Very true Aaron!!! I did not even think about that at all! I too never have enough stubble to scrape a lot off and I find myself settin there rubbing the stick on my face for a good 2 or 3 minutes sometimes to make sure I get enough soap on my face...then I load up the brush with a good amount of water...let it stop dripping then lather it up.....I only reapplied the stick a few times out of all the times I have shaved with it.....guess I should start doing it more lol....seems wasteful but hell its an ARKO STICK...its cheap as hell and I plan on buying more anyway so why not right?! Cool beans man thanks for tellin me that.
When I use sticks, I rub it on my face, but I also shake out the brush and then load the brushon the stick before putting the brush to my face. I also reapply the stick between each pass on my trouble spots or if the lather is thinning out too much. I don't really think there is a wrong way, you just have to find a way that works best for you.
As a side note, I take the TSD sample size soaps and grate them up and put them into an empty stick container. I tried just rubbing it on my face but that didn't really work well for me. JoAnne said you could just nuke them in the microwave instead of grating.
For a glycerin based soap I find TSD soaps excellent and easy to lather. I do though like to add a couple of drops of glycerin, it seems to make them extremely slick. I found that with a couple of drops glycerin TSD soaps compare favorable with high end tallow soaps and high end creams. But IMHO TSD wheat cream soars high above all products that I've used.
I find the TSD Soaps to be phenomenal for face lathering, a few swirls on the brush and my face just explodes with lather.
Not yet...as soon as I finish the blind blade test that I am participating in I can use other product. On my next order I am getting at least four of the wheat creams, so will order two pucks of the new soap. I bet that it is another fine product, but I must admit, for soaps I am a Tabac addict. That being said, I used the TSD soap daily as a pre-shave facial wash with a boar brush. The first time I did that is when I discovered how quickly it face lathers. JoAnna really is an artisan and God-Send to the wet shaving community.
This article inspired me to get back into my puck of Iced Sweet Tea soap, which I've had trouble getting lathered up properly in the past. But, since then, I've gotten quite good and getting MWF lathered, so I figured getting this stuff worked up shouldn't be a problem. I was right. A little extra water in my brush and loading it upside down did the trick...just like with MWF. Got a top-notch shave today. Great soap.
The only problem I've had with JoAnnas soaps is when I treat it like other brands - 30 seconds of swirling with my Semogue brushes gives me WAAAAY too much lather unless I needed to do 8 passes. So I've now limited myself to 15 seconds on the puck and I get a less wasteful amount. I do tend to start with a slightly wetter brush as well though and it always works out.
I have never really been concerned about left over lather. I just rinse it out of my brush and set the brush on the stand to dry. To me, the soap lasts so long that i don't have to worry.
I wish I had read this before this mornings shave... I was so discouraged when I didnt get the lather I was expecting! I still got a good shave but I basically ended up face lathering and going back to the soap after each pass. I am definitley going to give your method a try tomorrow!
I found that I got really good results using the method you used today. I really like the TSD's thick rich lather.
I'm just startingy adventure with soaps and was a bit flummoxed by the technique needed. This explains things very nicely.
I just received my first TSD soap and was pleased as could be. Have always used tallow soaps, did not know what I was missing. Got great lather, slick as can be whether using Semoque 1305 or a third gerneration synthetic. Created the lather in the mug and face lathered. It is just a great soap. Dave