shave soap dissappears?

[BuckeyeMark]

have been working on improving my lather as discussed in this thread

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=9&referrerid=20682

I had been noticing however that using the superheated water seemed to be causing my cake of soap quicker than usual. well, today I dropped in a new cake and after I shaved I confirmed what I had been suspecting: the super hot water is dissolving the soap super fast.

I am using some soap I bought off of ebay from Honeybee. great soap but it is disappearing too fast...

anybody else have this problem? are their some soaps that don't do this?

 

[RichGem]

Glycerin-based soaps will dissolve much faster in water (esp. warm water) as compared to tallow-based or triple-milled. It's the nature of the beast. The drier you can keep them, the longer they will last. So, don't soak the soap in water, soak the brush instead.

 

[withoutink]

I dont really add super hot water to my soaps. For Williams, Conk, and a few others I add a tiny splash of warm water. Jump in the shower. When I get out I dump the soap and spalsh of water in my lather bowel and do one or two twists on the soap puck with the brush. Thats it.

 

[sero-sed-serio]

dont soak your soaps. they dissolve very quickly

 

[BuckeyeMark]

wow - did not know this at all. thanks very very much.

can I ask about a "shaving bowl" - is that similar to a mug? right now I've got a shaving mug and a badger brush. everything happens in that mug. have to change that I guess... are there benefits to a bowl?

 

[RichGem]

wow - did not know this at all. thanks very very much.

can I ask about a "shaving bowl" - is that similar to a mug? right now I've got a shaving mug and a badger brush. everything happens in that mug. have to change that I guess... are there benefits to a bowl?

It's all a matter of personal preference. Some like a bowl, others prefer a mug.

 

[kingfisher]

wow - did not know this at all. thanks very very much.

can I ask about a "shaving bowl" - is that similar to a mug? right now I've got a shaving mug and a badger brush. everything happens in that mug. have to change that I guess... are there benefits to a bowl?

A "bowl" generally has a wider "mouth" than a mug, and that is advantageous when it comes to clepping lather.

Also, when you say "everything happens in that mug" that suggests that you are building your lather right on top of the soap puck; is that correct? If so, you will waste a lot of shaving soap. If you had a shaving bowl, you could load up the brush with the soap, then move the brush to the bowl and build your lather in the bowl. Works for me.

 

[BuckeyeMark]

A "bowl" generally has a wider "mouth" than a mug, and that is advantageous when it comes to clepping lather.

Also, when you say "everything happens in that mug" that suggests that you are building your lather right on top of the soap puck; is that correct? If so, you will waste a lot of shaving soap. If you had a shaving bowl, you could load up the brush with the soap, then move the brush to the bowl and build your lather in the bowl. Works for me.

yes, building everything in the mug - right on top of the soap puck.

if I move over to a bowl how will I build lather? there's no soap in there to build with?! not sure I understand this process but would love to use LESS soap!

 

[pocketwatch]

yes, building everything in the mug - right on top of the soap puck.

if I move over to a bowl how will I build lather? there's no soap in there to build with?! not sure I understand this process but would love to use LESS soap!

Hi! When you move to the empty mug, you want alot of soap in the brush. When you're rubbing the brush on the puck you should just be trying to load alot of soap into the brush, don't try to make lather with it just yet!

First soak the brush for a few minutes, then squeeze out the brush and give it a couple good shakes. It should be a little damp. I don't pre-wet my soaps. Then scrub the puck in a swirling/pumping motion with the puck. You're just coating all the hairs with soap right now.

Once you've done that for about 40seconds (maybe more or less), move the loaded brush to the (empty) lather mug or your face. Add a few drops of water at a time and swirl and mix until you get the right consistency.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21136 there's a better set of instructions here

 

[Luc]

Check the ingredient list. If you have olive oil, that's the problem. If you make superlather with it, the other soap should compensate for the olive oil.

The other solution might be to charge your brush more.

 

[_JP_]

yes, building everything in the mug - right on top of the soap puck.

if I move over to a bowl how will I build lather? there's no soap in there to build with?! not sure I understand this process but would love to use LESS soap!

Stir! Once the brush is charged with soap, just start stirring up the lather in the bowl. Add a few drops of hot water at a time while you stir until it looks good to you. And keep stirring.