I use a prorasso soap tub and a badger hair brush. My lathering technique is basically to soak the brush a bit, get a bit of water out, and then rub it around the soap tub in a circular motion until I've built up sufficient lather. Is this incorrect? I've seen a guide recommending the use of a separate mug to build lather in, but this seems like an unnecessary step. I've also had a problem keeping my razor clean. I wash it with hot water after each shave, but I've still built up a significant layer of soap gunk on the head. What's the best way to get rid of this?
I would like to help you, but I am not able to envision your issue. Can you post some pictures to illustrate the problems?
I just use this type of proraso soap I wet the brush, put it in the soap tub, and make a counterclockwise motion with my hand to get soap on the bristles until it lathers sufficiently. I then use the brush on my face. I don't think I can clarify it any further, even if I took a series of pictures.
I would suggest watching Mantic59's tutorial video's on youtube. He has done some wonderful things there and should prove helpful
From what I've seen, get a bit of product on your brush and use another mug to do your lathering. Otherwise you are basically just getting a lot of soap on your brush without giving it the ability to lather. Put a bit of water in a fresh mug and whip it up in that.... As far as getting your razor clean...maybe actually wash it with a cloth instead of just running it under water?
its better if you load your brush then use a separate bowl to lather it up. you might be loading your brush with too much cream.
Wow, have I ever been doing this wrong. No wonder I haven't been building up a good lather, and my prorasso soap tub is almost gone after just a month of use. http://www.youtube.com/user/mantic59#p/u/5/Dd7Aj9vwrtc That video is exactly what I was looking for. I really hope mantic has gotten some kickback from youtube, his videos are amazing and have so many views. I was also unaware that I should be brushing the later on my face for 30-60 seconds, I was just brushing it long enough to get it on.
This was an interesting thread that caught my eye. It would seem you guys would be the ones to know what is the difference that the brush can provide? Some of these really pricey brushes I see, what am I getting for such a brush that I wouldn't otherwise? Also, is badger hair good because it is soft or because it lends itself to holding lather better? I don't pet alot of badgers so I can't really guess at this one. IAN
I beleive badger brushes absorb water a lot better than synthetic or boar brushes. Just what i've heard, I could be wrong. I'm new to the game.
Boar bristle brushes absorb water in the hair and don't hold water between the strands as well, that's why you soak it for 5 minutes or so. Badger hair doesn't absorb water but traps it in between the hairs. You can soak a badger forever, take it out and a few good shakes and it's basically dry. I've retired my boars and gone all badger, found them to just work better. And you don't need to spend a weeks salary to get a good seviceable brush.
I own a silver tip 26mm over stuffed badger brush and an omega professional brush (around 12 bucks) I can honestly say they are both good. they both lather up very nicely, I would even give an advantage to my boar because its got a backbone and it works really well with soaps. the disadvantage to my boar, is that I have really had to clean it well to get the funk :sick007 out of it. last thing I did to it was dip it in some diluted rose scented oil (20 drops oil to 1 cup hot water) for a few hours that really made the smell go away. but I can still detect a little funk, I guess it just takes time to go away. By the way I have a very sensitive nose. I can smell funky things from far away.
I use boar, badger, and synthetic and can make them all work fine. The type of brush is a personal preference thing, but you do have to get a feel for the type of brush you are using. Boar usually takes more work to get the funk out of it, but usually has more backbone, can be scratchier, is cheaper, and will collect soap from a puck a little faster (boars do soften up though with use). Badger on the other hand is softer, more luxurious, more expensive, preferred for creams (but can work with soaps as well). Synthetic varies so much from one maker to another from what I've seen that it is a whole other can of worms. You need to ask yourself some questions though if you are having trouble picking a brush out: How much am I willing to spend? Do I want something fancy, do I just want performance, or do I want a little of both? Will I be using mostly soaps, creams, or will I just have a bunch of both? How sensitive is my skin to exfoliation? Am I willing to do some work to de-funk the brush? etc. etc. Post answers to these questions and it may be easier to point you in the right direction.
I do not think you get a lot more from a more expensive brush as far as performance. Just like with more expensive shave creams and soaps you pay more for the cosmetics. You can get just as good a shave from a VDH boar brush as you do with a more expensive brush. I like to use boar brushes mostly for soaps as they handle them better. I also use them on creams with good results. Having said that Badger brushes have there uses also. I use them for lathering creams most the time. There are badger brushes that will work well on soaps..but generally speaking the Boars are better for that. Again an inexpensive badger will do the job just as well as an expensive one. As usual this is just my opinion.
I just want to chime in to say that I love this board. Before I started poking around here, I was lathering much like the OP, just soaping up a brush, and quickly swiping onto my face to get a thin layer of soap. I love that many of my questions are answered before I even think to ask them. As for the problem of the soap scummy razor head, do you use a 3 piece razor, or a TTO? I find it a lot easier to get my 3 piece clean after a shave. I just take it a part and dry everything off with a couple squares of toilet paper. While I've got the blade out, I make sure that's dry too, and then hand strop it on my arm before putting it back together so that it's ready for the next shave. I unload and wipe off my TTO razor as well, but there are nooks and crannies that the toilet paper doesn't really clean up. I suspect that I'll have to clean it out with an old toothbrush once a month or so.
I mean, sometimes I want to get rid of soaps/creams more quickly so I can buy more, but this isn't the best way to go about it.:happy097
Another option would be to use a shaving stick and face lather. This has actually come to be my preferred method. Heck, even a puck of the current formula of Williams works alright when you use it like a shave stick! There are a lot of great shave sticks too, such as Sir Irisch Moos, Palmolive, etc... Not to go off on a tangent, but yet even one to think about is doing a superlather with a bar of glycerin soap and some Kiss My Face shaving cream (comes in a soap dispenser type pump). Do you have hard water in your area? That could be having an effect on your lathering results.
There are varying methods for building lather, non of which are better than the other. Some prefer one way, some prefer another. Most problems are inexperience. I use the same tub to build lather, I use a separate "mug" to build lather, I face lather and when using cream I do one of the above as well. Experience will come when you finally figure out the correct amount of soap/water ratio. The brush issue is also a YMMV situation. I have badgers and boars and some hold more water than others so again experimentation comes into play. Also the soap/cream itself (depending on the way it is made and the products used to make it) can make a difference in the lather. Just keeping plugging away (using the least amount of soap/cream/water as possible) until you find your sweet spot. Experiment and enjoy your shave and remember, "It's not a race, it's your face".
Excellent stuff. I sometimes tell myself that I should settle on one method and stick with the same combination of razor, brush, cream etc. to get wholly consistent results. Then I get up, look at the stash, and try something else. But it's fun.
