don't pump and mash your brush like you hate it.. Just a newb's $0.02..