Not feeling the love for Provence Sante Green Tea SS...

[kingfisher]

I have had this puck of soap for a long time but just recently opened it and started using it. The first couple of uses the lather was thin and unimpressive. I tweaked the way I used it and now I get a beautiful lather (although it always starts out really bubbly and takes awhile to get to the consistency I want), but I'm not really sure I like how it actually WORKS.

During the actual shaving, it feels very protective. Shaving is comfortable. However, it seems like I leave a lot more stubble behind using this soap than with any other soap I own. Even after two passes (when I'm usually done except for a little touch-up), there is considerable stubble left, and I feel like I have to do a reverse XTG to get to where I usually get with one WTG and one XTG pass.

Rinsing is crazy time-consuming, as it feels like it just won't rinse off the face. Maybe it's the shea butter and moisturizers and I should quit at some point, but it always feels like I still have residual soap on my face.

By the early afternoon I believe I have more growth than I normally do using "glycerin" soaps without all the shea butter (Mama Bear, Saint Charles Shave, etc).

What gives? Am I doing something wrong? I have tried using a relatively dry brush like the tutorial but then I don't pick up enough soap. If I use a wetter brush, I get VERY foamy lather that takes forever to fix. Help!

 

[Robust2]

Personally, I think this is the best soap I have, I'ld take it over my Cella, MWF or Cade without a doubt! The lather that puck creates doesn't even come close to foamy in my experience.
I've never used a real Glycerin soap though, but I now how foamy lather looks (*cough*MWF loaded with a wet brush *cough*)

 

[cymric]

What kind of brush do you use?

How wet is it when you apply it to the soap? (Dripping wet, thoroughly shaken, wet after making a few yoyo-motions, ...)

What kind of container have you put the soap in? (Important for 'folding back' proto-lather onto the bristle tips, and picking up water run-off.)

How long do you load? (More precisely, when do you stop? And yes, that's a different question ...)

How hard is the water you use?

I found Provence Santé to be an extremely easy latherer, at least using the procedure I normally follow for soaps. And it shaved great, too. It was just the verlaine scent which I couldn't stand. (I assume the green tea follows the same basic recipe as the original verlaine.)

 

[Robust2]

Because of your post, I used my PS green tea soap tonight, and as always, the lather was superb.
Brush after 3 pass shave + touchups
Lather on hand
Brush squeezed out

My procedure goes like this:
-Let brush soak (a 18mm TGN Silvertip) for a few minutes while I shower, and put a few drops of water on the puck
-Shake out the brush so that most of the water is gone, I don't want it to create thin and foamy proto-lather on the puck
-Start loading lather on the puck, until the loaded soap on the brush gets a creamy, thick lather consistency
-Go to my bowl, add water and start building lather.
Works perfectly with my hard water!

 

[kingfisher]

What kind of brush do you use?

How wet is it when you apply it to the soap? (Dripping wet, thoroughly shaken, wet after making a few yoyo-motions, ...)

What kind of container have you put the soap in? (Important for 'folding back' proto-lather onto the bristle tips, and picking up water run-off.)

How long do you load? (More precisely, when do you stop? And yes, that's a different question ...)

How hard is the water you use?

I found Provence Santé to be an extremely easy latherer, at least using the procedure I normally follow for soaps. And it shaved great, too. It was just the verlaine scent which I couldn't stand. (I assume the green tea follows the same basic recipe as the original verlaine.)

I was using the Semogue 2009 LE boar brush.
I have tried it squeezed out (the way I use it for MB/SCS/VDH, etc) and I have tried it with just the water dripped out of it.
The soap is in one of those small round Ziplok plastic containers with a screw top.
I load the brush for about a minute or more, not stopping until the bristles are heavily laden with soap.
I have no idea about my water hardness. All I know is that I get great lathers out of all my other soaps using the same water.

The scent is nice. The shave feels comfortable while I'm shaving, but proves to be not as good shortly thereafter and my face feels the shave more than with other soaps (but that feeling starts about 15-20 after the shave is complete).

 

[cymric]

I was using the Semogue 2009 LE boar brush.
I have tried it squeezed out (the way I use it for MB/SCS/VDH, etc) and I have tried it with just the water dripped out of it.

Boar... Hmmm. I'll get back to this in a moment. As for water content: I assume you also tried a middle ground? I usually make two or three gentle yoyo-motions, and then shake the brush softly for a brief moment. It isn't damp then, it's not dripping wet either.

The soap is in one of those small round Ziplok plastic containers with a screw top.

As long as the rims are high so that lather doesn't drip onto your hands, you're fine. (Valid for any soap, by the way.)

I load the brush for about a minute or more, not stopping until the bristles are heavily laden with soap.

This sounds quite long, especially for boar which is able to abrade much more than badger (which I use). My point of stopping is when there is a thick creamy mass on the puck as well as in the brush. It never takes long with this soap, and I don't continue until the surface of the puck is dry. If you get too many bubbles in the beginning, try being more gentle with the brush so that you don't whip air into it just yet.

I have no idea about my water hardness. All I know is that I get great lathers out of all my other soaps using the same water.

Check. (By the way, is this your first vegetable soap?)

The shave feels comfortable while I'm shaving, but proves to be not as good shortly thereafter and my face feels the shave more than with other soaps (but that feeling starts about 15-20 after the shave is complete).

I think I recognise the feeling; in my case this almost invariably happens when I've made the lather too thick. I don't get as close a shave as I normally would, it takes more effort to rinse off the residues, and there's a vague and sometimes pronounced feeling of discomfort: itchiness, overly sensitive, and so forth.

That said and done, I'm not really sure where the problem lies in your case. I found Provence Santé to be a very easy soap to work with, and not at all finicky in the lathering department, so it's a bit of a puzzle to pinpoint what could be wrong.

 

[kingfisher]

Thanks for your detailed replies. I, too, am slightly puzzled by my inability to get this one the way I would like it. I have been lathering soaps at least 5 days a week (usually 6) for almost a year, so it's not like I'm a complete newbie.

I will give it another try with a more middle-of-the-road brush wetness and less vigorous loading, as well as making the lather a bit wetter and see if I can find the sweet spot.

Ultimately, if I can't get it the way I want it, I'll either convert it to a shower soap or put it on the B/S/T.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[LinuxMintyFresh]

Thanks for your detailed replies. I, too, am slightly puzzled by my inability to get this one the way I would like it. I have been lathering soaps at least 5 days a week (usually 6) for almost a year, so it's not like I'm a complete newbie.

I will give it another try with a more middle-of-the-road brush wetness and less vigorous loading, as well as making the lather a bit wetter and see if I can find the sweet spot.

Ultimately, if I can't get it the way I want it, I'll either convert it to a shower soap or put it on the B/S/T.

Thanks again for the help.

Yeah I really think you have too much soap in your lather. It isn't a very hard soap, and I've never needed 60 seconds to load my brush with PS.
Whenever I use PSGT with my Semogue 1305 I typically soak the brush while I shower and leave a few drops of water on the soap to soften it a little-pretty standard. After that I squeeze out my brush and load for ~30 seconds, and add drops of water directly to the brush until I get the consistency I'm looking for. I think I end up adding about 1 teaspoon (5ml). It works perfectly. I think if you take it to the point where it looks like a nice thick lather and go just one step beyond that it should work out great.
As for that slick residue feeling, I think it is the shea butter also. It is a bit annoying, but it is also great for the skin.