If you're bowl lathering and it's breaking down in the bowl then I believe you're producing gobs and gobs of over-aerated lather. It looks like a ton of lather but it's very thin and will break down quickly. There is a very easy solution to this... USE MORE PRODUCT!
TSD soaps will lather fine, but I find that I really need to load them hard and possibly melt them down into a container that will give me more surface area to work with and thus giving me a better load on the brush.
I've actually been using more product (creams at least, soaps it is a bit harder to tell...) lately than I had been for most of the first 6 months that I've been wet shaving but the problem just started. I haven't shampoo'd my brush in a while, so I'll try that tonight.
*momentary hijack* I haven't cleaned my brushes since I first got them. Unless, of course, you count each time they get used. As far as I know, soap is still used to clean things. Nary a problem yet.
If he is using a Badger then a cleaning with vinegar..dish-washing liquid etc. might be worth a try. Saw a 59 video on this recently...
I agree with you Steve. This was just a thought as all the other stuff that comes to mind first had been mentioned and didn't seem to help.
Howdy! It takes practice, but if you get down the right amount of soap and water, you can produce very good lather for 3 passes if needed. I run the brush under the hot water faucet for a few seconds, shake out excess water, then get soap on the brush with swirling, etc. Once I have enough soap on the brush (it does not take much) I add 2 to 3 drops of glycerin to the scuttle and begin making lather. This has worked for me so far and I am on my first puck of Williams Shaving Soap. There are many ways to making lather and who is to say that any of them are better than the other. What works for you is best! However, I like to experiment and try new ways also. Always, Gene
Thanks for all the thoughts/comments/responses guys. I think that I just wasn't using enough product. I used another soap and had the same problem a couple of mornings ago, to the point that I actually added a cream that I use quite frequently to the lather to get through the shave. This morning I decided to go back to what I had to do initially to get my EJ soap to lather- I kept the brush much wetter and swirled on the puck to the point of almost starting to build the lather right on the puck. Transferred the brush to my bowl and got a great, thick lather that lasted me through the entire shave with nary a problem!
