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Newbieknicks

Hello everyone I'm new here and about 6 months into wet shaving.I have been bitten by the bug and I'm in love with it and the culture.I have a decent cheap setup that works for me (just starting ) the only part I'm having issues with is soaps.I have tried a few they all seem to be the same they feel like drying body soap on my face and almost burn or tingle.The foam never last and I'm fairly quick with my blade(straight razor).My face isn't all that sensitive to begin with so I know that means the soap is harsh.What should I be looking for in a decent puck that with hold a lather longer and help lube the face up to smooth out the shave.

All suggestion/experiences are welcome 😁
 
silverlifter

silverlifter

Had me in the first half, ngl...

What soaps have you tried: without knowing what hasn't worked, suggestions will be a bit random.

Straight shavers rely on slickness more than volume: so soaps that hold water work best. My favourites are Saponificio Varesino, Speick, and MdC. If you are in the US, then Wholly Kaw, Declaration Grooming, and Mike's Naturals would be worth a look.

Welcome aboard! :badger:
 
Dobric

Dobric

Add more water, also try destilled warer, your water could be too hard
Additional water works wonders.
Also, if you are bowl lathering, you could put lather on one side only, shave and then lather other side of face and shave...
 
M

Marlin

Newbieknicks said:
Hello everyone I'm new here and about 6 months into wet shaving.I have been bitten by the bug and I'm in love with it and the culture.I have a decent cheap setup that works for me (just starting ) the only part I'm having issues with is soaps.I have tried a few they all seem to be the same they feel like drying body soap on my face and almost burn or tingle.The foam never last and I'm fairly quick with my blade(straight razor).My face isn't all that sensitive to begin with so I know that means the soap is harsh.What should I be looking for in a decent puck that with hold a lather longer and help lube the face up to smooth out the shave.

All suggestion/experiences are welcome 😁
Click to expand...
I think it is better for you if you use creams instead of soaps at first. It will be hard to figure out how much soap you are extracting if you are new to the hobby. Using shaving cream you can see how much you are extracting, so you can just concentrate on dialing in the water instead of figuring out both the water and soap amounts. If you still want to use your soap since you already have it, you can just count how many swirls you are doing and try to keep the extraction amount of soap the same for each shave. Well, this isn't foolproof since it depends on how much pressure you put on the brush when you are extracting and what soap you are extracting (some are softer, some are harder soaps). Another good method I have heard to keep the soap extraction just right is to swirl until you start feeling resistance, which means the brush is fully loaded. I have never tried this method, I normally use shaving creams. Generally, just try to add more water, that seems to be your problem as of now. I am presuming it is not the cream on the basis that you have been here for 6 months already, so you are most likely using soaps that have already been tested by other members, but just in case you are not and you are using some unknown soap, I suggest you just go for something more classic and foolproof like the Proraso line.
 
Alum of Potash

Alum of Potash

As others have written, knowing the kinds of soap you have used would be helpful. Also the type of brush. The suggestion to use distilled water is also a good one as it at least eliminates one possible cause.

That said, I'll add some general advice. Olive-oil and glycerine based soaps are hard to lather so I would avoid those in starting out. Otherwise, stick to a soap that has a good reputation here and try to find a post showing a lathering video or at least a good description of the lathering technique. Unscented soaps tend to be less irritating too. If you are located in North America, I find either the Stirling or Razorock lines of soap to be easy to use.

