AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I asked a similar question on a different forum. The overwhelming response, was that it's a convoluted justification for having too much stuff.
So, what exactly is a shaving rotation?
- Thread starter fistfullofbeer
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I asked a similar question on a different forum. The overwhelming response, was that it's a convoluted justification for having too much stuff.
Once you are posting on a shaving forum, you are either:
1) new to this type of shaving. You will learn and depart.
2) enjoy both convoluted justifications and the enormous variety of shaving stuff. You, the B&Ber, may or may not have too many toys, but you definitely are a social being with plenty of time to play. So, rotate!
I started out with boars, moved to badgers, then went to synthetics, and have been there ever since! They don't absorb any water so therefore, no lather either. Whatever lather you make is all yours, none goes to the brush. Proraso Green is pretty awesome. If I were you, I'd stick with that soap and the synthetic until you dial in the razor and blade. Some of the most protective/greatest feeling shaves I've ever had were using Proraso Green as my soap, it's great stuff. I use it exclusively when it gets hot out but not in the winter time because it's too cold.
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I'm neither new, nor a "rotater". I still enjoy it here. 
I do change things occasionally, but I also have a stable default set up. Essentially, I'm a minimalist with a few extra occasional use items.Some of us don't need to buy a lot, nor swap around a lot, to enjoy shaving and good company
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- #25
Sorry, not sure what you mean. Can you elaborate on the bolded? So do you not using the brush to create the lather from the soap? How do you create it then?
From what I gather, natural hair bristles eat up the lather and doesn't give you a lot to work with. On the other hand, synthetics don't eat up any lather and just transfer all the lather to your face. I've had this experience today where I lathered with the same amount of Cella with boar and synthetic. I got 3+ pass with synthetic and a 0 pass with boar. I needed to load a lot more with the boar.
Natural brushes like badgers and boars absorb water. Since lather is basically soap, water, and air, the natural bristles "steal" some of the lather you make. The way folks counter this fact of life is to simply use more soap and water (and time) when using a natural brush. Synthetics don't absorb any water(lather) so using a small amount of product with a synthetic is a very efficient use of your precious soap. I find synthetics lather quicker too, based on my excessive amount of time spent in the bathroom experimenting with such silly things of course, but everyone is different and has their own preferences.
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- #28
Natural brushes like badgers and boars absorb water. Since lather is basically soap, water, and air, the natural bristles "steal" some of the lather you make. The way folks counter this fact of life is to simply use more soap and water (and time) when using a natural brush. Synthetics don't absorb any water(lather) so using a small amount of product with a synthetic is a very efficient use of your precious soap. I find synthetics lather quicker too, based on my excessive amount of time spent in the bathroom experimenting with such silly things of course, but everyone is different and has their own preferences.
Thank you for those explanations. Makes sense.
Natural brushes absorb water, true, but they can only hold a certain amount before becoming saturated. So, the way to deal with this is to soak the brush until it won't absorb any more water.
I can shave with Cella using any boar brush I have and easily get three or four passes. Is this magic? No, I just soak the brush for five or ten minutes before lathering up.
I always soak my natural hair brushes for ten minutes or longer and they still eat most of the lather. I have to load extra heavy to compensate for that. Try lathering with a almond size portion of Cella and see if it works... I had to use a triple almond size to get a good lather. I'm still learning the intricacies of natural hair brushes.
Natural brushes absorb water, true, but they can only hold a certain amount before becoming saturated. So, the way to deal with this is to soak the brush until it won't absorb any more water.
I can shave with Cella using any boar brush I have and easily get three or four passes. Is this magic? No, I just soak the brush for five or ten minutes before lathering up.
I shaved almost every day with Cella (red tub) during the month of March. I had a small amount in a "loading bowl" for the entire month, perhaps 50 grams. About half of that is still in the bowl. So, figure about 1 gram per shave, using an Omega 49 pro boar brush, face lathering.
All this talk about eating lather and zero passes leaves me scratching my head. I mean, look at Youtube videos and there must be thousands of people successfully shaving three or more passes with boar brushes and commonly available shaving soaps.
The same laws of physics and chemistry apply to everyone. It's like hearing someone say:
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This is the best explanation of YMMV that I've ever read.
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
... all loading for different times, to suit their brushes and water chemistry. I recently ditched my boar brush, because it didn't produce, hold, or release lather as well as my original boar. I now use a synthetic, which performs quite similarly to my original boar.
I've been lead to believe that the different bristles feel differently on one's face. That a natural hair feels different (softer?) than synthetic. Or even that badger feels different than horse or boar. Or that different bristle fibers react to different soaps and creams differently.
I only have one brush with 2 (formerly 3) different creams. So I'll happily pass the shaker to allow as many grains of salt to take the preceding comments as necessary.
I only have one brush with 2 (formerly 3) different creams. So I'll happily pass the shaker to allow as many grains of salt to take the preceding comments as necessary.
Rotating through my stash is a way to enjoy comparing and contrasting different products! 
It's a good way to extend the life of whatever you're using.
Depending on how often you shave, rotating natural hair brushes allows them to fully dry in-between shaves.
Depending on how often you shave, rotating natural hair brushes allows them to fully dry in-between shaves.
I too use Cella loaded from the red bowl for about 20 seconds and it gives me plenty of lather for 4 passes. I am getting ~ 4.5 months out of a bowl which is about right with hard water and there is very little wasted at the end of a shave. The issue of residual lather in the knot is easily resolved with a gentle squeeze of the knot to release the lather. The bigger knots hold a lot more lather but that gentle squeeze will still release that lather; many videos refer to a gentle squeeze at the end for that final pass to release that luxurious lather held in the knot.
Boar brushes should be soaked for at least 3 minutes to condition the bristles as they do absorb more water than badger hair; it makes them more pliable too. Lather eating brushes sounds like hogwash!
Rotating brushes gives you a feel for how different size knots perform. My view is you need a rotation to justify buying all that hardware and software.
When I first started shaving the first new razor I bought was a Gillette Adjustable or Fat Boy as it is called today. A year later I bought a Slim. I used those razors and a brush every day. I used the same soap or cream until it was used up. Then I joined B&B and decided to try something new. So, I bought a new razor and a new brush and two new soaps. Shortly thereafter I saw another razor and brush that caught my interest. After only a few years my collection grew. However, I use every razor and brush I have bought. Nevertheless, I have reached the stage when I do not plan to buy any more razors. However, brushes are another matter. I use a different brush every day and currently have 35 brushes in my rotation. As a result, I am always certain my brush is dry before using it again! 
I'm not saying that boar brushes don't work. They tend to eat up more lather than synthetics so I load heavier to account for that.
By small amount, I meant like loading from 1 gram in a bowl, not loading from 50 grams. Given the same amount of soap, synthetics will produce more lather than boars. I've seen this every time I lather and I'm almost certain now.
It's like saying it takes more time for a bowling ball to fall than the time it takes for a feather to fall. Every time I conducted this experiment, bowling ball falls quicker than a feather (in a sense where synthetic produces more lather than boars). Now I'm generalizing the boars/synthetics. For example, you can drop a 1gram bowling ball vs 50lbs of feather and say it's wrong. True but I'm saying this in a typical situation not these outliers.
Not wanting to argue but just stating my case.
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