I just used my first puck of Mama Bear's today. The scent was unbelievable (Bonzai) but I could not get a lasting lather to save my life. First try I probably under-loaded the brush and had to try again after the first pass. The second time I really went at it and developed what I thought was great lather, but by the third pass (fourth overall) it was nearly nonexistant and I skipped my final pass. I noticed that the "pre-lather" on top of the puck had dried off pretty quickly as well. Is this just me, or have other had this experience with Mama Bear soaps before?
Mama Bear - weak lather?
- Thread starter MaxJ
- Start date
Mama Bear is finicky stuff sometimes, but worth learning IMHO. It's my favorite soap, but it does take some practice to get it just where you like it. I don't have any issues with it, but I've been using it regularly (3-4 times a week) for a few years now.
- Thread starter
- #3
Tony, any advice you can offer on how you finally solved the mystery? Water ratios, loading time, anything?
I don't have any problem lathering MB soaps.
Here's what I do.
1) I do NOT pre-wet the soap.
2) I take a VERY DRY brush to the soap (shaken and squeezed out twice).
3) Load soap for 20-30 seconds (or until the brush is appropriately loaded).
4) Go to the bowl, and work the lather. I add a few drops of water at a time, and work it until it is fully incorporated before adding a few more drops. Because I start with a dry brush, I usually end up adding water about 3-5 times before the lather is where I want it.
Oh, and by the way, I use a boar brush.
That's it. No great secrets. After you use the soap two or three times, loading becomes easier and the lather gets better.
Here's what I do.
1) I do NOT pre-wet the soap.
2) I take a VERY DRY brush to the soap (shaken and squeezed out twice).
3) Load soap for 20-30 seconds (or until the brush is appropriately loaded).
4) Go to the bowl, and work the lather. I add a few drops of water at a time, and work it until it is fully incorporated before adding a few more drops. Because I start with a dry brush, I usually end up adding water about 3-5 times before the lather is where I want it.
Oh, and by the way, I use a boar brush.
That's it. No great secrets. After you use the soap two or three times, loading becomes easier and the lather gets better.
- Thread starter
- #5
I do similar i splash the puck with a little water maybe let it sit on the puck for 5 seconds, then i shake the water out, I then load with a dry brush for about 26 swirls to 30 swirls. I then add one drop of water and began to make lather in a bowl and continue to add lather til it looks amazing. I have never had a problem with any of her soaps.
Mama Bear soaps respond very, very well to boar brushes. No kidding -- try any decent boar brush with the soap and you'll see what I mean. I use Mama Bear every morning with my boar brush, and actually the problem I have is too much lather at the end of each shave!
- Thread starter
- #8
I used a Semogue Owner's Club today, as I do most days. I'm starting to think I may need to give bowl lathering a shot with this one.
Don't be shy with using a good amount of product. I use a Semogue 1305 and a Rooner Super with similar results. It is probably easier with the boar. Mama Bear's seems to last a good long time, so I'm not shy about really loading the brush. Also, I use a Dirty Bird so I can't help you if you're not bowl/scuttle lathering.
I've used both a silvertip and a finest badger brush and both have done fine with MamaBear's soaps. I have face lathered and bowl lathered, both worked.
Like others have mentioned I started with a pretty dry brush and added water (dipping the brush tips in the water, 2 maybe 3x).
Like others have mentioned I started with a pretty dry brush and added water (dipping the brush tips in the water, 2 maybe 3x).
One more suggestion/comment: Glycerin-based soaps are prone to forming a skin when they harden and Mama Bear's seems to do so as well. You need to rid the soap of this skin to get at the soapy goodness beneath. It's not very thick, so a soak in good hot water followed by either scraping the surface of the soap (not deep, but, like a lottery card, for ex.) or by lathering a few times with a good stiff brush will take care of the problem.
Totally forgot to mention this. I always leave a layer of hot water on MB while I shower, then it sort of sloughs off when I rinse off the water. It's consistency is like the skin that forms on gravy. That's a good call, Rich.
Thanks. And gravy skin is a good analogy.
all my MB is sticks which I use to face lather but have never had a problem.
