Well, I have finally transitioned (rather quickly I might add) from my brushless shaving cream - the woes of which are detailed elsewhere in this sub-forum to a brush and soap. After reading some positive feedback and being particularly drawn to the scent profile, I picked up a puck of Whoostheman London Calling. My first outing with it... well, let's not talk about that. My latest (after reading/watching some tips for lathering glycerin soap-- much better. Let me outline some of my early thoughts before diving into the question portion of this post: Pros: -Shipping was well packaged, and insanely fast. I also received a free cologne sample as well as a promo code on future orders -The smell is fantastic. Not overly strong, but really complex/enjoyable - No more gunked up razor. (also detailed elsewhere in this sub) - The price really can't be beat. Cons: Please bear in mind that these could be entirely my own shortcomings rather than those of the product - It was a bit tricky/challenging to get a lather going (which leads to a question here in just a bit) -- Some internet research mitigated this quite a bit, and in the end was able to produce what I consider a pretty full/thick lather - For me, the lather is protective, but not what I would consider slick. My only previous cream/soap was a brushless which, despite its many drawbacks was incredibly slick on the face. So my questions then are: 1) Is the lack of slickness in the lather unique to glycerin based soaps? Would I expect something similar from a creamier, shea butter based product? 2) What can I do to address this in the meantime? An additive to the lather? A slick preshave product, ie cornhusker's, etc.? As always, thanks for sharing your experience and expertise with this neophyte. As an aside, I will say that so far, my shaves are much nicer; I've had very little in the way of knicks, weepers, irritation, etc. and I actually look forward to each and every one. (maybe even too much)
I haven't had much luck with glycerin-based shaving soaps, though others use them and like them. Re: slickness, or lack thereof, it may just be a matter of working more water into the lather. Try making a practice lather starting with a damp brush and adding water little by little. You'll get to what looks like a nice lather. Keep adding water little by little and working it in. You'll get to know how much water it can take, probably more than you expect. Feel it along the way and see how the slickness and cushion change. Keep going with adding water bit by bit until it breaks down into soup. This exercise will teach you a lot about your soap and what it's capable of.
I'm really not a fan of the glycerine shave soaps I've tried, and the lack of slick is a big part of that. I'm going to suggest that for your next outing, instead of the wildcard of an artisan soap, you purchase a commercial brand. I'd suggest Proraso cream in a tube or soap in a bowl, Tabac soap, or a Taylor of old Bond Street cream. All of these products are great to begin with as they are not only easy to learn to lather, but they also demonstrate everything you would want in a product. If I were you, I'd use that latherless cream you have as a pre-shave. Put on a light coating and then lay the lather right on top of it. Oddly when you have two products that don't work so well, if you add them together they often work great.
I really like like glycrein based soaps, well the ones I've tried. Very easy to lather, great glide, super skincare. Are you using Whoosthemansoap? Here's my advice to you. Buy a proven product. Start with Proraso or The Shave Den Shop both are user friendly, easy to lather and provide great skincare.
I've used some glycerine based soaps before and they seemed to be ok but I'm not a huge fan either. It seemed like they weren't worth the additional effort and the tallow based soaps have been very good (and simpler) in getting a good lather. With soaps I seem to always call upon DRH and Tabac, etc.
Thanks for all the feedback and perspective. I will definitely take all of this into account. Sounds like I have some plan for working with what I have as well as a pending order for proraso/the like to make.
+2 for Proraso - nothing fancy but great workhorse of a product. This morning I used the Green. My brush still had a bit too much water in it, but the lather still provided great protection and slickness.
A pre-shave oil might help. I would doubt pre treating using Cornhusker Lotion. The second or third ingredient is glycerin, and I doubt glycerin on top of glycerin would feet you where you want to be.
