To bloom or not to bloom, that is the question

So I'd started getting into blooming my soaps. Seemed to make sense, seemed to work, and I like using bloom water as a pre-shave. Obviously (to me anyway) I don't bloom soft soaps. But then someone on here said you don't bloom French soaps. I don't know if that refers to a type or country of origin. As always, I'm concerned if I'm "doing it right."

 

French would mean type not origin. Sometimes I bloom and sometimes I don't. Depends on how I feel and what soap.

 

I usually bloom my French soaps just because it seems like I get a better load on the brush. Sometimes I don't though. I will also bloom glycerin soaps too. I usually won't bloom soft soaps/croaps due to their inherent softness already.

Mess around and see what you like best and then stick with what got you the best/desired result. Your local water's hardness/softness plays a bit into it too but if you are soaking your soap for the length of time it takes to shower (assume 10 minutes?) I think you are getting past your water's properties.

EDIT: I wanted to add that I don't really worry too much about wasting soap so "too much" doesn't play much in my decision; that is, of course, a factor as well.

 

I bloom harder soaps but not softer soaps, just like you. It does make loading up easier, however it uses much more soap than not blooming. As for opening up the scent or other qualities of a soap I'm not sold that it actually does anything. The only reason I would ever bloom a soap is to make it easier to load. Interested to hear others input. Following.

 

I use only soft soaps (mostly RR and Mystic Water) and I bloom them. Seriously bloom them.

 

I didn't used too.
For all but creams I drop some very warm water on when I set a boar brush to soak.
By the time I've done any prep, from just a hot towel to more extensive face wash,
the soap has softened enough to load well. Face lathering most shaves so I like
a good amount of product and add water as needed.
This is working for glycerine or tallow soaps.

 

Perhaps there is another possibility. I am beginning to suspect so. People seem to be obsessed with voluminous lather. I agree it looks very luxurious. I am envious of some of the lathers I see but only to a point. Ultimately I'm concerned with an effective shave and a good post shave feel. Personally, I don't even concern myself so much with the scent so long as it's not objectionable to me. (Chiseled Face Sherlock is somewhat an exception because I happen to have their aftershave in the same scent as well. To date, it Is the only matching pair I own.)

Perhaps my bloomed lather wasn't spectacular. I honestly don't remember and will track it when next I use Chiseled Face soap. It is in fact a soap I have and liked very much in the two shaves I've had with it. So whatever bloomed Chiseled Face resulted in worked for me but I don't recall what it looked like.

But back to something you or rather, the Chiseled Face owner said, it's a particular ingredient that makes a soap French? Further, it's soaps containing that ingredient that should not be bloomed?

 

I bloom most soaps if they haven't been hydrated by use in a while. If I used the soap yesterday, then no. I don't bloom croaps or the softer hot processed soaps like Chiseled Face.

 

The only soaps that I bloom are my triple-milled, hard pucks, i.e. DRH, Williams, Tabac, MWF, WSO, etc.

 

I generally lump these in as French soaps. I'm probably wrong and should amend my statements above to say "hard" soaps or "triple milled" or "milled" as opposed to calling them "French".

I have a hard time with MWF if it isn't bloomed. When I was using it exclusively for a few months, I would leave it in a sealed pyrex bowl and add a liberal amount of drips to it before putting it away so it would stay good and damp/soft/ready.

Andf williams....I can only get that stuff to lather when I use it in a VanderWilliams pairing. I like the smell of Williams I just can't get it to lather well enough to use it standing on its own.

 

Should have said "Vintage" Williams. Big difference.

 

Yeah, I have a puck and a half of it and I break it out rarely. No smell at all left but lathers like a dream. The new stuff....not so much.

 

To answer your Title Question - I don't for any soap. Never have a problem getting great lather.

 

Before I shower, I dribble water on the top of the puck; do you count this as "blooming".

 

Sorta kinda I think. You're doing it to promote loading, right?

 

Yes, it makes for easier lathering.

 

Aha! So it's counter-intuitive then: The harder the soap, the less you want to bloom it. At least in the opinion of the Chiseled Face guy. (Blah, blah, blah. YMMV and all the appropriate disclaimers.)

 

I bloom soaps. and I soak my brushes, even the synthetics. it's how I'm used to doing it. no issues, no reason to change.
only time I have run across water ratio issues are with the synthetics. then I just shake it out a few times extra.