The 'fat seems to be drying out on me.

So lately, every time I use MWF, I get this awesome lather, and it's slick and moist. However, but the time I get down on my neck - especially on XTG and ATG passes where I'm more cautious and take my time, it seems like the lather has dried out on me. It still shaves just fine, but it's definitely on its way to a dry powder.

Am I not hydrating the lather enough? It doesn't seem to matter if I face or bowl lather (although I mostly face lather), and again, when I'm applying it, it's very moist and slick. I guess I'm not sure what to expect, as anything with water in it will eventually dry out if you let it sit long enough.

It hasn't caused me any shaving problems yet, but it is a little annoying to have dry lather on my neck.

Any ideas?

Jeff

more water!

Dip the brush in hot water before applying it to your face. The initial lather might be thin, but as you work the brush on your face, the lather should develop the right consistency.

I was haivng this issue lsat night, actually. I picked up a puck on the BST to try it out, and I got a wonderfully slick lather after I worked it onto my face, but about halfway through my first pass I noticed that the lather was flaking off my skin. Dipping the brush in water before applying it helped, but I found myself constantly re-lathering to keep it moist.

Sounds like you need to work in some more water. MWF has two stages of lather, one that is loose and bubbly and a second that is thick and rich. It's tempting to shave with the first lather, but keep working it (adding water slowly) and it'll collapse, then explode into the good stuff.

Less water! Or put usefully, more soap!
Thin, watery lather dries to nothing and flakes off as someone described above.
Dense lather resists drying well. It's almost as if it forms a skin to protect itself.

rajagra said:

Less water! Or put usefully, more soap!
Thin, watery lather dries to nothing and flakes off as someone described above.
Dense lather resists drying well. It's almost as if it forms a skin to protect itself.

Click to expand...

Hmmmm.. Less water? I'll try it. I'm definitely getting amazing lather though - tons of it, very rich and creamy. It's getting better though, I can say that.

I find the Fat likes water.

Give up the MWF...Tabac and MdC are the best.

The Fat is a thirsty one, ime.

Gone Gray said:

Give up the MWF...Tabac and MdC are the best.

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Oh, I am a HUGE Tabac fan. Love the stuff and rotate out between MWF and it. Never used MdC. Probably never will unless someone PIFs it to me - too expensive for me.

I've got MdC on the way. If it's slicker than the 'Fat then it'll become my #1.

Tabac smells like....disco to me.

Great advice.

plpenn said:

more water!

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rajagra said:

Less water! Or put usefully, more soap!
Thin, watery lather dries to nothing and flakes off as someone described above.
Dense lather resists drying well. It's almost as if it forms a skin to protect itself.

Click to expand...

wow... love the contadictory guidance...

OP, tell us what worked for you? I can tell you straight shaving with not enough water in lather is not as pleasant...

Mantic59 has a great How To video on lathering MWF. I lather it as any other soap per the sticky/thread by Jim. I also made a shave stick out of MWF; it look less than 15 minutes and it's the best performing shave stick I've used.

I'm still tying to figure out the optimal combination.

My problem at this point is, if I keep adding water, I keep getting more and more lather, to the point that it's literally falling off of my brush and being wasted in the sink. so there's a conundrum there in that if I load the brush as most people recommend, then add the required water, I have way too much lather and a messy situation. It's getting better for sure, and I'm seeing the consistency in the lather now. If I load my brush more than 20 seconds, I end up with loads of lather falling out of the soap bowl and getting all over the place. It's a bit of a catch 22 at the moment.

I'll consult Mantic's video once again...

global_dev said:

wow... love the contadictory guidance...

OP, tell us what worked for you? I can tell you straight shaving with not enough water in lather is not as pleasant...

Click to expand...

trick420 said:

Oh, I am a HUGE Tabac fan. Love the stuff and rotate out between MWF and it. Never used MdC. Probably never will unless someone PIFs it to me - too expensive for me.

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Ohhh, worth every penny...centime...euro cent.

neverender2113 said:

I've got MdC on the way. If it's slicker than the 'Fat then it'll become my #1.

Tabac smells like....disco to me.

Click to expand...

Great memories from the disco era.

I've got to try some of these suggestions. I kinda gave up on the mwf and Tabac as well. I was just getting thin foaming bubbles.
Love da Mama Bear!

So I got my new brush in the mail today, and I decided to break in the brush by lathering several bowls of MWF. I was careful to load the brush for at least a minute each time to really get the soap deep into the knot; it made the creamiest, most meringue-like lather I have ever produced. The answer was more product and definitely more water, whoever said that the lather goes thinner before it explodes into thick cushiony goodness was absolutely right.