Thread: Soaps and mugs

This is going to seem a bit silly, but I haven't bought any soap yet so here goes:

Are you supposed to put the soap into the mug and then lather? I saw a video of Lynn working the brush in the container the soap came in (I believe). So, what's the point of having a mug/bowl?

You can but I find it a waste. What most people do is put a couple of drops of hot water on your soap and load your brush by swirling and scrubbing the brush on the soap. Once your brush is loaded then you go to your mug and whip up your lather. The amount of soap that is on your brush should be plenty to make a great lather. You need to have a little water in the mug as you make the lather. You are going to have to play with the amount of water you use to find the right balance of lubrication. A few drops is all it takes. If you make your lather and its too dry just add a few drops of water at a time until you get it right. It takes practice but you'll get it in no time.

I agree with the above post. I use a mug to whip up lather. What Lynn is doing in that video is "loading" the brush with soap. I do the same with my Proraso soap. I "load" it for a minute, then move to my mug and slowly add water as I whip the lather, until it is the right consistency and there's enough to use to shave with.

Fantastic, thanks Gents!

What I do is soak the brush in the sink, then shake some water off the brush and then load the brush with light swirls for about a minute.

Then I directly go to the face for two minutes or so.

Okay, I'm going to have to try using the mug when I shave tomorrow. Normally, I just wet my brush, put a bit of proraso tube cream on the brush and lather right on my face, however, I find that the lather turns into snow on my face very quickly, leading me to believe that I don't have enough water in my lather! I'm not very intrigued and feel as if this could very much solve my problem...well, that and getting a better brush. Perhaps this will be easier than periodically dipping my brush under the sink...lol
No problems, just solutions!

You've got some pretty good explanations, but I'll add my 2 cents. Making lather is about mixing water and soap and air. The whole trick is to get each in the right proportion. I've tried making lather right on top of the soap puck, because that's how my father did it. He bought the soap and put it in the bottom of the mug. I can never make it work because what you have to do is load the right amount of water in the brush, then work it on top of the soap until there is enough soap in the lather. It's way harder than it sounds because you anytime you're whipping it on the soap, you're adding more soap. It is way easier to take a damp brush and load the soap in it, then move it to an empty mug or bowl and add water to it a few drops at a time until you've got enough water. That way you can whip it without adding soap or water to it while your whipping. I haven't had my coffee yet this mornig, am I making sense?

Makes total sense Java. I normally put come cream on my brush and face lather, however, when I lathered in a mug today I had much better results! I've yet to get a soap other than Williams (I don't particularly care for it, too drying for my liking), but I completely understand when you say that you're adding more soap when you try to build lather right on the puck. Hawkeye makes it seem much easier when he shaves in the swamp lol

I like to put a dab of cream on my brush and whisk it in my mug, builds up fast and one dab is more than enough for two passes.

Russell

Originally Posted by Krusty01

I like to put a dab of cream on my brush and whisk it in my mug, builds up fast and one dab is more than enough for two passes.

Russell

A pea sized amount of of Proraso always lasts me countless lathers. I refresh my lather, lather after a pass, after I finish shaving etc.
There's so much and it feels so nice bother before and after a shave....why waste it? I let the lather sit on my face after I shave while I clean up and then rinse off last. I might just enjoy it too much...lol