Help- Lather tips.

Hello again guys, just in need of some more help from you "jedi" haha

Anyways, I did not shave today, but i did practice on making lather. I watched mantic's videos as well as shavewiki. However, I can't seem to get it right. I am wondering if my really crappy brush has anything to do with it,(it was a present a few years back) so i don't know the brand or type of bristle. I think its boar, nevertheless I'm sure it was a super cheap one. I also have a VDH soap cake which I milled into a cup (came out nicely).
When I create the lather I transfer my soap to my mug via brush, I begin whipping and adding very small amounts of water (drips in fact). The lather seems great in the bowl but when I apply to my face it doesn't get that rich foamy texture thats it in the mug.

Any help is appreciated!

Are you just loading your brush then moving to a bowl or are you lathering directly on top of the soap?

The common error is not enough soap. I load a brush for 30 seconds throw a couple of drops of water on the puck then load for another 30 then start palm lathering. The harder your water the more soap less water you will need.

I start with the soap to load my brush then move to the bowl. Like i mention it looks rich and "lathery" in the bowl then when I apply to my face its like it just fizzles out.

Sounds like it's too dry to me. Properly hydrated lather should last for a full pass at least.

Tweety, given that you mention a 'rich foamy texture', I'd hazard that there's too much air in there, and hence it's breaking down so fast on your face. This is speculation, but if you're adding water a few drops at a time, it's easy to then spend a bit too long working it - and once the water's been mixed in, everything else going in is air. An airy lather can look alright, have peaks, and won't necessarily have tell tale big bubbles, but it won't last long and won't perform terribly well. Note also that this issue can happen in conjunction with not getting an optimal overall amount of water into the lather.

In the end, it's more art than science, and a lot of it comes down to trial and error. It is important to experiment with the water ratio, but I found I had to fiddle about quite a bit with how long and how vigorously I worked the brush as well.

I would say that it's harder with if you have a really crappy brush, and indeed, although I suspect the difference in performance is often exaggerated, if there weren't some benefit to using better quality brushes, people wouldn't pay the premium for them. Certainly it's possible to make a crap lather with the best brushes if you do it wrong, but there's probably less margin for error with the low-end ones. So yeah, a better brush (and this needn't be a super-expensive one, just a decent boar, say) may well make things easier, but equipment is only ever a complement to technique, not a substitute for it.

Thanks you for your input davros!

tweetyfish11 said:

Hello again guys, just in need of some more help from you "jedi" haha

Anyways, I did not shave today, but i did practice on making lather. I watched mantic's videos as well as shavewiki. However, I can't seem to get it right. I am wondering if my really crappy brush has anything to do with it,(it was a present a few years back) so i don't know the brand or type of bristle. I think its boar, nevertheless I'm sure it was a super cheap one. I also have a VDH soap cake which I milled into a cup (came out nicely).
When I create the lather I transfer my soap to my mug via brush, I begin whipping and adding very small amounts of water (drips in fact). The lather seems great in the bowl but when I apply to my face it doesn't get that rich foamy texture thats it in the mug.

Any help is appreciated!

Click to expand...

i do the same thing, but if the lather isnt good enough i go back to the puck for a sec. and then to face.

Use more product by loading the brush longer. Here's what I do:
1. Wet the puck by pouring a little bit of water over it.
2. After soaking/drenching the brush, I load the brush by lapping over the soap.
3. After about 15 seconds I add a teaspoon of water over the puck and load the brush for another 15 seconds.

Usually this is enough for at least 3.5 passes.

I think the above remarks that say there is not enough product are right on! Seems you have to get more soap into your brush.

You can do yourself a favor if you get a good Semogue (my favorite) or Omega boar brush. After break in, you will be amazed at the lather they produce!

needmore soap,i use a brush full of water,and then lather in my cup (with the soap puck in it)untill my brush is full of lather.been doing it this way for 20 years,if i run out of lather(hardly ever)i go back to the puck and reload.too thin ?add more soap.not enough?add more soap.catch the wave,ADDMORESOAP and enjoy the shave:}

Thanks for all the help guys, loaded more soap on my brush this evening and BAM, worked like a charm!
Once again my badger brothers pulled through!

Thanks for posting this thread Tweetyfish11. I have been having the EXACT same problems. I think I've read and heard so much about overhydrating the soap/brush that I am afraid to put too much water in there. Also.. on those videos you see they usually only load the brush for 15 seconds so i thought if I loaded longer than that there would be too much soap. I'll dry with the ADDMORESOAP methode tomorrow morning and see if it helps me as well.

Hope it works for you also! Let us know how it goes.