What am I doing wrong?

[breadstick]

I am new to DE shaving (been doing it a few months, now) and I just can't seem to get the lather that most other people do. I followed the how-to in the guide here and I get some lather that is workable, but nothing compared to what you guys are getting. I have tried with VDH, a few Mama Bear's samples, and a puck of Nana June's soap and I get a decent shave with them, but sometimes the lather disappears before I finish the first pass (these times I can sort of feel the bubbles popping on my face). Like I said, I get some lather and get a decent shave, but it doesn't feel as slick and cushioned as others claim to get and I don't get the mountains of lather that you guys do. What am I doing wrong?

Also, I get good lather and shaves from TOBS and KMF creams, but I"m not having good luck with soaps.

[guitarslinger]

It's your water.

try heating up some bottled water, and see if it lathers better.

[Schwert]

Or you are just not loading enough soap on your brush. Squeeze it hard, then load it until the hair clumps together....

Add just tiny bits of water until you get lather that will not quit.

[sodajerk]

+1 water.

Amount - with a sort-of wet (but not dripping) brush get as much soap in your brush as you can, then, using a cereal bowl for this experiment (use bowl, hand face, etc. as you prefer) whip up some lather. Add just 4 or 5 more drops of water and whip again. Repeat this feeling the lather on your face or arm each time - do not go by looks alone.

Hard/Soft - Try distilled water or collect some rain water and see if it makes a difference.

[TimeWeaver]

Or you are just not loading enough soap on your brush. Squeeze it hard, then load it until the hair clumps together....

Add just tiny bits of water until you get lather that will not quit.

+1

First, use lots of soap, because you can always add water but it's hard to suddenly add more soap.
As a test, try loading up your brush and get your face really, really wet, then face lather. You may run out of soap before you finish your shave, but you'll most likely find that the lather is very rich and slick.
Then, spend more time loading your brush, and if you wish you can go back to bowl lathering.

Second, you can never use too much of a product, because if/when you run out is an excellend excuse reason to exercise your ADs!

[Go West Young Man]

If you're following the tutorials, you're not using enough soap. You need to work a dryish brush on the soap for at least a 100 count before moving to your face/bowl. You can always start using less soap once you figure out the sweet spot, but the videos showing 4 or 5 swirls of the brush are doing you a disservice at this point.

[kingfisher]

If you're following the tutorials, you're not using enough soap. You need to work a dryish brush on the soap for at least a 100 count before moving to your face/bowl. You can always start using less soap once you figure out the sweet spot, but the videos showing 4 or 5 swirls of the brush are doing you a disservice at this point.

This. Load it up good.


By the way, don't use rainwater. Too many contaminants that might not be good to get into freshly abraded skin.

[charismata]

Also, I get good lather and shaves from TOBS and KMF creams, but I"m not having good luck with soaps.

You've gotten some outstanding advice from others here in this thread. Do a few practice lathers in the kitchen when you aren't even planning on shaving. That way you will take your time and focus on the lather, rather than shaving.

Start with a half teaspoon of water or so in your bowl. Load your brush on your soap excessively. Work your brush into the small amount of water in the bowl until it it starts to thicken up. You may feel a noticeable drag once the water is totally absorbed by the soap. You probably won't notice much lather at this point, if any. Then add about another half of a teaspoon of water and continue working the brush. This time when it starts to get thicker, you will probably notice a little lather in the bowl. Add another half of a teaspoon of water and continue working it until it starts to get thick again. Keep working your lather and adding small amounts of water when it starts to get thick until your bowl is completely full of lather and you have a ridiculous amount of lather. Then keep working it to see just how thick and creamy it will become.

[BlackBard]

If you're following the tutorials, you're not using enough soap. You need to work a dryish brush on the soap for at least a 100 count before moving to your face/bowl. You can always start using less soap once you figure out the sweet spot, but the videos showing 4 or 5 swirls of the brush are doing you a disservice at this point.

Is this a typo? I usually only have to work my soap for about 15 seconds, at most (Williams excepted), to get enough soap on the brush to face lather. You must be doing some fast whipping!

As an aside, I am constantly amazed to read that someone is "following the tutorials" and getting bad results. I have read the same tutorials, and while I don't necessarily adhere to all the advice given (some of which is contradictory from one tutorial to another), I think that results speak for themselves. If you are getting bad results, you clearly are not following the tutorials.

Hard water does require more work, but does not preclude getting good lather. It just takes more soap and more time.

[moonshine44]

+1 here for more soap. Thin lather, in my admittedly relatively limited experience (just over a year), is often the result of a thinly loaded brush, which makes too much water pretty much certain. Considering that you're using Mama Bear's soaps, which I've found to be rather easy to lather, this is more than likely the answer...

[Go West Young Man]

Is this a typo? I usually only have to work my soap for about 15 seconds, at most (Williams excepted), to get enough soap on the brush to face lather. You must be doing some fast whipping!

Counting to 100 takes about 60 seconds, which was the point - load that brush up, then load it some more, and finish off by loading a bit more

Personally, I do about a 30-45 second swirl these days, but I'm using hard soaps that seem to need a bit more work.

[Gustav]

The dry method in one of the tutorials, where you soak then squeeze out your brush before hitting the puck until the bristles clump together, has never worked for me.

I pre-soak, then shake the brush until no substantial amount of water is coming out but it is still a lot wetter than when you squeeze it and then I hit the puck for a good long while (it may take up to 2 minutes). At first the lather is thin and foamy but after a while it usually sets. I keep going, adding water by dipping the tips of the brush in water, until the brush is completely saturated with soap and peaks of lather are visible on the soap and on the brush. Last but least I face lather.

This might be more wasteful than other techniques and indeed to start off with the "proto-lather" tends to spill off the edges of the container but once your brush is fully loaded, you rarely need to go back to the puck and reload and since I am not using a lathering bowl, there is no supplemental wasteage.

As always YMMV

[breadstick]

Thanks for all the advice. I started making "test lather" in the kitchen last night (thanks Charismata) using a few different techniques. What seemed to work is the video I found on Charismata's site about bowl lathering. I loaded the brush, which was not close to dripping but not wrung out either, just shaken out very well, for about 45 seconds to a minute, then put about a tablespoon of hot water into the bowl and whip for a few minutes. This worked with my water very well. I tried it in a shave this morning and it worked exactly like I wanted it to.

Again, thank you all for your help.

[BlackBard]

Thanks for all the advice. I started making "test lather" in the kitchen last night (thanks Charismata) using a few different techniques. What seemed to work is the video I found on Charismata's site about bowl lathering. I loaded the brush, which was not close to dripping but not wrung out either, just shaken out very well, for about 45 seconds to a minute, then put about a tablespoon of hot water into the bowl and whip for a few minutes. This worked with my water very well. I tried it in a shave this morning and it worked exactly like I wanted it to.

Again, thank you all for your help.

Excellent! I'm glad you were able to whip your lather blues. This just goes to show that there is more than one correct way to do it. Looks like you found yours.