It's gotta be me :(

[NoelyDeezNutz]

I went out and purchased some soap from AoS, with the mindset that I want to try a bunch of different ways to shave, and use what I like best. Doesn't have to offer the best shave, but more of the best "experience" if that makes sense.

I LOVE using creams so far. But I think that may be my downfall here.

I followed a few different guides on how to lather up soap correctly, and i've failed over and over... the only way for me to fix it, is to dump it and start over with cream instead of soap, lol.

Using a badger brush, multiple amounts of water, and for some reason, I can never get a good lather with soap.

Any tips?

 

[dmachine]

Without seeing any pics, my guess is that you have a product-to-water ratio issue. Try using this tutorial:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21136

Good luck.

 

[Luc]

My suspicion is that you are not charging your brush enough. Most problems with soaps are related to a "not enough product issue". Try charging your brush for at least 30 seconds. Make a few bowls of lather before your next shave.

Tutorials if required: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Lathers

 

[NoelyDeezNutz]

try soaking the soap in a mug for about 5 mins, also soak the brush for the same time. pour off water and shake brush well. load up the brush and lather on your face rather than the bowl. you may want to invest in a cheaper badger brush to start. this will give you something to compare with the boar brush. all soaps lather different, glycerin and goats milk for instance.

I have a badger and a boar brush right now. Using a woodbowl and the soap is soaking while I take a shower.

Without seeing any pics, my guess is that you have a product-to-water ratio issue. Try using this tutorial:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21136

Good luck.

Thats the exact tut that I was following. It's what made me think that maybe soaps aren't for me.

My suspicion is that you are not charging your brush enough. Most problems with soaps are related to a "not enough product issue". Try charging your brush for at least 30 seconds. Make a few bowls of lather before your next shave.

Tutorials if required: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Lathers

I was charging it for ~10 seconds, so that may, infact, be the issue. I'll lather up a bowl tomorrow to try it out.

If I can get some pics and maybe a video up, i'll do that as well, since I know how hard troubleshooting something can be without them.

 

[Luc]

I have a badger and a boar brush right now. Using a woodbowl and the soap is soaking while I take a shower.



Thats the exact tut that I was following. It's what made me think that maybe soaps aren't for me.



I was charging it for ~10 seconds, so that may, infact, be the issue. I'll lather up a bowl tomorrow to try it out.

If I can get some pics and maybe a video up, i'll do that as well, since I know how hard troubleshooting something can be without them.

10 seconds won't be enough for sure. Please report back when you tried again!

 

[danparker77]

Definitely not enough soap! I charge (depending one which brush) for at least 30 seconds some brushes more like a minute!

 

[SiBurning]

The way it looks to me is that I form a snurdle of cream on top of the soap and use that. If it's not thick like a cream, you're using too much water. If you leave a bit of water over the top first, and can't get a cream consistency, you're probably using too dry a brush.

 

[breadstick]

As suggested above, try face lathering the soap. Start with a mostly dry brush (squeezed out after soaking while you shower). Charge the brush on the soap for about 15-25 seconds and start lathering on your dripping wet face. You will, most likely, need to re-wet the brush a few times to get the lather where you want it. The best way, for me, to do this is to have a small bowl of warm water or have some ran in the sink and dip the tip of the brush in, then go back to your face. This is the easiest way for me to make a good lather and you work it in your beard while you build your lather. Let me know if you try this and it works out for you.

 

[DSB]

To get an idea of how much soap you should be using, try taking the puck of soap, and rub it directly on your whiskers, over your entire beard. After applying the soap directly to your face, begin to lather on your face with a damp brush. Lather for 30 seconds, then dip just the very tips of the brush in some warm water, and continue to lather on your face. Continue to add water until you have a nice lather.

Or, just stick with creams.

 

[NoelyDeezNutz]

Ok, here is the update so far! I wanted to try it with BOTH of my brushes to note the differences and the pros/cons of each.

Set my 2 brushes to soak for a little bit, put a little bit of water on the soap. Waited.

