Semogue 830 Help Please !

I have a Semogue 830 that I bought about 3 months ago. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how to get a good lather out of it. No matter what I try the lather comes out thin and the disappears in minutes. I know, sounds like too wet, right?

The problem is I bought an Omega 10066 at the same time. I have used the Semogue and the Omega on alternating days giving each brush time to thoroughly dry. I have no problem getting a thick dense lather on the same soap with the Omega.

Why would the two brushes act so differently? What should I try next? Eg. Soak time, shake dry or leave wet, hot or cold water, etc. specifics would be helpful.
Any suggestions about what to try next would be greatly appreciated.

Try more product.

The Semogue may look about the same size as the Omega, but it is almost certainly denser. That means more surface area, so it needs more soap or cream.

You might also try removing as much excess water as possible from the brush, before you start lathering. My SOC works best when I start that way. After a minute or so I start to add a little water at a time, by dipping the tips.

Try loading the brush longer.

With my semogue 620 I tend to squeeze most of the water out leaving it a little moist, and "dry load" the brush. When brush is sufficiently loaded add small drips of water or dipping the tips.

As commented above, load it plenty!! Semogues are denser than Omega brushes. I also have an 830 and get plenty, plenty of lather! Just load, and load. If its a soft soap, you shouldn't need much, but still more than the Omega. If its a hard soap...you know the saying...'load it like you hate it'. (i hate that saying, haha).

Once you figure it out, i think you'll love it.

Id say also soak it longer as well as loading it more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZTEQCG0KOQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZOA_a44ze8

More - more soaking and more product. If you can't figure it out, then sell or PIF it. No need to battle it every day.

I found that using the "Marco Method" made a huge difference in my 830. I was used to badger and dry loading, but when I changed methods I get enough lather for 3 passes and touch up. In fact, I just used it with MWF and wow, terrific lather and shave.

I just got that brush for Father's Day ... soak it, squeeze it, whip it around ten times on the (MWF) soap cake. You just need to beat the lather up a little harder than with a (now seemingly too-soft) badger. Face lather harder; it feels great.


AA :twocents:

Soak the brush, shake out excess water, then load the product until it starts to make a creamy foam on the brush. Depending on the soap, you might get a thick paste or a lot of foam. If you swirl around on the product for at least 30 seconds, you should have enough for a 2-3 pass shave.

Gabeson said:

As commented above, load it plenty!! Semogues are denser than Omega brushes. I also have an 830 and get plenty, plenty of lather! Just load, and load. If its a soft soap, you shouldn't need much, but still more than the Omega. If its a hard soap...you know the saying...'load it like you hate it'. (i hate that saying, haha).

Once you figure it out, i think you'll love it.

Click to expand...

Great brush! I'd be lost [almost] without mine.

Use more product is the best advice I can offer.

Here's some pictures:

Soak the brush in water for a minute or so.



Shake out a little water. Boars don't hold as much water as badger so you want to keep some in the brush. Not dripping wet but not squeezed.



Load up the brush by lightly swirling on the soap. You don't need to smash the brush. That will release all the water and make a mess. Load for 30 seconds or so.



Now start to work the lather. It will look very foamy at first.



Keep working. The bubbles will get smaller and the lather looks more creamy. Keep going until the lather looks nice and dense.

Wow, thanks for all of the suggestions from everyone, and Jarick thanks for the pictures. If I could make a lather like that with the 830 I would be more than happy. When I first got the brush, I was soaking for 3-5 mins and giving 2-3 light shakes after soaoking. When the lather was coming out so thin and short lasting I was thinking that the brush was too wet. I started soaking less time, like 30-60 seconds and shaking out more so that the brush was dryer.

From the comments above, it sounds like most are suggesting to leave water in the brush (e.g. Marco Method or similar). But then there are others that suggest getting most of the water out. I even saw one suggestion on a different thread that when he was breaking in his 830 to squeeze the brush, then shake, then wipe on a towel to get it to be just damp.

I'm confused, wet, damp or dry. Maybe I'm not loading as much soap as I need to. I have been loading for about 20 seconds or so. That seems to plenty for the Omega, but maybe the Semogue is more needy and needs more load time. I may also go back to soaking longer and trying a wetter brush along with the longer load time.

Jarick, just curious what soap is that? Did you add any water to the top of the puck?

It's Barrister and Mann Latha.

To be honest with this brush and a good soap you can go either way. Here's a brush that's been squeezed and shaken after soaking. I loaded more aggressively:



The lather starts as a thin dry paste:



Add water and keep working over and over again:

Soak for longer but then squeeze the brush before loading. I find a longer soak softens the bristles, but you can still give a gentle squeeze to remove most of the water before loading up and the bristles stay more pliable from the longer soak.

I usually drop mine in a mug with water before I jump in the shower and let it soak for a good 7 or 8 minutes. That's probably overkill but it doesn't hurt anything.