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How is this lather? MWF and RR Plissoft brush

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this question. I am new to using synthetic brush so here I am in the brushes forum.

I am still on the learning curve trying to understand what the goal is for lather. I mean I'm not sure when I am there already and should stop adding more water or if I want it to be dense like yogurt or fluffy like whipped egg whites or something totally different. I seem to get good shaves either way.

I took a picture - not sure how much you can tell from a picture but this is quite fluffy and soft and holds its shape but seems too airy to me. What is the action or method to work the air out? Or is that too late and I should have done something different to never get the air in there in the first place?
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I'll put it bluntly.....it looks airy and unusable.

I'd be scrapping that batch, reloading and staring over. I wouldn't shave with it.

Less water. Triple the amount of loading time. You need a lot more soap to water ratio. MWF can be tricky.

Working the air out will be easier if you skip the bowl and face lather. Start with more soap, less water and slowly add water if needed. Circle motions, then slapping on face. I like my lather a lot thicker and creamier than what you posted.
 
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Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
If you like it thicker reduce the amount of water will help, The way I use MWF is peel off some with my pocket knife and press in bottom of bowl. I then give the wet brush a squeeze so the brush is just damp and start to swirl until a paste starts and then carefully dip my tips in water and swirl some more until you have the amount and texture you desire. To much water when mixing seems to undermine the MWF. Then apply to a wet face seems to work for myself. (click photo to enlarge) Brush is a 24mm Yaqi Moka synthetic.
SOTD October 30 2022.jpg

Have some great shaves!
 
I'll put it bluntly.....it looks airy and unusable.

I'd be scrapping that batch, reloading and staring over. I wouldn't shave with it.

Less water. Triple the amount of loading time. You need a lot more soap to water ratio. MWF can be tricky.

Working the air out will be easier if you skip the bowl and face lather. Start with more soap, less water and slowly add water if needed. Circle motions, then slapping on face. I like my lather a lot thicker and creamier than what you posted.
Blunt is good! I had arrived at a similar conclusion after my initial post and decided I had way too much water to soap ratio. This is helpful and I'm gonna keep at it. :)
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
Its a little too bubbly, use more soap and work up a good later. Remember, you can add water, but not taking it out. Use less water to begin with, if needed, add a few drops until you get a nice lather with much smaller bubbles. The lather should be like meringue or yogurt. Remember there are three main components to lather: water, soap and air. Too lttle soap/too much water may result in what you got - too much air. Also, what I head from the old guys, a good lather has a certain shine to it. If you work on this, you will eventually get it pretty quickly.
 

Ravenonrock

I shaved the pig
I'll put it bluntly.....it looks airy and unusable.

I'd be scrapping that batch, reloading and staring over. I wouldn't shave with it.

Less water. Triple the amount of loading time. You need a lot more soap to water ratio. MWF can be tricky.

Working the air out will be easier if you skip the bowl and face lather. Start with more soap, less water and slowly add water if needed. Circle motions, then slapping on face. I like my lather a lot thicker and creamier than what you posted.
This.
 
Don’t feel bad, I had to start over the other day due to too much water and I’ve been at it a long time. Was using a new boar and it holds tons of water compared to my RV STF synthetics so I started out with way too much water and not enough soap.

That lather is a bit too airy for my tastes. Like others have said, a little more load time and less water. I use synthetic brushes with MWF with great success. I like a little more dense lather that what you made there.

Keep practicing…..you’ll get it soon and you’ll wonder why you had difficulty. Once you get it, you got it.
 
I'll put it bluntly.....it looks airy and unusable.

I'd be scrapping that batch, reloading and staring over. I wouldn't shave with it.

Less water. Triple the amount of loading time. You need a lot more soap to water ratio. MWF can be tricky.

Working the air out will be easier if you skip the bowl and face lather. Start with more soap, less water and slowly add water if needed. Circle motions, then slapping on face. I like my lather a lot thicker and creamier than what you posted.

