What is a recommended lather training soap for a newbie?

[Demaskee]

I've been using mostly creams, but have recently been getting into soaps where it is trickier for me to get a good thick lather.

With Arko, it seems I get an amazing lather everytime without even trying. To me this is a problem for someone that's trying to learn the ropes with soap since it is too easy and too forgiving for one who ends up using too much or too little water, or whatever. I'd put Proraso near this level as well.

On the otherhand a soap like Mystic Waters has a little too steep of a learning curve for me as it seems to be much more sensitive to water amount, temperature as well as brush pressure.

So what would be a good in-between soap. One that isn't as forgiving as Arko and Proraso but isn't as finicky as Mystic Waters?

 

[SiBurning]

I'd recommend a different approach. Get a hold of some tallow-based palmolive. I find both of these soaps unbalanced in opposite ways. One won't necessarily be more difficult to lather, but the resulting lather will be very different. If you still want a challenge, Mitchell's Wool Fat (or Kent) can be finicky, and is worth trying. William's can also be hard to lather, but isn't worth trying.

 

[Graybeard57]

Cella is a good choice. Glycerine-based soaps, such as Mama Bear's lineup, can be good choices as well.

 

[bassopotamus]

I'm not sure what value there is in learning. Find a soap that you like and shave with it. Personally, I like soaps that are easy to lather and give good results. Arko and Cella are my go to soaps for this.

 

[Merk]

Van Der Hagen works well for me.

 

[wagstaff]

TFS hard soaps. Pretty easy, but they don't lather themselves. Performance is outstanding.

 

[redrako]

I'm glad that you're first soap lathering experience is an Arko stick as it does so easily produce a nice lather.

Almost all lather problems come from not enough soap, followed by not enough cream. The reason sticks lather so easily is that there's plenty of soap that gets loaded into your beard, so when you start lathering with a modestly wet brush you get a very good starter lather. A couple of gentle dips of the brush tips in water hydrates the lather and before you know it, you have a super lather.

Even Mitchell's Wool Fat or Mystic Waters follows the same lathering process. Load enough soap, gently add more water to the lather until you arrive at a slick, rich lather. IMO, the secret to lathering persnickety soaps is to be sure to use just the tips of the brush allowing the lather to start between the wet tips and the soap being picked up.

 

[Demaskee]

Thanks for the recommendations and tips!

While I may someday find myself settling into a few favorites, I really enjoy experiencing new scents and different concoctions of soaps. Hopefully with some more practice, I can get to a point where I can readily lather any soap or at the very least, know where I'm going wrong if things aren't quite coming together as they should be.

 

[Relentless]

Like yourself, I've been experimenting with many sampler soaps. It can be tricky to figure out what works best, and I used distilled water when practice lathering to eliminate one more variable from the equation.

As I was working through my samples I was beginning to lean toward creams for their ease of use, but now I'm leaning toward hard soaps. (Just load more soap!) I still haven't found one that I could commit to. I love fragrance but I'm also very sensitive to it, and solid performance is a prerequisite.

I'd like to go ahead and recommend Queen Charlotte Soaps for practicing lather. It's just finicky enough. It forces you to learn to load the brush properly, and is relatively sensitive to the amount of water. That being said; as long as it's not a bubbly and foamy mess you will be able to shave with it. When you hit pay-dirt it will be like night and day.

Cheers!

 

[wstruth]

Each soap I have is a little different with lathring. I think the best thing you can do is try a few different ones. A shave stick will always lather easier than a soap from a bowl. Find the thread on what everyone around here calls "Marco's Method" for Cella soap ( I would copy a link here but I am using my tablet and it would take me forever), it works with hard soaps as well, and it is I how I usually try to lather a soap. And like someone said above use more product!

 

[Mick]

Tabac works as well for me as Arko does.

 

[Mandina]

Among the many really nice soaps that are very easy to lather (various ones mentioned already) but provide adequate lathering practice are the Haslinger soaps and Provence Sante. Some soaps, like the Razorock variety, are SO easy to lather that you wouldn't get any practice.

 

[Beerhunter]

I never new williams hard to lather. But it's experience is what you want. And my MWF isn't as bad as I had read here. Just give it a good soak and load up its great stuff smells good too.(except some girl at work wears a perfume that smells close to MWF but more perfumie) it has pretty much ruined my love for MWF.

 

[oldbluelight]

I won't argue with any of the soaps others have suggested. I'll just throw out my suggestion for a soap that's probably on the shelf in a discount or drug store near you, Van der Hagen Deluxe. It works and it easily works up into a lather. Oh, and did I mention it's a two-buck puck? No mystique, no cache, but there's no mystery to getting it to perform. You will still have to do it right to get it right but you won't need any mystical incantations or have make any effort to coordinate your lather making with the phase of the moon. The aroma is old-school but transient.

 

[Chuckaluck]

Tabac! It is so easy to whip up a nice thick lather.

 

[coolbus18]

I've been using mostly creams, but have recently been getting into soaps where it is trickier for me to get a good thick lather.

With Arko, it seems I get an amazing lather everytime without even trying. To me this is a problem for someone that's trying to learn the ropes with soap since it is too easy and too forgiving for one who ends up using too much or too little water, or whatever. I'd put Proraso near this level as well.

On the otherhand a soap like Mystic Waters has a little too steep of a learning curve for me as it seems to be much more sensitive to water amount, temperature as well as brush pressure.

So what would be a good in-between soap. One that isn't as forgiving as Arko and Proraso but isn't as finicky as Mystic Waters?

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Interactive_Guide_to_Lathering