lather glycerin vs shea soaps

[obsessis]

i am having trouble lathering up my qed soap. i have absolutely no problems with my will g shea soaps. what do you think I am doing wrong, or do you have any technique I may try to alter my current one for a glycerin soap? it was almost dry on my face, seemed like it dried out, didn't get a thick lather at all, very very thin and airy.

edit: just so you know I have read all 3 of the tutorials, the two from scotto and one from joel. i have a vulfix 2235 and a c&e small best badger to use, i've been using the c&e with the soap and vulfix for creams. i also have a best or pure savile row 30MM for creams but I don't think it would be dense enough.

 

[rtaylor61]

I had a SR 241 30mm knot, and it generated tons of lather with QED soaps. I didn't do as well with hard soaps. Buy a gallon of Distilled water (not just bottled water, but specifically distilled water) to rule out that it's a soap/water reaction.

Randy

 

[obsessis]

hmmm, mine's a sr112 / sr12t brush, not sure if that makes a difference.

i think i should just go home and try to get lather with all 3 brushes. i will try to find some distilled water, though I'm not having problems with other soaps or creams. my girlfriend hasn't complained about me having hard water but it is def. worth trying.

 

[guenron]

i am having trouble lathering up my qed soap. i have absolutely no problems with my will g shea soaps. what do you think I am doing wrong, or do you have any technique I may try to alter my current one for a glycerin soap? it was almost dry on my face, seemed like it dried out, didn't get a thick lather at all, very very thin and airy.

edit: just so you know I have read all 3 of the tutorials, the two from scotto and one from joel. i have a vulfix 2235 and a c&e small best badger to use, i've been using the c&e with the soap and vulfix for creams. i also have a best or pure savile row 30MM for creams but I don't think it would be dense enough.

Hmmm.

• Are you using sticks or jars or both?
• Would you like to divulge how you go about building a lather with the soap?

These few bits of information may make it easier to provide assistance, especially considering that you have read joel's and scotto's insights. Too bad to miss out on a delightful lathering experience. BTW, you didn't win the $365M Powerball jackpot did you?

 

[obsessis]

i bought some powerball tickets but it was not me, unfortunately.

i put a little bit of hot water on the jar of soap, let it sit for 20 seconds while i tap out a little water from my brush that has been soaking in hot water.

i stick it in the center of the jar, press down and move my hand in a circle about the size of a quarter to move the brush across the jar. it ends up looking like joel's first set of pictures where he isn't getting much of a lather.

when I put it in the bowl i only get a very little bit of lather. if i add more water i get a little more but not much. when i put it on my face it almost disappears and gets super airy. i thought if I added more water it would get too bogged down with water but I could be wrong.

i haven't tried pressing down super, insanely hard because i don't think i need to? in the second set of pictures a different brush produced a lot different lather with only seven passes, i'm doing around 30 to 40. i am wondering if it may be the brush, a c & e small best badger. i have a vulfix 2235 and a savil row sr12t pure or best badger i can use but I think the SR might be too soft/floppy. it appears that the denser shavemac worked like a charm and i think the c&e is pretty dense for its small size. maybe try the vulfix?

 

[Scotto]

Obsessis (Do you have a name?),

You need to swirl on the soap until you get "proto-lather", then you can hit the bowl. Don't believe Joel's pictures showing a few swirls - it will take much more than that if you don't have perfect water. For me, I'll spend a good 30 seconds swirling until the lather is basically going berserk, then go to the bowl, add water if needed, etc.

Added: any brush will work fine.

 

[Shermdog]

I agree with Scotto.

When I use my QED stick, I swirl that sucker on my face agressively until the lather explodes out of the brush and starts falling on my sink. Most times, there is no need to even use a bowl. Also, I keep my brush fairly loaded with water since I lose some during the swirling part.

 

[guenron]

i bought some powerball tickets but it was not me, unfortunately.

i put a little bit of hot water on the jar of soap, let it sit for 20 seconds while i tap out a little water from my brush that has been soaking in hot water.

i stick it in the center of the jar, press down and move my hand in a circle about the size of a quarter to move the brush across the jar. it ends up looking like joel's first set of pictures where he isn't getting much of a lather.

when I put it in the bowl i only get a very little bit of lather. if i add more water i get a little more but not much. when i put it on my face it almost disappears and gets super airy. i thought if I added more water it would get too bogged down with water but I could be wrong.

i haven't tried pressing down super, insanely hard because i don't think i need to? in the second set of pictures a different brush produced a lot different lather with only seven passes, i'm doing around 30 to 40. i am wondering if it may be the brush, a c & e small best badger. i have a vulfix 2235 and a savil row sr12t pure or best badger i can use but I think the SR might be too soft/floppy. it appears that the denser shavemac worked like a charm and i think the c&e is pretty dense for its small size. maybe try the vulfix?

Ah see what happens when you tell us what's happenin'?
If you are unable to get results after following the recent advice, let me know and maybe we can work on a financial aid package for attendance at the Old Lathermeister's School of Advanced Lathering..

 

[obsessis]

Obsessis (Do you have a name?),

You need to swirl on the soap until you get "proto-lather", then you can hit the bowl. Don't believe Joel's pictures showing a few swirls - it will take much more than that if you don't have perfect water. For me, I'll spend a good 30 seconds swirling until the lather is basically going berserk, then go to the bowl, add water if needed, etc.

Added: any brush will work fine.

I was swirling it around for a while on the soap, it just ended up like joels, i was using his pic as a description for how the soap looked after i swirled my brush around on it for awhile, around 30 seconds. could i have been pressing down too hard on the soap? i wasn't going crazy but the brushes were splayed out and taking up the majority of the size of the jar.

and i tried to add my name into the signature.

 

[Shermdog]

When you swirl, do you really whip it or just casually swirl?. I saw an old video on the former site where Joel really whips it fast to create a lather. I changed my ways after seeing that.

 

[obsessis]

casually swirl i guess, it is more of a slow movement with semi-firm pressure. i will try the faster swirl, thanks. i hadn't thought about speed, only pressure, density and water.

 

[Scotto]

Hmmm. I don't think speed matters; it is just how much soap you get into the bristles.

You say you tap out only a bit of water from the brush, but you get little lather. That is weird. If the brush is full of water, it should be pouring out when you are swirling on the soap. Where does this excess go? I swirl over my lathering bowl to catch the goodness, then hit the bowl after I have a good lather going in the bristles. This produces oodles of lather. Something is odd here.

 

[obsessis]

i just tap twice to let water out, maybe i'm not holding enough. there isn't a ton of water overflowing or anything. i'll let you know how it goes tonight.

 

[Rik]

When you swirl, do you really whip it or just casually swirl?. I saw an old video on the former site where Joel really whips it fast to create a lather. I changed my ways after seeing that.

Swirling speed does not effect the end results. I use a slower swirl allowing the brush to do the work. I think faster swirling leads to a lather with a meringue consistency which is too dry for shaving.