I tend to agree. But if it works for you then fine but I would get irritation if I used it. I would load more too and add small water every now and then whilst whipping up. It may be a longer process but worth the extra minute or two.
 
Too add too, I find with synthetic brushes, the less wetter the better. Because they don't hold water, they drip when applying to face. I squeeze the water from the synthetic first, add a bit of water to the soap or bowl with soap/cream in and start from there.
 

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
Personally, I prefer using the "@Marco Method" as detailed by "B&B's Man in Italy":

Lately I've seen that some B&B members are having issues regarding how to create a good lather with Italian soft soaps. And I have personally received several PMs regarding this subject, with many asking me what kind of lathering technique I actually use. Here is a simple tutorial for new wet shavers or for those who just are unable to get satisfying results with soft soaps.

1. Italian soft soaps like brushes with soft tips and great backbone. You can use a quality boar or badger brush of your choice with the above specs. I prefer boars, as in the old Italian barbershop tradition.

2. Run your brush under hot water (or simply soak it) for at least 30 seconds.

3. Turn your brush upside-down WITHOUT shaking it. Allow only the gravity water to fall down and move your brush carefully, since it has to be kept full of water.

4. Start making swirls on the surface of the soap. You have to proceed slowly, without pressure on the brush. Remember that it's very wet.

5. Heavily load your brush for about 45/60 seconds making around 100/120 swirls. Please keep in mind that the loading time and number of swirls also depend on how big your brush is and how much water it can retain.

6. Move the brush onto your face and face lather. Again, be careful, you'll have a LOT of lather to handle.

7. While face lathering add, slowly and progressively, a few drops of water per time to your brush. Or, alternatively, lightly wet the tips of the brush. I personally prefer to add drops of water to the brush because I have a better control of the soap/water ratio.

8. You bring the lather to the right consistency.

*** The main concept to always keep in mind is simple: a lot of water + a lot of swirls + a lot of soap = a lot of great, thick, slick and effective lather. ***

I learned this technique from an old Italian Master Barber with over 40 years of experience and I've been using it with great results for almost 16 years.

P.S. This lathering technique works very well even with hard, triple milled soaps. Exactly as described above, with the sole exception that I soften the surface of hard soaps with a dozen drops of water before starting to make swirls.

I modify the @Marco Method for bowl lathering here:

Post in thread 'never-stop-learning's Quest for Knowledge' never-stop-learning's Quest for Knowledge - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/never-stop-learnings-quest-for-knowledge.611194/post-11383959

Hope this helps. :)
 
I was having troubles getting a consistent lather when I dipped my brush in water. I repurposed a small spritz bottle and started using it to add water. Works much better for me.

My process: soak brush, squeese most of the water out till damp. Spritz soap and start swirling, continue until brush is nice and pasty. 15-20 count for softer soap 40-60 for hard soap. Paint entire face, spritz, paint, spritz, paint, repeat until soap layer is getting see through and starting to run a bit. Paint for a few seconds more and shave.
So far I have had enough lather for my shaves and have had very consistent lather. Turns out I like a thin wet lather.

Works for me.
Be well
Jay
 

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
I played around with some practice lathers with MWF and a Yaqi synth this evening, inspired by this thread.

I found if using a synthetic you really have to creep up on the right amount of water and literally add less than a quarter of a teaspoon every 30 seconds or so. (Previously, I found with my default big boar I could be more liberal.)

I caveat this by saying I’m no expert, but it helped for me so wanted to suggest it.
 
I played around with some practice lathers with MWF and a Yaqi synth this evening, inspired by this thread.

I found if using a synthetic you really have to creep up on the right amount of water and literally add less than a quarter of a teaspoon every 30 seconds or so. (Previously, I found with my default big boar I could be more liberal.)

I caveat this by saying I’m no expert, but it helped for me so wanted to suggest it.
That's what I'm finding too. I was using a large boar brush before and this synth brush is new to me. I'm guessing the synth doesn't absorb the water I kept adding. I went back to boar brush this morning and this time the brush keep drinking all the water and I had to keep adding more. I'll get the hang of it eventually :)
 
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