Lather Issues

[relt]

I've recently moved from Atlanta, Ga over to southern California (been here a few months) and my lather has suffered a hit. It seems no matter what I do, I always end up with a dry lather and it is getting rather frustrating as I had everything working right back home. I looked around a bit for help, and this past week I've tried shaving with the bottled gallons of water but there has been little change.

I'll try to be as detailed as possible with my current process: I'm using about a $40 dollar brush with Tabac original shave soap. I soak the brush in hot water for 5-10 minutes (however long it takes me to shower that day) and use enough water to live a little puddle in the middle of the soap puck. I rub the water into the puck at the beginning and when I'm read to get started I squeeze out the brush, give it a shake and pour the excess water off of the puck into my lather bowl. I then go to town on the soap for about 20 seconds, scrape up the left over 'pre lather' with my finger, and throw that on the brush. From there, I've been mixing up how much time and water go into building the lather, but nothing seems to work right. What do I need to change? Or have I just not done enough experimenting with the final step? I've ordered some maca root soap to see if that is any help, but other than that, I'm lost here gents. Help?

[luvmysuper]

Well, despite what the detractors of Tabac have to say about it, that stuff almost lathers itself.
I'd say that you probably have a water issue.
I suggest that you try eliminating the squeeze before the shake, or eliminating the shake after the squeeze and see if that helps.
Experiment a bit and keep trying.
Most lather problems are from not enough xxx as opposed to too much xxx.
What I mean is - Not enough soap is bad, no lather.
Not enough water is bad, no lather.
Too much soap or too much water can result in really thick or really runny lather, but it is lather afterall.
If you have too much water and your lather is runny, just squeeze a bit out and go at the puck again.
If you have really thick lather, just add water a few dribbles at a time.

[sodajerk]

I agree with Phil and think you just need to experiment some.

Start with a wetter brush (shake, don't squeeze) and use a bowl (even if you don't normally) so you can control and see things best. Load the brush with more, much more, soap than normal and repeat sprinkle-whip cycles over and over. Hopefully, you'll get there!

You mentioned using bottled water but what you need is distilled water. If that's not what you have, try it, too.

[blackfoot]

Another +1 to Phil.

[RCC]

another +1 to phil.

+2

[lvsc10]

Phil's diagnosis is right on the mark! Follow the information and you will once again enjoy a fine bit of lather. Good luck!

[DSB]

You might want to try face lathering, too. I have hard water (also in southern California), but can get a great Tabac lather when I face lather. For me, the key is to start with a relatively dry lather on my face, and slowly add more water to my face by dipping the tips of my brush into a mug of hot water, and slowly building a rich lather on my face. It may take several trips between the mug and the lather on my face to get the ratio just right.

[Go West Young Man]

Maybe try a cream for a while? They tend to more forgiving in the lathering stage, I find.