Soap setup time?

I've been noticing that my EJ puck lather becomes substantially 'richer' and 'thicker' about 5 mins after I finish lathering. It also seems to keep that texture even with additional whipping.

Is this a common characteristic of soap/lather?

 

That's the lather starting to dry out. If you like it, just let it sit for those 5 minutes before using it, or use a bit less water.

 

Some pucks, I have discovered, benefit from a pre-shave soak.
Stirling, to name just one, yields much better & easier-to-make lather if one presoaks the puck. My procedure is to soak the brush in hot water in the sink and moisten the soap puck in a bowl (or tin) while I shower. By the time I'm out & ready to shave, both items are ready for business.

 

I did the same thing Kevin wrote with my Williams. It really lathered up great!

 

My opinion is it is not so much the moisture leaving the lather as it might seem, it is actually the air leaving the lather an leaving it thicker and more dense as opposed to lighter and fluffy. There is nothing wrong wit leaving it sit. You might also find if you take more time to lather and do so less vigorously you can obtain the some consistency without leaving it sit.
Im a firm believer is hot water on harder soap pre lather. What that really doess is allow you to kather less vigorously and obtain the same result, thus helping with the issue you mentioned as was pointed out.

 

Yep, I take back my statement above. It's the bubbles popping and the foam settling as you say. My thought process wasn't as good as yours.

 

Yep, I pre-shave soak the puck. I'm not complaining about the thickening either - I actually like it a bit thicker - more merengue-like, but all the whipping I can muster doesn't really help - but letting it sit seems to help.

On the flip side - I can get it thicker if I use less h2o, but it tends to dry out. Haven't really found the happy medium with it yet.

The only other puck I have to compare it with is Proaso which doesn't have this characteristic. It just whips up perfect - admittedly though it seems more like a croap than a soap.

I was more wondering if this is a common thing or am I just doing it wrong?