I'm just over a year into this wonderful madness. Using a Whipped Dog synthetic brush and unbloomed MWF, I dip just the tips of my brush into my water and lightly load for 10-15 seconds. I usually hold the brush just where it enters the handle and splay just a little bit. I then face lather, shave 2+ passes and wash away at least 25% of my lather. As it has been said many times, there are many variables involved so you just have to try it out until it works for you. FWIW, I made about a dozen practice lathers in my hand and on my face before I had a decent starting point. Enjoy the ride, Jay
I've found one thing NOT to do - don't use lots of (or hardly any really) pressure with a synthetic on a Dr. Jons. Dr. Jons is so much softer than I was expecting that I put a nice divet in the puck. Oh well, I sure wasn't lacking for lather on that shave!! Live and learn and experiment and all that.....
Well... the Original Poster seems to have not returned, but the thread has been useful to several others. Yea for us!
Blooming (soaking) the soap with warm water for a minute or so really helps - especially with the hard soaps. Plus I enjoy using the bloom water to wet my face.
Do you do it right in the wooden bowl for soaps with a wooden bowl? Is it fully immersed, or just wetted? Thanks for the insight.
I only have one hard soap in a wooden bowl. Yes I bloom it in the wooden bowl. For the other hard soaps, I take the puck and run it through a cheese grater and then press the shavings into a 1 cup glass Pyrex storage container. These make a wonderful way to store the soap with a plastic lid and they stack easily. I bloom the soap and then load the brush in the Pyrex cup then finish the lathering process in my ceramic shave bowl. Below in the photo you can see the Art of Shaving Lemon in the Pyrex container.
Thanks for the great explanation. One more question based on your photo- do you ever bloom right in the tub the soap came in, or are those photos of soft soaps and creams exclusively?
I do the same thing with my Arko. Those Pyrex containers are good. My wife bought a bunch of them on Black Friday.
I always "bloom" the soap in their containers. Most of my soaps are the "croaps" or hard cream type (I never use the pure cream soaps). I use many different ones: Stirling, Taylor of Old Bond Street, Barrister & Mann, Captain's Choice, Cella et cetera - I bloom them all in their original container.
The subject of "blooming" or softening a soap before loading your brush is a polarizing thing. If you are using a hard soap - triple milled, hockey puck, break a plate glass window type soap - dribbling a bit of water on it before loading into your brush will soften it a bit. It will facilitate making a lather by letting you get more product on your bristles and ultimately your face. If you are using a softer soap there isn't much point because the soap already has moisture (water) incorporated into the soap. But if you want to, go ahead. There's a balance point between not wanting to waste an expensive purchase & throwing caution to the wind and trying for one of those yogurty, creamy glossy lathers like you see in YouTube videos. Being skimpy with the soap means saving pennies and potentially have a poor lather. Blooming a hard (or soft) soap gets the new shaver to load enough soap to get the job done, with the possibility of a little waste. But there's the thing; too little product = crappy substandard lather VS. plenty of product = lather as the manufacture intended. If you want to wash your face with the "bloom water" before loading your brush, go for it. It's not what a 1930's barber would have done, but it's your soap, face, time and money. Me? If a soap is the hard puck type I swipe some water to soften the puck. "Bloom" if you will. Or not. Sometime I just get my brush wet, shake it out, and hit the puck like it owes me money. The nice thing about this forum in particular is that everyone can have their own opinion. Some folks prefer canned lather, cartridge razors, bowl, palm, or face lathering. Experiment, try new-to-you products and techniques. If it works or not you learned something. There are some hard and fast rules but they mostly revolve around not doing things that leave scars. Also room for a wide variety of experiences that lead to more pleasurable shaves. So go on and find yours!
What I really like is applying the "bloom" water to my already moist face. The scent really comes through and you can feel the silkiness of the soap before brushing on the lather.
I sigh not from the act, but from the terminology. When folks have to define "blooming", as you did, in my opinion, it is a useless word in that it has no link to what is actually being done. Just say what you mean - soak. Why does one soak their brush, yet must bloom their soap? My opinion. Carry on.
I'm with Steve on the terminology. It sounds silly to me. I dribble a little water on my soap, wash my face, wet my brush a little and load soap for 10-15 seconds and lather up.
"Bloom" does have a meaning in regard to shave soap. Its the releasing of the fragrance just as a flower blooms and does the same thing. I do it for that reason and because the scent and feel of the silky bloom water, which I apply to my face, is part of the experience and luxury of this hobby. I do not think it really contributes that much to loading the brush - except for the really hard soaps. Speed shaving is not an issue for me anymore, so I take my time. My face - my shave - my way. Now if I can just decide on a decent blade. Here's a quote from an article on the subject: "It releases the fragrance of the soap for greater enjoyment (the “bloom”). We all buy scented soaps because it smells good, so why not enjoy it". Everyone have a great shave today.