Synthetic help needed

[Seelector]

I got my first synthetic a little while ago, but I can never get a good lather from it so it’s been sitting on the shelf unused for months. I tried it again for last night’s shave and again I got a crappy lather.

Every time my lather is thin and runny no matter how much I work it. The volume just never builds. I get fantastic lathers from the same soap with my badger or boar brush, so it must be a user problem!

Is there a specific synthetic technique that I don’t know about? Is my brush somehow defective?

It’s a Yaqi Sagrada Familia 24mm. I always face lather.

 

[Oliviamaynard]

I have this exact brush and it works best when you font put pressure . Light touch. I get huge lather, but have noticed has gotten better so it take a little time but I have always been able to get good lather. Now it's just better.
My guess is you use too much pressure and playing the bristles

 

[EclipseRedRing]

The only difference for me is that with a synthetic I start with a barely damp brush, not wet, and certainly not soaked. In fact I do not soak badger brushes either as for me it serves no benefit. I also use much less soap with a synthetic than with a badger brush and very slowly add hydration by repeatedly dipping the tips in water as I face lather. For me a synthetic never fails to easily produce a great lather, even from soaps which I find difficult to lather with a badger brush.

 

[Seelector]

I have this exact brush and it works best when you font put pressure . Light touch.

I’ll try this. I know I’ve probably used too much pressure because I’ll get frustrated at the lather and push harder

I start with a barely damp brush, not wet, and certainly not soaked

Good to know. I always soak it before my shave like I do with a badger.

 

[Multum in parvo]

I had the same issues when starting out with Synths. Too much water in the knot and unexpected release. Starting only damp/squeezing the brush and then adding a couple of drops of water at a time works much better.

 

[Seelector]

Last night's lather was better but still lots of room for improvement. I think I still had too much water in the brush, it was still flinging out as I was lathering.

Starting only damp/squeezing the brush and then adding a couple of drops of water at a time works much better.

I'll try this tonight. I didn't squeeze the water out yesterday, I shook it out.

 

[JCarr]

Soak the brush prior to the shave and squeeze it out before you start swirling it on the puck. Load it up good and then start with a small amount of water in your lathering bowls. Should be fine. Tuxedo brushes are good brushes...they have a little stiffness.

 

[smudge]

No need to soak. Immerse the brush in water and then shake out every last drop. Load your soap lightly, dip just the last mm of the tips into your water, then face lather adding tiny amounts of more water, if needed.

 

[gpjoe]

I got my first synthetic a little while ago, but I can never get a good lather from it so it’s been sitting on the shelf unused for months. I tried it again for last night’s shave and again I got a crappy lather.

Every time my lather is thin and runny no matter how much I work it. The volume just never builds. I get fantastic lathers from the same soap with my badger or boar brush, so it must be a user problem!

Is there a specific synthetic technique that I don’t know about? Is my brush somehow defective?

It’s a Yaqi Sagrada Familia 24mm. I always face lather.

View attachment 1567556

View attachment 1567557

That's a nice looking brush that has been on my radar for quite a while.

To me, runny lather indicates too much water. I bowl lather and don't skimp on soap/cream. Really, soap is inexpensive (in the big picture), and it's easy to add water, slowly, to get where you want to be.

As others have stated, with my synthetic brushes, I wet the brush with warm water and give it a couple of good shakes or a squeeze so the brush is damp but not soaked.

For me, it's simple: if my lather is thin or runny, I use more soap or less water.

Good luck, you'll figure it out.

 

[GR5233]

wet the brush with warm water and give it a couple of good shakes or a squeeze so the brush is damp but not soaked.

This is the way. I do it this way whether I’m using a synthetic brush or a natural (boar, badger or horse hair) brush. You might have to add some more water to get the lather to where you want it but it’s a lot easier to add water later than to take it out

 

[NorthernSoul]

I had a similar problem at first. I was accustomed to boar brushes, mostly. Synthetics won't absorb water in the same way as natural hair brushes will. Excess water will come out of the knot suddenly and make a mess or dilute the lather too much. The other problem is that synthetics tend to be soft which means they may require a longer loading time for harder soaps.

A good way to go with synths is to load them when they are just damp, instead of really wet. Once you have loaded a good soap paste on the brush, you can begin adding more water in gradual stages as you build the lather. Typically, it will be two or three stages to get the lather where it should be.

 

[ivan_101]

Have exactly the same brush. I face lather, but use cream from tubes and squirt quite a good amount inside the knot (not on top). Prior to that I soak it in hot water - around 50-55° C. And I always push the brush close to my face, so neither the water amount, nor the pushing as others say is your problem. It doesn't need breaking in. Excellent lather out of the box. Doesn't change later. You need to shake after soaking though.

 

[OkieStubble]

No need to soak. Immerse the brush in water and then shake out every last drop. Load your soap lightly, dip just the last mm of the tips into your water, then face lather adding tiny amounts of more water, if needed.

Good post, but instead of dipping the tips of the bristles in water, which might rinse away any built up lather in the brush, the OP could just take the fingers on his opposite hand and drip water down into the bristles, behind the tips and lather. The water will work itself into the lather and tips from behind, as he continues the lathering process, he can drip more water from his fingertips into the brush.

 

[Ron R]

I had the same issues when starting out with Synths. Too much water in the knot and unexpected release. Starting only damp/squeezing the brush and then adding a couple of drops of water at a time works much better.

View attachment 1567894

+1, that will work every time!

 

[Seelector]

Last night was lather #3 of my dedicated effort to use a synth. Each one is getting better and better, but still not up to my usual level. I'm going to keep at it though.

Last night I dipped the tips, tonight I'll try dribbling some water into the knot.

I'm surprised at how different a synth is than lathering with a badger or boar. It seems more difficult as well, but that could just be because I don't remember what my lathers were like when I first started wet shaving (my first brush was boar).