I just received my Mike's Orangewood, Cedar and Black Pepper soap. I have to say that it smells great, but when I tried a test lather I was disappointed. So for those of you who have used Mike's, what do you differently than you would with other soaps. For comparison, I'm currently using Razorock Son of Zues Tallow, D. R. Harris Windsor, LEA Classic and La Toja stick (grated into a puck). My test lather with Mike's was with the same technique that works on those other soaps. What should I do differently?
Lathering Tips for Mike's?
- Thread starter Steve_in_CT
- Start date
I have, and love, Mike's OC&BP. I just bloom the puck with a little warm water while I shower, and load like normal. I'm using a thäter silvertip so I keep the brush pretty wet as I load (per thäter's instructions), and have no issues loading or building a great lather.
Can you describe what are you encountering? Problems loading? Can't build substantial lather? Lather too dry/pasty/bubbly/thin?
Can you describe what are you encountering? Problems loading? Can't build substantial lather? Lather too dry/pasty/bubbly/thin?
Just shaved with this today. Awesome!! Great protection. Great slickness. Dunked my Razorock Plissoft brush in room temp water, then squeezed out the water onto the puck and put the brush back in mug of water. Then, let the puck sit with water on it for 10 mins. Bloom water to face, shook brush 4 times, started loading from puck for about a minute. Face lathered adding room temp water by drops maybe two or three times. Had plenty of lather for 6 passes - only did two. Go by feel, not look. This soap is incredible!
I would load your brush for a bit longer than you do your other soaps, work it more than usual and make sure you add enough water while generating the lather. It is a very thirsty soap that needs just a bit of work.
There are quite a few videos on Youtube demonstrating how to lather it via bowl or face-lathering.
It is one of the best soaps you'll find and good luck.
There are quite a few videos on Youtube demonstrating how to lather it via bowl or face-lathering.
It is one of the best soaps you'll find and good luck.
I was having the same exact problem with my Mike's. Try starting out with less moisture in your brush, then load up until the bristles are nice and pasty. Then lather, adding water as necessary. This method works great for my hard Colorado River water here in Southern CA
This!
Also: if you just got a sample - press it down into a bowl and flatten it out so you got a larger surface area. The sample is only enough for ~3-5 shaves IMO (depending of course on the size of your brush) - so that's how much you have to load your brush...
As others have said, bloom the soap and go with a moist brush, not too wet. Load until the tips are pasty. Mikes can take a lot of water as well. I used this soap today and it was great!!
- Thread starter
- #9
Thanks, everyone. I put a few drops of water on top of the soap and let it sit while I showered. I also loaded longer than usual (probably a bit too long as I then needed to add quite a bit of water). So it took me a bit longer than usual to get the right balance, but once I did it produced more than enough slick and cushioned lather for a two pass shave. After shave feel is also among the best of any soap I've used.
Going forward, I think I will quickly establish a routine with Mike's. Once that's down pat, given the great scent and performance this soap will certainly get used often!
Going forward, I think I will quickly establish a routine with Mike's. Once that's down pat, given the great scent and performance this soap will certainly get used often!
Another option that works well for me with Mike's is to create a shave stick out of it. I rub it directly on my beard and face lather.
This is already mentioned here, but here is a video for blooming and using a dry brush. I use this method for Mike's, CRSW, and B&M with good results.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VOsa9Fvtms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VOsa9Fvtms
It's good that you're getting it dialed in! I think you're really going to enjoy this soap!
