To bloom or not to bloom, that is the question

No blooming for me. The only exception is with a new puck of MWF, then I fill the container and let the soap absorb it all so the soap expands to the size of the ceramic dish. After that, I use it enough to keep it hydrated.

 

My name is Charlie, and I'm a soap bloomer.

 

I put a little water on the soap instead of soaking the brush.

 

So you go at the soap with a completely dry brush?
Just curious.

 

Yes, sir.
Using a dry brush with a wet soap works best for me. I use this method with synthetics and badgers. I don't have any boars that I use. ( some of my Dads old boars, but I don't use those. )

 

I agree. I only bloom my triple milled soaps...and only if I haven't used them for a while. And I always pre-soak my brushes (boars) in a mug of hot water while I am showering.

 

I basically only use Arko smashed into a Ziploc container now and I leave the top off and let it dry some between shaves, I always use it dry. I do however soak my brush(just the bristles) in hot water while showering prior to my shave. When I first started "traditional" shaving and used a variety of soaps, I would sometimes let water sit on top of the soap while showering, but I eventually eliminated that extra step and I don't find either my lather production or quality has suffered.

 

@Rusty blade just made a comment in another post that got me to thinking. It was in reference to what he does with *shudder* Williams soap.
He said he blooms the puck, then went on to explain that it simply means to soak the puck.

So my thought - what would it take to eliminate the word/phrase "bloom the puck" from the shaving vocabulary and just call it what it is, "soak the puck." Use "soak" then one never has to explain him/herself to our newbie members.

Just a thought.

 

I'll second that motion. In fact I don't know why I used the word "bloom"...I never heard of the word until I joined TSD. It is, after all, just soaking the puck. Scratch "bloom" from the dictionary!!!

 

I can completely understand the blooming of a brush since it kinda, blooms. I think for the soap puck it is a bit of a convenience to just use similar lingo.

I vote to soak instead of bloom too. Just adds an unnecessary confusion.

 

Maybe instead of soak it should technically be "immerse". Or drown.

 

Yeah, but soak implies a length of time under water. To me, immerse and drown are still ambiguous.

But that's me.

 

Yes, we should eschew obfuscation and espouse elucidation.

 

^This

 

I am going with "wetten down".


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

For those of you familiar with Strunk and White, I suggest we use the simple instead of the abstruse. Perhaps we could just say, "Put the puck in a mug of your choice. Fill the mug with warm water until the puck is submerged. Leave the puck in this condition until you have finished showering or for approximately 25 minutes."

 

"Soak the puck in warm water while you shower. Pour off the excess water, load that brush like there's no tomorrow. "

 

Sorry, but I rather liked "bloom" -- still, I agree it can be misleading so, by all means, simplify the abstruse.

Above all, avoid using clichés like the plague!