lather evaporates

why is it that some soaps' lather well but seem to evaporate before finishing my first pass?
this happened with a homemade soap i bought recently at an outdoor market. i just assumed the soapmaker wasn't very good at making shaving soaps.
then, i received a shipment of pyrates cove shave soaps and tried one. same problem, makes good lather in bowl and looks right when i brush it on but quickly it disappears half way thru my first pass. i spend about 30 sec working up the lather so could it be a technique issue or the way the soap is made. is there something missing that other soaps that lather good have. thanks for any suggestions.

 

more water and more loading time.

 

My first thought when I read the title was that you were using Williams.

Are these the only two soaps you've tried?
Here is how I lather all my soaps ---> *click*

If you're using 30 seconds because that is what someone else told you, here are some things to consider:
- Do you have the same soap they have?
- Are you using the same type of brush?
- Are you using the same size of brush?
- Are you pressing and swirling as hard as they are?
- Is your water the same hardness as theirs?
- How do you know you are using the same amount of water they are?

I say this to make the point that even with the way I do it (the link above) or anybody else does it, you still have to practice and try different things for yourself. Take the advice, but in your case you may need 45-60 seconds. More or less .

And then again, the soaps you have just may not be worth a durn.

 

Yep, sounds like you need more product. I use Steve's method and it works great.

 

Steve
Very well written, also your:
Here is how I lather all my soaps ---> *click*
Is very informative. Thanks

 

actually

 

thanks to all......just used steve's method and it definitely was my technique. after a min of brisk swirling with a wetter semogue boar brush i had generated a good thick merengue. shaved my face in 3 passes and my head in two and had a great experience. it was simply operator error :{)

 

What is wrong with Williams' lather? Although not super fantastic, it worked reasonably well for me.

Just curious, which soap is it?

 

As Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith said, "I love it when a plan comes together."

 

There is nothing wrong with Williams. It makes the best lather.

 

Your opinion.

 

Not opinion fact. It is your opinion that it is not any good. Check out my post and video.
http://theshaveden.com/forums/index.php?posts/659372

 

You are one of the blessed. I am not the only one who dislikes Williams because of it not being the easiest soap to lather, creates a lather that likes to disappear during the first pass, and smells like skeeter-be-gone.

I won't buy it. I won't recommend it.
All the more for you. Enjoy.

 

Yes it is a world of YMMV. Enjoy.

 

I'm really going to try it this summer, just for that reason. I have to see if it works.

 

That is only true for those who:
- Use the same brand and model brush
- Soak the soap puck as you did in the video
- Leave some of the water in the mug as you did
- Have the same water hardness as in your locale
- Whip up the lather for the same amount of time you do

Vary any of the above and the results might not be the same as yours. To prove swarden43's opinion is not any good, it would be necessary to prove that he did in fact get a good lather with Williams and is incorrectly stating otherwise. That has not been done here.

 

The beef about Williams is that it used to be better. To compare today's product with the vintage, you can get a Williams Shave Stick at Shaveabuck, which is still made the old fashioned way. It's $12 because of the costs of getting it from South Africa. Someone living in South Africa can pick it up locally for about $3.75-$4. They have only the stick, not the puck, but it makes for an honest comparison.

 

Oh, so that is what all the fuss is about.

There is a reference to former William's employees who wanted to preserve the "old soapmaking process" in this article. That implies a traditional high standard of quality at that time. Williams is competing with Van Der Hagen, and might not be able to do anything that would raise the sales price.

 

You could be right. Combe (currently the parent company of Williams Mug Soap) might have been told, keep the price point where it is or we won't carry your soap any longer. However I read posts on forums that say fewer retailers are carrying the stuff.

I buy Walters Shaving Soap from Prairie Creations to get a "faux Williams fix" because I'm frustrated with modern Williams (http://prairie-creations.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=170&products_id=2227). This person took an ingredients list from a box of vintage Williams (when it performed up to everyone's expectations) and formulated her interpretation of what it might have been like. The puck is bigger but it costs $9.50 each.

I have tried 20-30-year-old pucks of Williams purchased off of ebay and with no special effort it delivered the cushion and slickness I want from a shave soap. I'd buy it if it were currently available even if it cost $5 a puck. Even though Combe claims they didn't change a thing, there is no way today's Williams could be the same. From what I've read on posts, most fans of modern Williams concede that it used to be better. Some have worked out a soaking routine to coax more performance out of it, and still others say they get the desired results with no particular effort. I have had a few successful experiences with the modern stuff, but for every good experience it seems there have been several bad ones and I usually wind up throwing the rest away. There are too many alternative soaps that work every time for me to keep trying to beat which is for me a dead horse.

R.I.P. vintage Williams

 

VDH is sure making a much bigger statement.