What's new

Marco Method improvement by accident

Recently I read an article of Mantic59 about lathering and saw the description of Marco Method there. Everything was written as usual (basically go with a brush with plenty of water in it), but I misunderstood a part - namely "turn the brush upside down" (which meant simply to let the water drip out and go for the puck, as usual again).

Until now I soaked the brush in a mug, let the water drip out and went to the puck.

For some reason after reading the post I thought I was missing a part in the Method: "turn the brush upside down", so I did just that, next time I turned (flipped) it to the base - and do that ever since, because this accidental discovery helps the brush hold water more evenly.

As a result, you basically won't have to bother with slowly adding/not addig water in the lathering process! The only water you will need is already there in the brush.

Method tried may times now and proven! Here are some pics to explain the concept:

1. Let water drip out (as usual)

20211023_112335.jpg


2. Turn brush LITERALLY UPSIDE DOWN (on its base) after dripping and HOLD IT FOR ABOUT 10 SECONDS (pic might look funny, but that's he part I misunderstood and resulted in the post)

20211023_112344.jpg


3. After lathering (with ample product, as the Method suggests!) you will have the "usual" result WITHOUT having to decide in the lathering process if you need more water or more product.
The indicator of the lather quality for me is if AFTER I did my 3-pass shaving how does my brush look like (I face lather so for me those nice pics of bowl lathered brushes are another world ;))
I hope this speaks for itself. :)

20211023_112101.jpg


Give it a try, you won't regret it I promise!

Happy shaves!
 
The main idea behind turning the puck sideways or even upside-down, is to avoid dripping a bunch of water into your soap and making a bubbly mess. Let the excess foamy suds fall into the sink.

The whole principle of the Marco method has always been to add all the water you will need up front, so you just have to load enough soap to get the lather you want (in abundance).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Anu
Actually, the Method doesn't state anything on puck position at the best, and clearly states that you should add water during lathering slowly (point 7).

Lately I've seen that some B&B members are having issues regarding how to create a good lather with Italian soft soaps. And I have personally received several PMs regarding this subject, with many asking me what kind of lathering technique I actually use. Here is a simple tutorial for new wet shavers or for those who just are unable to get satisfying results with soft soaps.

1. Italian soft soaps like brushes with soft tips and great backbone. You can use a quality boar or badger brush of your choice with the above specs. I prefer boars, as in the old Italian barbershop tradition.

2. Run your brush under hot water (or simply soak it) for at least 30 seconds.

3. Turn your brush upside-down WITHOUT shaking it. Allow only the gravity water to fall down and move your brush carefully, since it has to be kept full of water.

4. Start making swirls on the surface of the soap. You have to proceed slowly, without pressure on the brush. Remember that it's very wet.

5. Heavily load your brush for about 45/60 seconds making around 100/120 swirls. Please keep in mind that the loading time and number of swirls also depend on how big your brush is and how much water it can retain.

6. Move the brush onto your face and face lather. Again, be careful, you'll have a LOT of lather to handle.

7. While face lathering add, slowly and progressively, a few drops of water per time to your brush. Or, alternatively, lightly wet the tips of the brush. I personally prefer to add drops of water to the brush because I have a better control of the soap/water ratio.

8. You bring the lather to the right consistency.

*** The main concept to always keep in mind is simple: a lot of water + a lot of swirls + a lot of soap = a lot of great, thick, slick and effective lather. ***

I learned this technique from an old Italian Master Barber with over 40 years of experience and I've been using it with great results for almost 16 years.

P.S. This lathering technique works very well even with hard, triple milled soaps. Exactly as described above, with the sole exception that I soften the surface of hard soaps with a dozen drops of water before starting to make swirls.
 
Actually, the Method doesn't state anything on puck position at the best, and clearly states that you should add water during lathering slowly (point 7).
It's called the wet method and Marco did not invent it, despite the name! It's been around for ages!

No need to quote chapter and verse!
 
Top Bottom