Dumped any excess water from the soap into my mug, dried out the brushes via a few shakes.

Loaded my cheap boar brush for 30 seconds, immediately noticed the difference in the amount of product.
Loaded my badger brush for 30 seconds, and it didn't seem to get as much as the boar brush (badger is softer than the boar) But it got enough to start a decent (but dry) lather.

After adding some water and building for around a minute, I had lather that was comparable to what i'm used to with creams.

Now, onto the boar brush. Wouldn't lather correctly in the mug (I think it may be because the mug is smooth and the brush is stiff) BUT... when I lathered in my palm, It worked beautifully.

Just need to refine it a bit and get used to the amount of water/product.

Thank you for the help!

 

[Luc]

Ok, here is the update so far! I wanted to try it with BOTH of my brushes to note the differences and the pros/cons of each.

Set my 2 brushes to soak for a little bit, put a little bit of water on the soap. Waited.

Dumped any excess water from the soap into my mug, dried out the brushes via a few shakes.

Loaded my cheap boar brush for 30 seconds, immediately noticed the difference in the amount of product.
Loaded my badger brush for 30 seconds, and it didn't seem to get as much as the boar brush (badger is softer than the boar) But it got enough to start a decent (but dry) lather.

After adding some water and building for around a minute, I had lather that was comparable to what i'm used to with creams.

Now, onto the boar brush. Wouldn't lather correctly in the mug (I think it may be because the mug is smooth and the brush is stiff) BUT... when I lathered in my palm, It worked beautifully.

Just need to refine it a bit and get used to the amount of water/product.

Thank you for the help!

Try face lathering on your next shave!

 

[drandall]

every soap has its own temperament, but here are some basic tips i've found generally work.

1) soak your brush

2) before attacking the puck, squeeze out most of the water...damp but not wet. it's much easier to add more water than it is to rebalance with product if you've used too much

3) load for 30 sec -1 minute. many times, this one step can make all the difference. you want a thick layer of concentrated, low-volume soap on your bristles

4) face lather. bowl lathering some soaps can be tricky. face lathering not only allows you to skip a step, but you spend more time applying lather to your whiskers, which is always a good thing

5) add water in stages, slowly. some soap lather takes a while to "set up". it'll be thin and bubbly...but if you keep adding small bits of water and work that in, it'll slicken up and build a nice thick layer.

when i started out, i was a cream guy (as many are) but have come to appreciate the virtues of soap which i now use the vast majority of the time.

keep at it!

 

[Eudjinn]

Here is what works every time more or less with every soap...
1. Soak/wet brush
2. Squeeze/shake till "damp"
3. Load brush for 1 minute - 1.5 minutes; I have found 30 seconds to be too little.
4. IMPORTANT: load at the TIPS... do not put any pressure on the brush i.e. mashing the knot into the soap when loading. This is what I used to do and it does not load the brush. The way to load is to gently swirl the tips of the damp brush on the soap - the soap will permeate into the center of the brush through the tips and you will have enough product.
5. Try actually timing yourself. Don't go by "it feels like I've been loading for a minute." Actually loading for a minute when timing yourself feels like forever, but you will be happy with the results
6. Wet face, apply lather and add water in drops as needed.

 

[Perkus]

Thank you all for an enlightening and inspiring discussion!

I've learned a lot from you.

)
Perkus

 

[mharris127]

4. IMPORTANT: load at the TIPS... do not put any pressure on the brush i.e. mashing the knot into the soap when loading. This is what I used to do and it does not load the brush. The way to load is to gently swirl the tips of the damp brush on the soap - the soap will permeate into the center of the brush through the tips and you will have enough product.

Actually, I have to "mash" the brush while lathering in the mug to get anywhere. Of course, I usually use VDH Deluxe, but with my method I have more lather than I can use in less than a minute.

Here is my method:

1. Soak brush and soap in water in separate mugs for at least three minutes (the water should just cover the top of the soap and surround it so all surface areas except the bottom can draw water).