When I lather, I do the following
  1. Soak the brush for 2-3 minutes in warm water (avoiding the handle and the juncture of the bristles with the handle).
  2. Cover the soap with hot water at the same time to soften it.
  3. Remove the brush from soaking and lightly shake off the water in the knot.
  4. Drain off the water from the soap.
  5. Begin loading the tips of the brush with soap. Do this for several moments so as to build a concentrated lather in the knot of the brush.
  6. In a bowl, on your face beneath the jawline, or in the palm of your off-hand, begin to build a little lather so as to discharge some from the tips of the brush. The lather should be thicker here than the desired end-result.
  7. Begin to slowly thin the lather by introducing small amounts of water. In a bowl, I do this by adding droplets of water little by little by transferring it with my fingertips until the desired consistency is reached. With face- and palm-lathering, I do it by dipping the very tip of the lathered brush into a vessel containing water, then transporting this to my face or palm 2-3 times.
  8. The desired lather consistency for straight-razor shaving, and any other shaving as far as I'm concerned, is one that is thick enough to stay on your face for the entirety of the pass yet thin enough that it will easily rinse off when the blade is placed beneath running water from the faucet. When face- or palm-lathering, I tend to add a little more water for the second pass and touch-ups as I like it to be a little bit thinner there so as to better see things towards the end. for bowl lathering, the consistency remains the same throughout.
Also, irritation can happen if you are shaving too often or using a very prickly brush. If are shaving everyday and do not have to, try shaving every other day or every three days and see if that helps.
 
Last edited:
Goblin

Goblin

Newbieknicks said:
I have tried a few they all seem to be the same they feel like drying body soap on my face and almost burn or tingle.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a reaction to the fragrance oils to me. If you are using modern artisan soaps, Arko, Cella, Tabac, or really just about anything except a fragrance-free soap, you may experience this problem.

I didn't think I had sensitive skin either, until I discovered that this doesn't happen to most people!
 
DEgeezer

DEgeezer

Welcome to B&B! :smile:

Keep in mind, whether it is a triple milled puck, or soft cream, they are all basically shaving soap.
As previously mentioned, it may be the fragrance additive. Try a unscented soap. Good luck!
 
Last edited:
musicman1951

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
Newbieknicks said:
Hello everyone I'm new here and about 6 months into wet shaving.I have been bitten by the bug and I'm in love with it and the culture.I have a decent cheap setup that works for me (just starting ) the only part I'm having issues with is soaps.I have tried a few they all seem to be the same they feel like drying body soap on my face and almost burn or tingle.The foam never last and I'm fairly quick with my blade(straight razor).My face isn't all that sensitive to begin with so I know that means the soap is harsh.What should I be looking for in a decent puck that with hold a lather longer and help lube the face up to smooth out the shave.

All suggestion/experiences are welcome 😁
Click to expand...
Welcome! It sounds like you have two problems: poor soap/water ratio and probably allergic to something in the soaps you've used - most often the scent. No soap should burn or tingle unless you're allergic. There are definitely levels of quality in soaps, but I don't know any that are harsh.

First, I'd get an unscented soap or cream. MdC Nature is great, Stirling makes a nice unscented beeswax soap, etc. Then do a couple of test/practice lathers. Load it like you hate it - load more soap - load too much, it's pretty cheap stuff per lather. Then either bowl or palm lather and add water a few drops at a time (not 2 or you'll be there all day). Keep adding water and observe what happens to your lather. At some point it will look wonderful. Keep adding water until it looks too thin. Two of those and you'll practically be a lather expert.

It's a little persnickety at first, but it's only soap and water - if it's too thick add more water, if it's too thin you need more soap. It's not golf, you'll get it fairly quickly. And get rid of the burning soap - it's never going to work for you.
 
steveclarkus

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
Newbieknicks said:
Hello everyone I'm new here and about 6 months into wet shaving.I have been bitten by the bug and I'm in love with it and the culture.I have a decent cheap setup that works for me (just starting ) the only part I'm having issues with is soaps.I have tried a few they all seem to be the same they feel like drying body soap on my face and almost burn or tingle.The foam never last and I'm fairly quick with my blade(straight razor).My face isn't all that sensitive to begin with so I know that means the soap is harsh.What should I be looking for in a decent puck that with hold a lather longer and help lube the face up to smooth out the shave.

All suggestion/experiences are welcome 😁
Click to expand...
I've been using straight razors for several years and have found that soap is a critical factor to a good shave. Having gone through most of the classics, I've settled on ARKO. It's easy to lather and works well with a rather wet lather. Something else you might try is Palmolive Classic cream, another of my favorites.
 
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