I know a lot of people on the fora talk about loading a lot of soap solids into your lathers. "Load it like you hate it" has been a frequently mentioned mantra.
I started lathering using the Merkur Man method (if you are unfamiliar, essentially it is starting with a brush that is quite dry, loading soap, and then adding water bit by bit while you continue to make lather on the puck; after a long while, you go to the face or bowl to finish it off with a bit more water). While it is true that the Merkur Man method results in uniformly excellent lathers that are unctuous and shiny, I discovered, by keeping track of the number of shaves from each soap I was using, that it blows through soaps in a hurry. And by a hurry, I mean on the order of about 30-40 shaves per puck, even of a soap like CRSW Select. From new to gone in something like 35 shaves. Yikes!
But here's what I have discovered. You can get a very similarly awesome lather without loading anywhere near that much soap. What IS required, however, is TIME. The problem with a lot of soap lathers is that they look really, really good a long time before they have actually reached their peak (no pun intended). I began lathering by loading for a lot shorter period of time but then working the lather much longer, adding water in small amounts over and over again, and I'm getting ridiculously good lathers with much less soap usage.
So, I propose "The Kingfisher method," as it were, and a new mantra, "Work it like you've got all day." For me, this is what results in outstanding lathers. What would Bartles and James say? "We will use no lather before its time."
I still start with a dryish brush, but I load for just a little bit, until I can tell there is soap loaded onto the bristles but when it looks nothing at all like lather. Then I move to the bowl (you could use your face, if you prefer). I work the lather in the bowl, adding water literally 3-6 drops at a time, incorporating it fully before adding more. Once the lather looks really, really good, work it for about another minute, with or without the addition of a bit more water. You will end up with that thick, rich, shiny, unctuous lather that you crave. And it will be slick and shave great. And you won't burn through your soaps in a month, either.
So, gentlemen, "work it like you've got all day."
I started lathering using the Merkur Man method (if you are unfamiliar, essentially it is starting with a brush that is quite dry, loading soap, and then adding water bit by bit while you continue to make lather on the puck; after a long while, you go to the face or bowl to finish it off with a bit more water). While it is true that the Merkur Man method results in uniformly excellent lathers that are unctuous and shiny, I discovered, by keeping track of the number of shaves from each soap I was using, that it blows through soaps in a hurry. And by a hurry, I mean on the order of about 30-40 shaves per puck, even of a soap like CRSW Select. From new to gone in something like 35 shaves. Yikes!
But here's what I have discovered. You can get a very similarly awesome lather without loading anywhere near that much soap. What IS required, however, is TIME. The problem with a lot of soap lathers is that they look really, really good a long time before they have actually reached their peak (no pun intended). I began lathering by loading for a lot shorter period of time but then working the lather much longer, adding water in small amounts over and over again, and I'm getting ridiculously good lathers with much less soap usage.
So, I propose "The Kingfisher method," as it were, and a new mantra, "Work it like you've got all day." For me, this is what results in outstanding lathers. What would Bartles and James say? "We will use no lather before its time."
I still start with a dryish brush, but I load for just a little bit, until I can tell there is soap loaded onto the bristles but when it looks nothing at all like lather. Then I move to the bowl (you could use your face, if you prefer). I work the lather in the bowl, adding water literally 3-6 drops at a time, incorporating it fully before adding more. Once the lather looks really, really good, work it for about another minute, with or without the addition of a bit more water. You will end up with that thick, rich, shiny, unctuous lather that you crave. And it will be slick and shave great. And you won't burn through your soaps in a month, either.
So, gentlemen, "work it like you've got all day."
