Mike's Natural Soaps Orange, Cedarwood, and Black Pepper: First Impressions

[stryker4526]

Today I tried for the first time the Mike's Natural Soaps bar.
Gotta say, my first impression is not so hot for this soap. Very tough to get a good lather.
I used my Whipped Dog silvertip, let it soak while I showered (so about ten minutes or so), gave it a couple of shakes, then held the bar in my hand and loaded the brush for roughly 30 seconds. Then I transferred it to my bowl to start building up a lather and...
Nothing. It just sort of spread around the bowl and didn't build up at all. I added more water, since I'd heard it was a thirsty soap, and still nothing. Probably whipped it for a good 3-4 minutes, adding a bit more water occasionally until it just got thin and runny, never could get that thick, creamy lather I've seen so many others post pictures of. I rinsed everything out and tried again with a wetter brush this time. Loaded a good solid 40 seconds this time. Result was largely the same. I got a thin lather that was passable for shaving and managed to finish, but there was definitely not much slickness there... a lot of razor skip. My face did feel good after the shave though, so at least I know the bar is moisturizing.
I'll try again later with soaking the surface of the bar with a bit of water to soften it up and maybe starting with a drier brush. Maybe that will help. If not, this bar will probably go up on BST or in a PIF. I've got other soaps that work well for me so I won't stress about it if I can't get Mike's to.

 

[joser]

Did you use hot water? Mike's is like MWF and doesn't like hot water, give warm or cool water a try.

 

[stryker4526]

Did you use hot water? Mike's is like MWF and doesn't like hot water, give warm or cool water a try.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing that. I did indeed use hot water. I will try with lukewarm water next time and see how that changes the results.

 

[warhawk]

Check this link... I hope that you get better results. Mike's Natural Soap is numero uno. It lathers like a world champion and provides great cushion. Mike's is a thirtsy soap.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...from-Mike-s-Natural-Soap-and-brush?highlight=

WARHAWK

Real Men Wear Pink: Proud supporter of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

 

[warhawk]

On a side note if you PiF it to one of our B&B members... you are gonna make him/her a very happy person.

WARHAWK

Real Men Wear Pink: Proud supporter of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

 

[Dirk-Lerxst-Pratt]

Try loading longer with a wetter brush. I just finished up with it on my SOC boar after a three pass shave and a head shave, and I still had enough lather for several more passes. Could be your water too?

 

[stryker4526]

I don't think it's the water. I've never had a problem with any soap or cream I've tried yet. I'm gonna try adjusting the water temp along with a few things from the thread Warhawk linked to see if I can get this soap to cooperate.

 

[MGM grand]

Mikes has been a great soap for me in the past, hope your next lather works out better for you.

 

[lt114]

I would try soaking the puck, or at least putting some water on top of it while you shower.

 

[Malacoda]

I've not tried Mike's, but if it's similar to MWF here's another trick you might want to try: squeeze the dickens out of the brush before you load it.

I find that MWF loads much better for me if my brush is more or less damp versus wet. In fact, I find that, for the most part, tallow and hard (i.e. triple milled) soaps like to load with a damp brush (squeezed out) whereas glycerine soaps like a wet brush (e.g. lightly shaken). If Mike's is a bit on the hard side it may fall into the 'squeezed' brush category.

 

[shave~extacy]

I use a little water on the puck while I prep everything and I dont shake any water out of my brush before loading.

 

[campence]

I use the Marco method with that soap and always get a great lather

 

[lt114]

I use the Marco method with that soap and always get a great lather

I do this also with Mike's. This soap really does like a lot of water.

 

[mhdena]

Skip the bowl unless you put the bar in the bowl as a container.

Not necessary to soak the soap

Load longer and face lather

 

[PomfretSteve]

Lots of good advice above... I have been using Mike's O/CW/BP everyday for the last 2+ weeks and for the last week have seemed to really dial it in. I have really hard water btw... but here's whats worked for me.

I use a damp brush that has been soaked in warm, not hot, water and squeezed out + shaken a few times
I load for a good minute and a half, not lathering vigorously, just swirling the tips with pressure until they are separating and clumping together with soap
After loading I set my brush down and wet my face thoroughly with warm, not hot, water and then start face lathering
I usually do not have to dip the tips of my brush in water but sometimes I will do this once or twice if I want to thin out the lather a little
It takes me about a minute to generate gobs of super thick lather
The second pass is thinner as I have to add water to the brush a few times
Third pass I will return to the tin to add a small amount of additional soap, relather and squeeze out the remaining soap and apply with my hand.
Anyway that does the trick for me, IMHO Mike's seems to work better when you start with less water and add as needed

 

[celestino]

i presume you have hard water. Boy, do i empathize with you gents. i would add more product as stated above and add water little by little to get the proper consistency. You could also try distilled water as that would help.
Good luck as it is one of the best soaps that i have ever used. Don't give up on it.

 

[TallyShave]

i presume you have hard water. Boy, do i empathize with you gents. i would add more product as stated above and add water little by little to get the proper consistency. You could also try distilled water as that would help.
Good luck as it is one of the best soaps that i have ever used. Don't give up on it.

I have very hard water and have no issues with Mike's (or any other soaps for that matter). People always mention water in these types of threads (where someone has an issue with a product), but I really find it an overblown variable.

 

[DSB]

I have very hard water and have no issues with Mike's (or any other soaps for that matter). People always mention water in these types of threads (where someone has an issue with a product), but I really find it an overblown variable.

I tend to agree. I also have hard water, and have found that with hard water, I simply need to use more product. I could never get enough MWF on my brush when I used it as a puck. After I milled it into a shave stick, and applied more product, it worked like a dream.

 

[TallyShave]

I tend to agree. I also have hard water, and have found that with hard water, I simply need to use more product. I could never get enough MWF on my brush when I used it as a puck. After I milled it into a shave stick, and applied more product, it worked like a dream.

Yes, I always say the solution to hard water is more....more product, more water, and more work. You can get to the same place though.

 

[stryker4526]

Lots of good advice above... I have been using Mike's O/CW/BP everyday for the last 2+ weeks and for the last week have seemed to really dial it in. I have really hard water btw... but here's whats worked for me.

I use a damp brush that has been soaked in warm, not hot, water and squeezed out + shaken a few times
I load for a good minute and a half, not lathering vigorously, just swirling the tips with pressure until they are separating and clumping together with soap
After loading I set my brush down and wet my face thoroughly with warm, not hot, water and then start face lathering
I usually do not have to dip the tips of my brush in water but sometimes I will do this once or twice if I want to thin out the lather a little
It takes me about a minute to generate gobs of super thick lather
The second pass is thinner as I have to add water to the brush a few times
Third pass I will return to the tin to add a small amount of additional soap, relather and squeeze out the remaining soap and apply with my hand.
Anyway that does the trick for me, IMHO Mike's seems to work better when you start with less water and add as needed

What kind of brush are you using? And I seem to see that the general consensus here is to face lather with Mike's, although I have seen some beautiful pictures of bowl-lathered Mike's. I will certainly be trying again soon as I really want to get this soap to work for me after all the praise I've heard about it!
Oh, and as for my water: no, I do not have hard water, but as has been stated by others when I lived somewhere with hard water all I had to do was add more product (for everything, not just shave soap).