Maintenance of shaving soap
- Thread starter Brio1
- Start date
I just let my soaps dry with some lather on it still and I haven't had any problems. (all my soaps are in bowls with lids though so they are covered when done.)
Just let it dry; no need to rinse it. Don't worry, by the time you finish it you'll be dying to be done with that puck. 
If you bought it with the bowl, just replace the lid when finished. All I do is wipe the top edge and side of the bowl and replace the lid. I leave whatever soap residue there is for the next shave.
Let it air dry , but drain excess water from around and or underneath the soap.
Since none of my pucks came in tubs, I use a tupperware bowl with a screw on lid- only I use it upside down. The lid has a dished middle that acts as a high center point when turned upside down. This holds the puck up out of any residual water that stays inside the container, rather than having the bottom of the puck turn to pudding in the bottom of the upright bowl. I take the bowl off and use it for building lather, then put it back over top of the puck when I'm done without rinsing.
To maximize the life of a soap puck, do the following:
1) Never soak the puck. Don't even put water on except for the first few uses of a triple milled puck to soften it up a bit.
2) Shake out your brush, then squeeze the bristles several times before loading; you want the brush to be dry. If you find the bristles are still pretty wet, turn the soap container upside down while loading.
3) After loading the soap into your brush, build your lather somewhere else; either on your face or in a separate bowl. Building the lather on the puck wastes a lot of soap.
4) Don't rinse the puck and don't remove any excess lather (shouldn't have any to speak of, if you lathered it properly) before putting it away.
1) Never soak the puck. Don't even put water on except for the first few uses of a triple milled puck to soften it up a bit.
2) Shake out your brush, then squeeze the bristles several times before loading; you want the brush to be dry. If you find the bristles are still pretty wet, turn the soap container upside down while loading.
3) After loading the soap into your brush, build your lather somewhere else; either on your face or in a separate bowl. Building the lather on the puck wastes a lot of soap.
4) Don't rinse the puck and don't remove any excess lather (shouldn't have any to speak of, if you lathered it properly) before putting it away.
+1 to the above.
I wet the soap but no more. I use it, make sure it doesn't have any water in it (turn upside down) let air dry. put a lid on if I have one and re-use when I feel like it.
I wet the soap but no more. I use it, make sure it doesn't have any water in it (turn upside down) let air dry. put a lid on if I have one and re-use when I feel like it.
+1 to this. Ignore any advice that you may come across about soaking the soap with teaspoons of water etc. A damp brush on a dry puck is the way to go.
If you use MWF its OK to have some excess moistre in the ceramic dish or the soap will crack due to expansion and contraction. Other soaps shouldn't have to much left on them from use.
+1 to what Kingfisher, Luc and jpkunst said. In almost all cases "soaking" the puck is unnecessary. If you want shaving cream, buy shaving cream.
I do soak my soap for about 5 min. while I prep. I go at it with a pretty wringed-out brush and generate my initial lather. I try to get all the lather on the brush and then move the brush to a shaving bowl to continue make the finished product.
By that time there's not much, if just a slight film of lather, on the puck. I can usually wipe the edge of the container off with a damp towel , put the lid on and done.
By that time there's not much, if just a slight film of lather, on the puck. I can usually wipe the edge of the container off with a damp towel , put the lid on and done.
+1 on this idea.
Ditto. I would never cap a puck without first letting it air dry.
I let mine air dry too before covering it up especially the shave sticks that come with a cap!
I immerse my soap in the bowl in hot water for about a minute before I shave. This helps in getting the lather more hot than just using the brush dipped in hot water. When I am done , I drain all the water from the soap and bowl and let it air dry.
Just a head's up - you'll end up washing more than a little bit of soap down the drain every time you do this. If you're using cheap soaps it's not a big deal, but if you're paying any sort of coin for it you may not want to waste your soap like this.
Never had an issue with it myself. Sure, the water dissolves some soap but it's a trace amount.
As usual -- go with what works for you.
My soap has never turned into shaving cream.
As usual -- go with what works for you.
My soap has never turned into shaving cream.
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Never had an issue with it myself. Sure, the water dissolves some soap but it's a trace amount.
As usual -- go with what works for you.
I've got a bar of KMF olive oil soap in my shower that has turned into a pile of goop. My MWF bath soap hasn't done this and it's in the same conditions. Makes me wonder which is more moisturizing... a soap that's left in a moist environment and sucks moisture in (KMF olive oil) or a soap that seems unphased being in a moist environment.
I don't use the KMF because it seems very drying.
It may be a very small amount you're washing down the drain but if you shave daily I bet it amounts to quite a bit of soap in a pretty short period of time. Of course if you're using Arko it doesn't matter nearly as much as if you're using MWF, AOS, or Irisch Moos.
As other have said, just let it air dry.
