Lather? (pics included)

So after almost a year of on/off failure, I've decided to post pics of the kind of lather I'm getting.
I use a tweezerman badger brush, and in this pic I'm using VDH soap mixed in a cup. I mix it in the cup for about 45 seconds (I've gone longer and shorter) then apply to the face for about 70 seconds. I stroke it in, mash it, ease it, no matter how I go I can't get the gooey texture that mantic59 and others get.
I've also gotten this type of lather from Tom's of Maine shaving cream.
First set is applied on, second is paint brushed-on.

Any insight would be appreciated (too much soap, too little water, etc. etc.)

Too little water!

eudjinn said:

too little water!

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+1

I'm in the same boat as you. I have a feeling my situation might be due to the water in my city. Orlando might as well be pumping rocks and bleach through my faucet! Will be trying distilled water tomorrow.

Can't I just make the water "pure" if I boil it?

Try a bottle of distilled water from the store and see if your results get better.

i think distilled water would definitely help. here in AZ we have really hard water, and when i tried distilled water i instantly saw a dramatic improvement

Boiling the water will make it pure, but only in the sense of killing any nasties that may be lurking in it. The problem with your water may be salt/mineral content in which case I would suggest getting a Brita filter or just getting a gallon jug of distilled H2O from the supermarket, as others have suggested.

Best,

-ice

And do I use this to lather my soap up and soaking my brush or just the lather?

Too little soap (and too little water).

Honestly, I've never used VDH, but I sometimes get lather like that from a soap and it is usually because I did not load the brush enough. On all of my soaps I need to load for more than 60 seconds and on hard triple milled soaps I need to wet the puck about 30 minutes before shaving (to help loosen the top layer of the puck)

With DR Harris soaps I need to wet the puck the night before shaving! This little trick literally turns DR Harris from unusable to...

You also might want to try bowl lathering instead of face lathering. You'll have more control and can really see how the lather is progressing as you mix it up.

srv524 said:

Can't I just make the water "pure" if I boil it?

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Only if you boil it all away, catch all the steam and let it re-distill. If you just boil the water for awhile, you will only concentrate the junk in it.

My guess is too much water on your brush while loading the soap, thus the lather generated is too watery..... You have to start off with a pretty wronged out brush on a damp puck to get a "paste like consistency"...

Have you watched the tutorial on soap lathering? http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21136

I have watched it several times, and each time I fail at my lathering result, I go back and study it again, picking up a few more pointers. Now I feel like I have finally got it. I don't think I have generated lather that is thick like Mantic though... but it's pretty good.

Good luck, you will get it.

I usually wet the puck a bit then dump the water out and go from there. I've tried bowl lathering, face lathering, etc etc. But I just got some distilled water so I'll try that. If that doesn't work out, I'll try doing it in a bowl again and use more water.

I've watched mantic's videos and read all of the lathering vids/tutorials I can find, including most on here. Still trying though lol

i used to get lather like that with woefully under watering. You need to add water to it as you are building lather little by little.

eudjinn said:

too little water!

Click to expand...

maxroach said:

+1

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+2

More soap, more water.

Tried using more water...it came out fluffy but dry. I'll try the distilled water, blah.

srv524 said:

I use a tweezerman badger brush, and in this pic I'm using VDH soap mixed in a cup. I mix it in the cup for about 45 seconds (I've gone longer and shorter) then apply to the face for about 70 seconds. I stroke it in, mash it, ease it, no matter how I go I can't get the gooey texture that mantic59 and others get.

Click to expand...

There's the problem; you can't build decent lather in a cup - x10 if you're trying to make lather in the same cup the soap is already in. You need room to whip it around. Load the brush on the soap, in fact, overload it. Then move to a bowl or your face, and add water slowly.