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I am guilty of using too much soap per shave

Soap is by far the most expensive part of shaving for me -- I average 65 shaves per blade and now that I'm down to using a couple razors that I will never wear out, blade and razor cost over the next 30 years or so that I expect to live is very minimal.

Soap, however, it a one-shot use expense, even saving the lather in the brush every time, and depending on the soap, I use between 0.3 and 0.5 grams per shave. Home made soaps are pretty cheap (about 50 cents per 125 gr) but commercial soaps cost me a couple cents per shave vs. a couple hundredths of a cent.

And I hate to just flush lots of soap down the drain without getting any usage from it. Very little is required for a good shave, it's just a skin lubricant so anything above skin level is pure waste. You need enough lather so it doesn't dry out while you are shaving, not one bit more.

You may, of course, do as you like! It's just that thick, creamy lather is stricly asthetic, it doesn't actually do anything for your shave that the same lather in a thin coat won't.
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
I tried less soap and more water last night based on this thread and a journal entry from Cal and my shave improved. I thought I was adding enough water before and proved myself wrong. Those 7+ passes I thought I loaded on the brush were likely 49+ passes worth. Oops
 
I tried less soap and more water last night based on this thread and a journal entry from Cal and my shave improved. I thought I was adding enough water before and proved myself wrong. Those 7+ passes I thought I loaded on the brush were likely 49+ passes worth. Oops

made me chuckle, it's exactly the feeling i had
 
Tonight I decided to use only a bare minimum of soap and see how far I could stretch it, to see if I could get a full lather with it, adding a little bit of water repeatedly until the desired result is achieved. Well, yeah, turns out I'm a wasteful inefficient bastard when it comes to lathering. I use way, way too much soap normally.

Gonna be much more efficient from now on!
Too much soap? I use the leftover lather to wash my face after the alum block so that I get all of it off. There is barely anything left after that.
 
Soap is by far the most expensive part of shaving for me -- I average 65 shaves per blade and now that I'm down to using a couple razors that I will never wear out, blade and razor cost over the next 30 years or so that I expect to live is very minimal.

Soap, however, it a one-shot use expense, even saving the lather in the brush every time, and depending on the soap, I use between 0.3 and 0.5 grams per shave. Home made soaps are pretty cheap (about 50 cents per 125 gr) but commercial soaps cost me a couple cents per shave vs. a couple hundredths of a cent.

And I hate to just flush lots of soap down the drain without getting any usage from it. Very little is required for a good shave, it's just a skin lubricant so anything above skin level is pure waste. You need enough lather so it doesn't dry out while you are shaving, not one bit more.

You may, of course, do as you like! It's just that thick, creamy lather is stricly asthetic, it doesn't actually do anything for your shave that the same lather in a thin coat won't.

With respect to the glide of the razor, that's definitely true. With respect to cushion, I disagree. I think cushion has value, and a thin layer just physically doesn't give you as much.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
With respect to the glide of the razor, that's definitely true. With respect to cushion, I disagree. I think cushion has value, and a thin layer just physically doesn't give you as much.

Here's my take on that, and feel free to disagree.

No lather, no matter how cushioning, is "protection" from a sharpened blade edge, even if it was so dense that you had to put it on with a trowel instead of a brush. What cushion does do, is make the cap and comb ride slightly higher off the face, in turn lifting the blade slightly, and making the razor mimic a milder one in how it shaves. As I tend to use a mild razor anyway, cushion lifting everything up a smidge just makes the razor feel tuggy, and lessens (mutes) shave feel and awareness.

However, even with a more aggressive razor, I can still get a fantastic shave with a high slickness, low cushion lather, so long as I hit the right angle, and maintain a consistent and accurate pressure free technique.

So using a thinner lather, just needs the same adjustments as using a more aggressive razor, and those who struggle to get close shaves with mild razors, might well see improvements if they used a thinner, wetter lather, which lets the razor ride at a better height to do the job properly.

Your perspective may vary.
 
Here's my take on that, and feel free to disagree.

