I've been trying various creams and soaps and noticed that my brush (A Whipped Dog Silvertip) seems to do much better with creams. I've tried AOS, ToBS and Proraso Red all with good results. However, every soap I've tried (Mikes, Mystic Waters Queen Charlotte) doesn't give me the same results. I've tried loading them with the brush fairly dry and fairly wet and have loaded for 60 seconds or more, adding more water as I go. What seems to happen is that the soap seems to stay on the outer edges of the brush (even though I do pump it up and down part of the time during loading). If I turn the brush over after the first lather, I can see the "breach" is pretty dry and devoid of lather. The creams seem to penetrate the brush better and end up giving me enough lather for all three passes. If I turn the brush over after the first pass with the cream, the breach is wet and full of lather.