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Question on lathering with soap.

I have been using the technique from the tutorial on how to lather with soap. I soak my brush and then I shake and squeeze out as much water as I can. This helps alot but here is my question. One of the things I really enjoy about using creams is that I don't squeeze out all the water and when I lather I can feel the warmth of the brush from the water deep down in the brush. When I squeeze all that out for soap lathering i don't get that feeling of warmness I get from the moisture deep in the brush.

Am I alone or doing something wrong?
 
You aren't alone. I started off as a brush squeezer, but then I realized that I got the best lather when I didn't really have to add any additional water (what's the point of sqeezing it all out just to add more?). Basically I follow the procedure used in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIsj58fqVjY, except that if you are using a badger brush, you'll want to shake out some of the excess water. The point is, soaps can correct themselves if you start of with a wetter brush, as long as you allow any extra water to drain away. Hope this helps some.
 
No...you're not alone.

But, with soap lathering, many folks own scuttles or forgo the hot lather routine. I have a scuttle. So, once I charge the brush with soap and get the lather going, I let it sit in a warm scuttle for a second to warm it up. Further, when adding the soap to the face, I dip just the tips of the bristles in hot water to get the soap "hot" for the shave.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Depends how you want to do this.

I squeeze the water out of my brush and add water as I need it. I leave my bowl, floating, in warm water so it stays warm. Between each pass, I give the lather a good swirl so I have a proper heat distribution. Sometimes it's warm sometimes it's not. Maybe you would need a chocolate fondue candle to keep the bowl warm! (mmm, I got one of those... I should try that tomorrow).
 
You aren't alone. I started off as a brush squeezer, but then I realized that I got the best lather when I didn't really have to add any additional water (what's the point of sqeezing it all out just to add more?). Basically I follow the procedure used in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIsj58fqVjY, except that if you are using a badger brush, you'll want to shake out some of the excess water. The point is, soaps can correct themselves if you start of with a wetter brush, as long as you allow any extra water to drain away. Hope this helps some.

+1

Basically what I do -- a couple of shakes but still enough of reserve of warm water at the base of the knot for when I face lather.
 
I squeeze out the brush and shake it dry, load up some soap, dip the tips in my bowl of hot water, and face lather, dipping the tips as necessary until the lather is properly formed. Then, before each pass, I dip the tips into the hot water again a bit. This keeps the lather from being cool or cold, but it's definitely not as warm as with a scuttle or what have you.
 
I have never been a brush squeezer. I prefer to retain a bit of water in the brush so that it dissolves the soap. Isn't that the idea, to dissolve the soap so that the brush can pick it up? It's warmer that way as well.
 
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