Wasn't sure where to post this. I am having a heck of a time getting soaps to lather. I bought a couple at local craft fair and no matter what I try, they don't have that creamy texture I get from say the Arko in tub or the Prorasso in green tub. I tried distilled water, boar brush, badger brush.....all I wind up with is a foam like cup full. It reminds me of the "canned goo".
They might just suck. I would be hesitant to purchase a product like shave soap that was locally made, unless of course I lived in the general proximity of an artisan like Craftsman or Stirling.
Too Airy? You may be starting with a little too much water in the brush, and/or adding water too quickly. You also probably need more product. I load my brush twice as long as most folks seem to need to, and I do it 3 times. Give us a little more info on how you are attempting to lather it. (Dry brush or wet, squeeze out excess moisture or shake, how long are you loading, bowl or face, etc.)
As @BigMark said it may just be the soap, it's pretty easy to get good bath or hand soap at craft fairs, but not necessarily shave soap.. If your getting good lather from Arko(why use anything else) it's probably the soap. @gwsmallwood also has a valid point try adjusting your water to soap ratio and or work it longer. Some soaps like Williams require ALOT of water to work properly some less. Another thing you can try is get a known craftsman soap from ebay and give it a try "Rays of Colorado" shave soap come to my mind. It made with goats milk, comes in many flavors and is really easy to lather and gentle to your face..
I soak the brush at least ten minutes. I tried both just shaking out...Also squeezing out. I load brush up 3 times, then in a bowl, add water by drops . I'd, I'm new so ill get it sooner or later lol.
Howdy! I like warm lather. When I use a soap I get some on the wet brush and then lather it in the scuttle along with a few drops of glycerin. Glycerin seems to help make a good lather. Always, Gene
My experience with craft fair soaps are not good. I have concluded these artisans(not all I am sure), use the same formula for their body bar as their shaving soap and it does not always work well.
Sounds like you are trying all the right things. Maybe everyone else is right and it's just not very good soap. My lather still isnt perfect, but it took me almost 3 months just to figure out how to get it to acceptable, so you may just need to keep trying things.
ps i have a tweezerman badger brush and I will warm up the soap a bit, but use lukewarm water in the brush and everything lathers up enough for me to be satisfied, lasting long enough for me to get a complete single pass shave done, but I also work the lather up further on my face with the brush.
Today's lather...easy to make with VDH boar and Prorasso .....now can't upload photo....says too big and don't know how reduce size, sorry. Another great shave though ! Loving the EJ razor.....
Different soaps require different methods generally, but give this a try: Soak brush as you have been. 5-10 minutes in warm water. At the same time you are soaking the brush, soak the soap as well. Remove brush from soak and shake HARD three times. You want to remove 80% of the water and have damp brush, not wet. Dump water from soaking puck of soap. Load brush with soap by swirling, pumping, and push/pulling. If you start to get bubbles and lather right away, the brush is still too wet. Stop loading, and shake the HARD twice more. Go back to loading. What you are looking for is a thick, sticky, sometimes slimy heavy slurry like consistency. Now move brush to bowl and start agitation. If brush is a bit too dry, you'll just smear the soap around the bottom of the bowl and 30 seconds later you'll still just have a slurry. Add water just a bit at a time. When you get just enough the thick slurry will become a bit less sticky and it will begin to make lather. NO MORE WATER at this point. Agitate. This will incorporate air into the mix. Try this mixture and see if you like it. If you don't, then dump that batch and start over. Do everything the same, except this time you will continue adding water to the thick, sticky slurry until it begins to make lather, and then you'll add a bit more water. The idea here is that you'll not have so much air, and you will have a bit more water. Stop after each addition of water and see if you like the lather. Don't bother putting it in your hand and rolling it around, slather it on your mug and rub it in with your fingers. See what it feels like on your face. That's where you'll be using it. From this point on, it's just a matter of what you prefer. Personally I like the thick lather with a bit of air. But that's just me. You may prefer the lather a bit thinner with more water. Keep practicing making lather using that bowl. Use up your flea market soap and don't worry about whether it's good soap or if it's "bad" soap. If you practice with your bowl and brush enough, you'll soon be making white clouds with Lava bar soap! (Man, DON'T EVER shave with this stuff. It contains pumice. Talk about exfoliating.....) What few pennies you'll spend practicing now will save you $$ later on when you decide to move up town and try that $36.00 for three ounces stuff.
Some soaps don't lather much. Ex: I like Colgate and Williams. I'm happy with the lather I get from them, but it's nothing like what you get from VDH and esp. not like what you get from creams.
2 quick ways to reduce the size of the picture. 1. Take a screenshot on your phone. Upload the screenshot. 2. Email the picture to yourself. Upload the image that comes attached with the email. Both methods reduces the size of the image for you.