Well, I just thought I would provide an update. This evening I went at it again. I ended up loading what I believe to be way too much soap on the brush, and proceeded to build my lather. I kept adding water periodically, thinning it down and building it back up. I eventually went to my face, and it seemed to dissipate almost instantly. So, back to the bowl -whipping it like a stubborn meringue, then more water, repeat. I eventually let my frustration get the better of me, and added a healthy fistful of water at which point everything dissolved to a milky liquid. I was daunted and discouraged to say the least, but ultimately... I still needed to shave! So I started over - back to the soap and began again. This time, I was pretty confident I had the right amount of soap, I added water much more patiently, and went at it by the numbers (so to speak). What I ended up with was a very rich, thick lather... and one hell of a tired arm/wrist. I also did my best to apply it to my face much more like a soft painting stroke, rather than scraping old paint off a windowsill. Ultimately, I ended up with a much better lather and a very enjoyable shave. I still fully intend to pick up a more forgiving soap like those detailed above in the next couple days, but I'm chalking this up as a win for tonight. Thanks again for all your help, and indulging the recounting of my trials and tribulations as I continue on this journey of wet shaving. Couldn't do it without this fine community, and I mean that.
Keep working at it, you'll get it figured out! Another thing to try is face lathering, I found it much easier to get right than bowl lathering. But YMMV. And while you've received a bunch of great suggestions of other brands of soap to try, I'll throw out another: Barrister & Mann's Latha is a budget soap they recently introduced, about the same price as Proraso, etc., and boy, it lathers if you just look at it funny. Good stuff.
I will soak my brush for only about 30 seconds to a minute while I wash my face. I shake it and squeeze it, then load the brush for 30 seconds. I go straight to the face. However, if you are bowl lathering, be patient and swirl and pump the brush. I will dip the tip of the brush in water if I need more. Too much water and the lather is ruined. You can do this. Like I said, I like to face lather. It saves time, exfoliates the skin, less messy, and easy clean up.
Lathering much like shaving is a skill, that will improve with time. You seem to be headed in the correct direction, so just keep at it. I've found that, sometimes at least, it is the product and not your skill that is at fault. Certain soaps/creams like certain razor blades just seem to fit one persons technique better than others. I used melt and pour soaps for years, with various degrees of success, until I tried Arko. Now Arko is the only soap I use.
I use glycerin soap made by the SFIC Corporation. M&P bases, and "Crystal Brand" Pure glycerin soap in 4.25oz pucks. I've used the soap by itself and the face lather was fantastic and gave me great shaves. Great skincare as well.
Jayaruh, I have to say this was incredibly helpful. I am not entirely sure why I was averse to face lathering; I think I just enjoyed the idea of doing it in a bowl/mug. That said, I have had infinitely more success with face lathering than I did bowl lathering. To give a little background/update: I live in central Illinois, and have incredibly hard water. I am not entirely sure as I have seen quite a bit of debate on the topic, but I think that coupled with the lack of any texture/additional agitation help in the bowl/mug has left me unable to (at least efficiently) create a decent lather. Before my latest shipment came in (which I'll get to momentarily) I watched the video you provided and tried face lathering my glycerin soap. Night and day difference with regard to the thickness of the lather and the ease of making it manifest. Had a great shave with much less effort than before. On to my parcel arriving- I did as many above suggested and picked up a tub of Proraso Green. My immediate inclination (I am a stubborn one after all) was to give it a go in the bowl. It did produce a better lather than the glycerin with roughly the same amount of effort in, but it was still lacking in my opinion and I didn't feel entirely comfortable trying to shave with the "barely-there" layer on my face. As it was getting late, and I had to shave before work in the a.m., I decided to just give it a go with face lathering. Once again, much MUCH better results. Easily formed into a nice, thick, protective lather and I was able to get down to it. I will say that the Proraso is quite a bit creamier (for lack of a better word) in the lather it produces, and the menthol on the face feels quite nice. All in all, I'm very glad I followed everyone's advice (a habit I'd made since before joining the board .) For now anyway, face lathering is the way to go for me. Bearing that in mind (did I mention I was stubborn?) I did want to get your thoughts as I am still a card-carrying, rank-and-file : Are my bowl lathering issues potentially rooted in my hard water? Smooth bottom bowl? Technique? I have a feeling it may well be a combination of all of the above, but I wanted to get your feedback. I've done quite a bit of reading/watching so while I'm sure my technique is far from perfect (heck, maybe far from good) I think I should at least have had some more consistent success than I have so far if that were the sole culprit. Just rampant speculation, I know, but hey... what else do I have going for me. The long and short of all of this is just to offer you all another well-deserved and heartfelt
