Thread: Help with my lather please

Hey guys,

I have a pure badger brush (Wilkinson), a Calani soap puck, and shaving cream from palmolive and tabac.

First three-four times with Calani were great, good lather that lasted untill the end of the shave. But since then i cant do it anymore. Now the lather has bigger bubbles and lasts for 1 minute on my face. Dries out immediately. I don't think i changed anything between the good attemps and the failed ones.

Creams, no problem. Any idea why the lather-making fails after a few good attemps? I have no clue. I tried face lathering, no. Using a dry soap puck, no. Using a wet soap puck, no.

Any tips/ideas are welcome!

(And for completeness:
i soak the brush for 5 min in hot water, put a few drops of water on the soap(or not), shake the brush dry, hold it by the knot and load the brush, lather in bowl, add few drops of water now and then when it seems necessary)

If the lather's drying out on your face, I'd say not enough water. As for the large bubbles, you're probably not lathering in the bowl long enough to cause them to break down. The rule of thumb I go by is when the lather looks like soft whipped cream and can form small soft peaks in the bowl, it's ready.

I mostly face lather, and been doing so for many years. Until recently I had only used cheap Williams soap.

My technique is slightly different from yours, but works for me with both badger and boar brushes.

I wet the soap a lot more than you seem to; I soak the brush under running water, and without shaking it run it over the puck. I'm guessing a good teaspoon of water sits on the soap. Then I put the brush in hot water in the scuttle for a good five or so minutes, maybe longer if I'm showering.

When I'm ready I let the brush drip until it stops, without shaking, then just rub on the soap to get a load. I take it to my face like that, or to the scuttle where I add another spoonful of water and get a nice beat going.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by Snake

I mostly face lather, and been doing so for many years. Until recently I had only used cheap Williams soap.

My technique is slightly different from yours, but works for me with both badger and boar brushes.

I wet the soap a lot more than you seem to; I soak the brush under running water, and without shaking it run it over the puck. I'm guessing a good teaspoon of water sits on the soap. Then I put the brush in hot water in the scuttle for a good five or so minutes, maybe longer if I'm showering.

When I'm ready I let the brush drip until it stops, without shaking, then just rub on the soap to get a load. I take it to my face like that, or to the scuttle where I add another spoonful of water and get a nice beat going.

Good luck.

I'm having the same problem with my VDH soap as the OP. I assumed the problem was too much water. It forms peaks and the bubbles seem small (how small is small?) after beating it in the cup with a VDH boar brush until my hand wants to cramp. But I drain the water off the puck before I load the brush and I shake the brush pretty good before I load it.

I'll have to play around with this some tonight...I've been very disappointed in my lathering.

Thanks to the OP for posting the question.

practice different ways of making lather yourself, seems like the only way to improve.

I had problems with MWF soap, until I realised that it requires liitle water and is very sensitive to how much water you use, a tiny bit too much and you have mousse, which is useless. depends on the soap, brush and technique.

try dipping the brush into water, shake it until no more water comes off, and load up - repeat until creamy lather is made

good luck

if it is drying out you dont have enough water! and remember this....if you are bowl lathering your lather is NOT ready until there are no bubbles left! All i can tell you to do is just keep practising with your soaps your having trouble with till you get it right ....good luck

Try the old hot lowel on the face, sound like the soap foam is obviosly losing its moisture it's either going in the air or is you skin. It should help your skin, and help to cut your whiskers a little easier. The more moisture you have on your face the less it takes from your soap.

Originally Posted by sleekandsmooth

if it is drying out you dont have enough water! and remember this....if you are bowl lathering your lather is NOT ready until there are no bubbles left! All i can tell you to do is just keep practising with your soaps your having trouble with till you get it right ....good luck

I have found this to be true so far.