Newbie question about soap, lathering and storing.

[Heffaklump]

I´ve very new to the wet shaving scene and I have a question about soaps. I´ve watched several videos on youtube and read a lot of forum posts here. But I still don´t know how I should do this. I´ve seen 3 different methods, which should I use?

-mantic59 uses a soaked brush on a quickly soaked soap and then uses a lathering bowl to get a good lather. If you do it this way you need one soap container and one lathering bowl.

-Some people (Like this guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqucNXP7c8Y&NR=1 )use their soap container as their lathering bowl, for example a regular coffee cup with a soap in the bottom. This way you only need one container (Though you can grade down some of your soap into the mug and store the rest in another place). Do you have to wipe out all the moisture from the container when you are done, or do you just leave it like it is until next shave?

-I´ve also seen people (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21136) put hot water on their soap, soak their brushes and then use the brush on the soap for 20-40 sec, pour the excess water from the soap bowl into you lathering cup. Then work up a lather in a separate lathering bowl. I have the same question here, do you have to dry of your soap when you are done?

Which method is the best (for me), does it depend on your soap and/or brush or just what you like? I´m going to buy a Edwin Jagger 99.9% natural shaving soap in a travel tub and some kind of badger brush (EJ). If it is all about a matter of taste I think I will go with the second option, so I can work up the lather in my soap container/cup

 

[stagepin]

From what I can gather, lathering in the same container will use the soap at a faster rate. I don't think it is enough to be highly concered about for cheap to mid range soap, but for the expesive/rare stuff it might be an issue.

I have spice containers from Ikea as my soap containers and I just put the lid on them when I've finished shaving. I don't see any need to dry the soap first.

 

[Vlad]

The Mantic video is not a good representation of successful practice. Those few twrils he does on the puck just isn't enough to pick up enough soap for a good lather. As for the second video, I would venture to say very few people make lather that way, and likely only on very inexpensive soaps. The best thing to do is lather in a bowl or directly on your face, which seems like would suit you better.

Afterward, no, you do not need to dry the soap, just leave it on your counter so it can air dry.

 

[LarryAndro]

I used method #2 when I started, lathering on top of the soap. But, I didn't get good lather until I started lathering in a separate bowl. I found out the reason for the poor lather was that too much soap was being wicked into the brush. In addition to poor lather, the soap got gummy towards the end of the shave.

Knowing what I know now, I could lather on top of soap. But, for several reasons mentioned and unmentioned, I prefer other ways.

 

[oversaturn]

I usually lather on a separate bowl, or in hand, with very good results. Somewhat similar to mantic59's method.

But, in your case, why don't you try all three methods?
What is best for one person may not be the best for another.
Try different methods, and then stick to the one that brings you the best results.

 

[Go West Young Man]

the easiest path is to load a damp brush on the puck and then move to your face to create lather. Anything above and beyond that is personal preference only.

 

[BlackBard]

the easiest path is to load a damp brush on the puck and then move to your face to create lather. Anything above and beyond that is personal preference only.

Yes.