The theme I'm picking up here, and which I discovered worked for me as well this month using MWF, is "more water". If you start from Jim's tutorial as a baseline, try adding more water than usual as you build the lather. Optionally, what I've found works for me is to shake/squeeze less water from the brush.
Mitchell's Wool Fat lathering tutorial?
- Thread starter BYUTexan
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100F... which is quite different.
My experience is somewhere between the two extremes. I think a lot of guys have problems because of too much water in the mix. They keep their brush too wet, they end up with a higher volume of proto-lather, but it's not very dense, and then they try to beat that stuff into submission, which is why some with MWF lather problems say you have to work the MWF for a long time in order for the lather to develop fully. Once I got the hang of MWF, I didn't experience this phenomenon. After I load up on the puck, I don't spend a ton of time working it.
On the other hand, I didn't have a very good experience when I squeezed the brush. I think it left too little water to charge the brush in the first place. For my brushes, I give them a few shakes so that most of the "loose" water is out, but I don't squeeze them. I also wet the puck a bit, but I don't "soak" it. For the last few shaves that has been enough to build a solid proto-lather that's on the dry side. I apply that to my face, then add a bit more water back into the mix by dipping my brush tips into the sink and working it in, and repeat that if necessary.
Now if your brushes don't have similar characteristics to mine, this might vary for you. I used my Omega boar today, which is very different from my badger brushes. I got a great first pass, but not enough for further passes, and had to return to the puck to load up more.
Stillshaving might be into something here. MWF gets broken in with use
I'd only had middling success with MWF up till today. But I poured through these posts and made some changes based on things I'd read. I picked an Omega boar brush and let it soak in a water filled scuttle while I showered. I put a small amount of water on the puck. Then, post shower, I gave a half-hearted shake to the brush to leave a bit more water in it than normal. I started swirling on the puck and started getting lots of thin, bubbly, worthless lather. But here's where it got interesting for me. I was face-lathering, and I told myself "what the heck" and spread the too-thin lather on one cheek, and went back to the puck. I got more of the same copious but wimpy, thin lather, and I put it on the other cheek. I kept doing this, until I had this "pre-lather" on both cheeks and all over my neck. After being covered with the stuff, I went back to the puck one last time and then set in to using the Omega to scrub in circles on my face. Within just a short time, Boom! For the first time, lather exploded, as they say. I'd never quite had that experience before. I'm anxious to try it again tomorrow. This MWF is a different animal. Anyway, thanks to B&B members for the tips!
I am using the Kent soap (have not tried anything else so far..) and it does a fine job. Have never tried MWF but have read on this Forum and over at SRP often that the Kent is the same as the MWF, just cheaper. I like it a lot.