2. Dump water out of soap mug.

3. Shake brush a few times to get rid of excess water

4. Swirl brush over puck in mug, mashing the brush into the puck moderately for at least 45 seconds until you have lots of luscious lather in the mug. If lather is too dry (you will know within 30 seconds once somewhat experienced), you may add small amounts of water while lathering on puck.

5. Un-mash brush, swirl brush around in the built-up lather to load brush.

6. Using brush, swirl lather from brush onto whiskers until you have a coating of lather on all areas of face that you shave.

7. Shave. Between each time you shave whiskers off of and remove lather completely from face, re-lather face using excess lather from step 4.

8. Do not do against the grain or across the grain until you really know what you are doing. I am experienced with a DE and cannot do this reliably without nicks and weepers myself! I am an WTG shaver and will probably remain so for life. Please note that I am sort of new at puck lathering, I used a can for years. However, I have found a method that works for me -- even though it may be wasteful to some.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Big fan of brush mashing here too! Make the soap think you're mad at it, really put a beating on it for 30 - 60 seconds with a barely damp brush, it'll surrender to you in no time.

 

[cr8n]

Wow. 9 shavers, 10 opinions.

I agree with the comments above about ...

1) Soak the brush, but shake it as dry as possible before using.

2) Load the brush for what seems to be a long time. Then load it again.

3) Until you get a feel for things, and maybe even after, add water VERY sparingly when making lather ... sometimes even a drop at a time. Don't be tempted to "save" the water you soaked the puck in. There's almost always too much of it.

another tip someone posted but I've never seen since: Pinch the brush just below the tip of the bristles, and load the tips ... THEN pinch it futher down, and load the middle of the brush ... THEN load near the handle.

You won't always have to do this, but if you do it once, you'll see what good lather looks and feels like.

Free advice. Still worth every dime.

Paul

 

[NoelyDeezNutz]

WOW... lol, this thread exploded a bit.

Thank you everyone for the tips, I will be sure to do every single persons list, just so to say that I did and experience the differences.

I shave with a straight, if that makes and difference, I shave WTG, WTG, XTG, ATG... MOST of the time. I also have a Mohawk and I started shaving the sides with the straight, so I have plenty of hair to practice on!

 

[mharris127]

WOW... lol, this thread exploded a bit.

Thank you everyone for the tips, I will be sure to do every single persons list, just so to say that I did and experience the differences.

I shave with a straight, if that makes and difference, I shave WTG, WTG, XTG, ATG... MOST of the time. I also have a Mohawk and I started shaving the sides with the straight, so I have plenty of hair to practice on!

Noely, I shave with a DE razor, but I think that lathering itself is the same for both methods of shaving. Just make darn sure you have good lather for that straight, there is less room for error with a straight than a DE -- a DE will stop slicing well before you reach the jugular vein or windpipe whereas as straight will just keep on slicing!

 

[mftoms59]

Here is what works every time more or less with every soap...
1. Soak/wet brush
2. Squeeze/shake till "damp"
3. Load brush for 1 minute - 1.5 minutes; I have found 30 seconds to be too little.
4. IMPORTANT: load at the TIPS... do not put any pressure on the brush i.e. mashing the knot into the soap when loading. This is what I used to do and it does not load the brush. The way to load is to gently swirl the tips of the damp brush on the soap - the soap will permeate into the center of the brush through the tips and you will have enough product.
5. Try actually timing yourself. Don't go by "it feels like I've been loading for a minute." Actually loading for a minute when timing yourself feels like forever, but you will be happy with the results
6. Wet face, apply lather and add water in drops as needed.

Great Advice, I always use my watch and check my time while building lather, whether I'm Shaving, Breaking- in a brush or testing a new soap or cream.

You'll discover building lather with a Boar does take more patience, water and product. I always like to build an extra lather or two with the brushes I seldom use, I like to use the same Brush/ Razor/ Blade setup for 2-3 weeks, I rotate between my Tabac SS, Tabac Stick and La Toja SC every 4-6 shaves.