This is a question that may be more about technique than the product. I have shaved with AOS soaps, Proraso, Henry Cavendish & Stirling soaps. My typical routine is to let my brush soak (either badger or boar) in a bowl of warm water while I shower. I then open the soap container and give the brush two shakes while I empty the bowl. I then load the brush with a combination of swirling and pumping the brush up and down 10 or 15 times. I then move to my seribachi bowl and work the soap into a lather that is the consistency of a nice rich foam (typically about 45sec to 1min). I have noticed that of the soaps listed above, Stirling does not get as thick; however, is very slick. Today, I used my new Mystic Water Vetiver & Oakmoss soap. It came in a puck and the instructions stated to push it down into the container provided. When I did this with my thumbs, they were so slick it took a minute of good rinsing my hands to get the soap off. After using the method above to work up a lather, I applied it to my face with a badger brush and it went on more similar to Stirling. Not so much as a rich foam, but more like well... soap. Once on my face I could feel bubble popping and it almost felt like it was going to run down my face. The performance was very good. After my two pass shave, I rinsed my face and my skin felt more conditioned than any other soap I have used. Do you think that the consistency of the lather is due to the formulation of the soap or should I be looking to change my technique for this particular brand? (by the way the scent is top notch) Thanks, Brian
Do you want to change your technique for MW to achieve a richer, thicker and more stable lather? (Without sacrificing those post-shave qualities you experienced). Try this: (Some of this advice is redundant, vis-à-vis your technique) 1) Soak Brush 2) Add 2-3 T warm water to soap After Shower 3) Pour off bloom water into your bowl 4) Squeeze the water out of your brush. 5) Start loading When it starts to get thick and sticky.. 6) Dip the brush tips into the reserved bloom water Repeat as necessary 7) Keep loading until the brush is well loaded 8) Move to your bowl General advice: Don't add water too quickly, but a few drops at a time, until your lather is thick/rich and rife with microbubbles. 10) Go to the face Good luck and let us know how it works out.
This is almost exactly what I do with Stirling also, when I bowl lather. (Not trying to be OT, just saw that you had the same issue with Stirling.)
yup pretty close here too, start with a bush that has been squeezed out and load it hard until it sticks. Go to a bowl or your face if you prefer and add small amounts of water until it's how you like it. No magic formula just get it to where it works for you. I find I need to work a little more with Stirling than some others, but the results are great. You do need some water with stirling but to me its better to add it later in the process.
Today, I squeezed the water from the brush, loaded the brush and created a bowl full of foam after about two minutes of lathering. Brushed it on my face and could feel the bubbles popping and the foam started to dissipate before I could get through a full pass. I did notice that some of their soaps including this one say "new formula". I have sent a query to the mfgr to se if maybe the "old formula" would work better for me. I'll keep you informed. The order & shipping process were very prompt & they even refunded a portion of the shipping when the order was placed, so I am not writing them off yet. I will keep you apprised of their reply to my message.
With almost 100% certainty, (not actually seeing it), if you have disappearing foam, you need more product. Disappearing foamy lather is caused by too little soap with too much air whipped into it.
You for sure need to load longer. Disclaimer** The following is just opinion and can be taken or left. No attempt to start an argument is contained below. If you read this and disagree, please disregard, and write your own post with your own opinion. Never ever pay attention to people who tell you they load for "x" amount of seconds. That can change with the soap you use, the brush you use, is your soap hydrated, is it dried out, is the moon in line with Jupiter today..... Also ignore any pictures you see of gigantic bowls of glorious lather. Those are for lather porn purposes only, (loaded 10x the soap needed) and seldom represent an actual day's shave. When you see people hold up a brush, and it looks wet and full and gloppy, with lather built up that just sort of makes peaks? That is what you want to aim for right now. I personally don't feel like type of brush matters. I have soaps from triple milled, to croaps, and any of my brushes will work. I am basically never ever afraid of loading too much soap. If it is pasty, I can add little amounts of water until I get that shiny yogurt. On the other hand, I hate loading more after I have started. I also evening shave so I have lots of time. I also have never tried Mystic Water, but I think I have read that it can be fussy. Fantastic soap once you get it, but maybe harder than some to get right. This is only one way to do it, but watch and try the video below. Lots of people who have been having trouble say this vid helped. Keep at it, you'll get it. And load it like you stole it!
Makes sense. Maybe I'm not loading enough because the soap has a very soft texture & subconsciously, i'm not loading as much on the brush as I would a harder soap. I will persevere.
I agree with this. Stirling is a thirsty soap. One thing that is great about it though, is that it can handle a ton of water too. If a guy wants to have it look lofty and peaky, it takes a little time working in once you get it hydrated. If you are just after shiny yogurt, or face lathering, it goes pretty quickly.
I got a message back Michelle at Mystic Water. She wrote a very detailed message stating what is being said here, that I do not have enough soap on the brush. She also says that she does demos and the lather has no visible bubbles and is uniformly creamy & dense. I will withhold judgement before I give it a go a few more times. This may well end up being an issue with my technique. With how slick this soap is, if I can get a good lather, it will be up toward the top of my choices.
Once you "master" MW, you'll be able to lather anything. Agree with all of the above advice. I would also suggest you are adding too much water too quickly. MW does NOT like that. If your brush doesn't produce a sticky, pasty goo, your brush is too wet and/or you've added too much water too soon. It only seems difficult, but you aren't the first person to have issues with MW at first. You can do it!!
I agree with Primo. Michelle's soaps are fantastic, but you're not going to be shaving 45 seconds from first touching brush to soap. Start dry, load heavily, add water little by little and fully incorporate each new amount of water before adding more.
Today I spent between 3 & 4 minutes loading the brush. Then in order to get any lather I slowly started adding water to the ends of the bristles. I worked the lather for a solid 4min this way. I ended up with a good shaving lather. However there was so much soap in the brush it took a long time afterward to rinse it all out. There was probably enough soap for 10 passes in that brush. I did get a very good shave with this lather this morning, but I definitely had too much soap in the brush and need to work on my technique. However, after this morning, I think with a few more shaves, I can get the right combo of brush loading and adding water while building the later to work very well. I'm glad I did not just write off this soap.
Once mastered Mystic Water is wonderful soap and one of my favorites. As a side benefit you'll be able to lather anything with the technique that works for MW soaps. At least that has been my experience. Also, I have much better luck lathering MW soaps using brushes with good backbone. I find it easier to load enough product. Also MW soaps work great in shave stick form as well.
I noticed that using the badger, it was harder to lather. With the boar it was easier but I still had to load longer . I still can't get past this scent.. it's an awesome scent.. I love it as well as the razorock Tuscan oud
Thank you soooo much for this!!! This helped me with the tabac.. after months and months .. I was finally able to get sick lather out of it!
I got the same results with Sego Lily shaving soap. Using less water in the brush fixed the running lather problem. I shook most of the water out of the brush, started lathering the soap in a mug, and then added water to the tip of the brush as I went along. The result was a thick lather-paste when I applied it to my face. Maybe that will also work with the Mystic Water soap?