No lather, no matter how cushioning, is "protection" from a sharpened blade edge, even if it was so dense that you had to put it on with a trowel instead of a brush. What cushion does do, is make the cap and comb ride slightly higher off the face, in turn lifting the blade slightly, and making the razor mimic a milder one in how it shaves. As I tend to use a mild razor anyway, cushion lifting everything up a smidge just makes the razor feel tuggy, and lessens (mutes) shave feel and awareness.

However, even with a more aggressive razor, I can still get a fantastic shave with a high slickness, low cushion lather, so long as I hit the right angle, and maintain a consistent and accurate pressure free technique.

So using a thinner lather, just needs the same adjustments as using a more aggressive razor, and those who struggle to get close shaves with mild razors, might well see improvements if they used a thinner, wetter lather, which lets the razor ride at a better height to do the job properly.

Your perspective may vary.

Right, I agree with that. It lifts the razor up a tiny bit, and that ends up providing a bit of a buffer against errors. I don't necessarily need that, but I do think in a general sense that can be helpful for people. I've personally never noticed more tugging with a denser, "cushiony" lather, but YMMV of course.
 
I keep 3-4 soaps in rotation, each is in a separate bowl.
When done shaving, I squeeze the excess lather out of my brush back into the soap bowl. No waste, and much less soap residue getting into the plumbing. When I figures this routine out, it was “duh” moment 💡.
 
I keep 3-4 soaps in rotation, each is in a separate bowl.
When done shaving, I squeeze the excess lather out of my brush back into the soap bowl. No waste, and much less soap residue getting into the plumbing. When I figures this routine out, it was “duh” moment 💡.

This sounds deceivingly simple yet brilliant. Does it really work? What happens to that big gob of lather deposited into the soap bowl after it dries out? Do you let it sit out to dry? Does it get bubbly and weird the next day? Need more details please!
 
This sounds deceivingly simple yet brilliant. Does it really work? What happens to that big gob of lather deposited into the soap bowl after it dries out? Do you let it sit out to dry? Does it get bubbly and weird the next day? Need more details please!

I've saved my lather for a second shave before, and it works great. It will end up looking like a dry foam, but once you hit it with a damp brush it reconstitute just fine.
 
I find I'm off loading everything to a lather bowl, and watering it down a few drops at a time. Thin coats of lather are working better for me. Closer, smoother, less drying, slicker. Most of all the tactile feedback from the face is way superior to me.
 
I've saved my lather for a second shave before, and it works great. It will end up looking like a dry foam, but once you hit it with a damp brush it reconstitute just fine.
I’ve been doing that lately and it works great for me. Only question I have is, can it later spoil? I mean can it grow mold and nasty stuff?
 
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I’ve been doing that lately and it works great for me. Only question I have is, can later spoil? I mean can it grow mold and nasty stuff?
I can’t do this with The Fat because I leave about a tablespoon of water on the puck to keep it hydrated, but I’ve been doing it on Stirling Sheep.
 
I’ve been doing that lately and it works great for me. Only question I have is, can it later spoil? I mean can it grow mold and nasty stuff?

I don't know; I don't know if I've ever noticed mold growing on soap in any form. But when I save lather like this, I end up using it only a couple days later and it always at least smells the same, ie no musty smells. I think with it being relatively airy, it dries out fast enough that mold doesn't really have time to establish.
 
In an effort to not create an environment that is hospitable for mold I'll leave the cover off any soap I use until at least the next day, sometimes longer. I recommend that others do the same. I haven't lost any scent in doing it this way and I haven't experienced any mold either. It is true that some soaps utilize a preservative to inhibit mold, I use one in any soap I create, but it's not a one hundred percent guarantee that you won't experience any mold if you create the ideal conditions. You've seen where this stuff grows.

Wetting the soap and then capping it right away is not a good idea, especially when you go a long time in between uses. I'd rather not create a perfect breeding ground for mold by doing this. In terms of saving the lather personally I'd rather not as I'd be more concerned with it being a hygiene issue or in bringing some stubble into the soap, but to each their own.

I don't rinse the soap after each use so I guess in a way I'm saving some unused lather. I do it more to eliminate an unnecessary step and to avoid wetting the soap even further.

What it really comes down to is what is best is whatever works best for you.
 
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