Hi I think the headline says everything. I am new to the site so bare with me if this has been discussed before. First off I wanna say that I'm new to wetshaving. Started out using the gillette fusion then I came upon a video on youtube that shows Safety razor shaving and Straight razor shaving, I knew instantaneously that it is something for me, because it gives the closest shave when mastered. Now I'm only a student so I did not acquire a 1000+ SEK (Approximately 200 dollars) worth of straight razor, no I bought a parker shavette with derby blades. I know there is a long learning curve, and I might take my time while shaving with my shavette, BUT my problem is that my lather dries out a bit to fast, even on the days I'm lazy or in a hurry and only use my gillette fusion. Sometimes I don't get 1 full pass without having to lather some parts of my face again, usually mustache and chin area. I ONLY have 2 soaps at the moment, Palmolive stick and L'occitane shaving soap and bowl. I have to control myself so I don't buy to many soaps at once. The lather i whip out with both these soaps dries out, and Im sure that I'm doing something wrong. Can anyone give me some pointers or link another thread that explains various reasons why the lather might dry out to fast?
How much water are you using? More water more product. If using the palmolive stick soak the tip In water while you shower. Rub on your face until you see a haze then hit with your wet brush. If using the soap put some warm water on top of puck while you shower What kind of brush are you using?
Are face lathering or bowl lathering? In either case, dry lather means you need to add more water and you may need to do this 2-4 times while whipping up your lather. Don't be afraid to use plenty of soap on your brush as well. Experiment. Over time, it will come.
It sounds to me, like you are not using enough water to lather your shaving soap. Try adding a little bit more water.
Hey Thanks for such quick answers! I might have mislead you a little bit, I've grated the palmolive stick and pushed it down a shaving mug because I found it to be a little bit to small for lathering. So I'm using it to load My brush. Uploading picture. Also I'm using a badger brush i got on ebay. I only used it on the palmolive, I got a syntetisk Plisson brush from my girlfriend that I use on the L'occitane soap. At the moment I'm facelathering and trying handlathering(not a favourite). I put a bit of water on the top of the soaps to make loading easier and I soak the brush before using it, but I shake of the access water.
Sounds like to me, all the above advise was spot on. More water. I am notorious for saying "more water" Why soak your brush if youre just gonna shake most of it out? Try giving your soaked brush a light yo yo shake instead of a sharp quick whip. Dont give up, it'll come.
Maybe try bowl lathering and remember a synthetic brush is not gonna hold nearly as much water as a badger.
Good advise, however, face, hand, bowl whatever. If you dont have enough water, none of it's gonna work. More water.
I, too, grate my shaving sticks into a bowl - I don't like to face lather. Yup, more water. Have you considered bowl lathering, since it seems face lathering isn't going so good and you don't like to palm lather? Here's how I do it. ---> *click* Your going to get lots of advice. My way is certainly not the only way, but it works for me. Try it all, that's the only way you'll find what works for you.
like swarden says, you have to find what works for you. Having said that, keep in mind soap is designed to be used with water. If you are trying to make a wet lather out of a solid puck, you have to make sure you have enough water to break down the solids in the soap. Technique is up to you, no one can tell you what works best for YOUR shave but whatever style you choose, the water has to be there for it to work. Good luck.
Grating the stick is pretty smart, I saw it in another forum. I am gonna read your instructions and try it out. Thank you!
Hey guys! Thanks for all the answers, it looks like I need more soap and more water. I will try that. I have seen that people write about hardness of water and stuff, I live in Sweden so I don't have that kind of problems. Hey The reason I shake out the water is so I don't have to much water and get very watery lather or have to use slott of soap. It's better to put water gradually after loading the brush with soap. I'm gonna have to buy one and Im on a limited budget at the moment, that is why I'm using the next best thing, my hand =)
From what I'm hearing, you are shaking out too much water. As in the link I posted above, just keep swirling the brush on the puck. If you wind up with too much soap, so be it; decrease the amount of water next time. Eventually you'll find out just how much water you have to shake out. And by the way, too much soap is better than not enough. Just grab a bowl or large coffee mug from the kitchen - use what you already have in the house.
That is very logical. I think I'm shaking out to much water too. Thank you Yes I'm gonna try that, I'm not fond of taking stuff from the kitchen into the bathroom and then back to the kitchen. But I will find a good solution eventually =)
When you are learning, dont be so afraid of using too much product. You can fine tune amounts after you get it down. Just for the sake of experiment, try this, just so you can say you did. Leave your brush sopping wet but not dripping. Swirl on puck rapidly, until all the water is thick and your brush makes a sucking sound when you lift it off the puck and it gets harder to swirl. Your entire brush will be loaded, not just the tips. Make rapid swirls on a wet face. By putting the loaded brush on a wet face, you are actually "adding water" as you go. As long as you continue to swirl until your puck gets thick and sticky, you should have explosive results on your face. Try it, I believe you will be amazed at the result. A wide but short cappicino mug makes an EXCELLENT shaving mug. Its short enough you dont bust your knuckles and wide enough to realy whip up a nice lather. I have used "shaving mugs" in the past that were too small to get a whip going. Wally World has the mugs for about $3.00 I believe. I have several in different colors and they work great.
Make sure you don't shake off too much water. That was the problem I was having with getting lather that doesn't dry fast. Welcome to the club!!
