what am I doing wrong? with glycerin-based soaps I try to go with the 'less is more' routine, meaning, less water and gradually add it if I need it. but with Tabac i'm not sure if I should be using more water or not. tonight's lather looked okay but it didn't provide much cushion and it wasn't very slick. so do tallow-based soaps typically require more water than glycerin soaps?
still not getting good shaves with Tabac
- Thread starter gaseousclay
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It's a different soap, it might more differently... Make a few bowls when you have time before your next shave. I wouldn't say tallow always need more/less water.
I'm not sure glycerin soaps even require water.
(Yes, tallows take more water... if you put anywhere close to the amount of water I use with tabac into a glycerin soaps lather, you get a puddle with a bit of soap residue on top).
Now require is another story. I can get OK lather using a well shaken boar brush with tabac and similar soaps, but it's not something I'd shave with because I see no reason to. The whole reason to use a thick creamy lathering soap like Tabac is that aside from the cushion, that thick cream can hold a metric buttload of water making for the slickest shave you're liable to get.
Awhile ago I came up with a very basic (and oversimplified, but still true in a lot of cases) rule of thumb. Start glycerin soaps with a well shaken brush to make them work. Only add water as necessary. Tallows don't really care all that much, but if you start wetter, you will have to "fix" a loose watery lather by working the hell out of it. You wind up doing less lathering if you work it like a glycerin then dip your brush tips, work it back to where it was before you wetted... and repeat until you're satisfied.
(Yes, tallows take more water... if you put anywhere close to the amount of water I use with tabac into a glycerin soaps lather, you get a puddle with a bit of soap residue on top).
Now require is another story. I can get OK lather using a well shaken boar brush with tabac and similar soaps, but it's not something I'd shave with because I see no reason to. The whole reason to use a thick creamy lathering soap like Tabac is that aside from the cushion, that thick cream can hold a metric buttload of water making for the slickest shave you're liable to get.
Awhile ago I came up with a very basic (and oversimplified, but still true in a lot of cases) rule of thumb. Start glycerin soaps with a well shaken brush to make them work. Only add water as necessary. Tallows don't really care all that much, but if you start wetter, you will have to "fix" a loose watery lather by working the hell out of it. You wind up doing less lathering if you work it like a glycerin then dip your brush tips, work it back to where it was before you wetted... and repeat until you're satisfied.
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This is what I do: I soak the brush in water, pour a tablespoon of water on top of the Tabac, drain and squeeze the water out, a few swirls on top of the soap until you feel the brush resist, then build lather on face or bowl. If there are bubbles on the face, that means I used too much water. Hope this helps.
See here.
Really load of your brush. Be not afraid, TABAC will last a long, long time. I lather directly on the puck, and have done so for over two years so far (as part of a rotation of other soaps).
Well loaded brush=TABAC goodness
Well loaded brush=TABAC goodness
Just load up big time with a damp brush. Add water til very soft n creamy. If it's not slick, there's not enough water.
Hard to go wrong.
Hard to go wrong.
Thoroughly load the brush (for about a minute), it the key to good quality lather from any soap. Don't skimp on how much product you use, this stuff last a long time...
All soaps, even two tallows or two glycerins will have their own "amount of water to use" properties. Tabac will need a little more water but as stated above, the rich creamy tallow lather will retain that water for a really great, slick shave. As stated above, you an put a bit of water on teh puck and let it set for a minute while your brush soaks to help load the brush a little quicker. Use plenty of product and don't give up. Tabac was the first good soap I used. Although now, I realize it's one of the easiest soaps to lather, I didn't think that when I was first learning. Don't give up.
Don't soak pucks of soap. They don't need it, and in case of Tabac it is actually detrimental to the life of the puck. Despite being triple milled, Tabac is fairly soft, and absorbs moisture very readily. See here for what will happen if you do that for prolonged periods of time. The moral: all the moisture you need should be in your brush. Soaking soaps just teaches you bad habits because instead of loading you will now simply be turning a patch of soap into a thick cream and scooping that up moments later. Loading may take a few moments longer, but in the end it's better to be safe than sorry.
No one suggested soaking the Tabac, only putting a bit of water on the top. Plenty do it to no detriment to the soap at all.
Don't post the souffle thing again. I'm mean you take a wet or damp brush to the puck - the thing has to get wet one way or another. Granted, a drop of water isn't needed, but it's not going to cause that unless someone has really soaked their puck regularly.
Don't post the souffle thing again. I'm mean you take a wet or damp brush to the puck - the thing has to get wet one way or another. Granted, a drop of water isn't needed, but it's not going to cause that unless someone has really soaked their puck regularly.
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I know this now. I once made the mistake of soaking a puck in water as I was showering and when I came out it had completely soaked it up like a sponge. now I just put a little bit of water on top of the puck, dump it out and then load the brush.
Pray tell, why should I 'not post the soufflé thing' again? I think you have some things mixed up, the liberty of me chosing what to postwithin certain limits of coursebeing the most important. I post that picture precisely to illustrate what could happen if you let water sit too long. Don't forget that the basic guide available here recommends '[placing] a thin layer of water on your soap and [letting it] soak for at least a couple of minutes. (A teaspoon's worth)'. So I'll keep on posting that link whenever someone suggests leaving water on the puck for more than the moment it takes to grab the brush and start loading away, thank you very much.
Stop being so precious. When everyone who drops a bit of water on their soap reports getting a souffle, you'll get some sort of shaving medal. Sheesh.
I just tried dropping some water on my soap puck to see if I could get a free souffle. No such luck.
However, after lathering it up, I did receive a nice helping of crispy bacon, which more than makes up for the lack of souffle. YMMV.
I don't know how you managed to get a souffle....
I have used and abused my two year old puck of TABAC, and it is still going strong. I have it in a screw top plastic container. I lather directly on the puck. I use the TABAC at the gym usually, so it sits in my gym bag, in the car, all through the summer. No problemos.
I must say though, as a fan of the scent, and everything about TABAC, a TABAC souffle sounds delicious!
I have used and abused my two year old puck of TABAC, and it is still going strong. I have it in a screw top plastic container. I lather directly on the puck. I use the TABAC at the gym usually, so it sits in my gym bag, in the car, all through the summer. No problemos.
I must say though, as a fan of the scent, and everything about TABAC, a TABAC souffle sounds delicious!
