Soap issue with boar brushes - advice needed

Sandpaper said:
Hi, I had a search and couldn't see a post helping with this but I'm sure it has come up before so sorry for any repetition.

It doesn't matter whether it's an old broken in boar brush or a recent purchase - 21mm or 28mm, I cannot seem to produce enough lather for the second and third passes.

Also - same issue whether DR Harris soap, Razorock, Cella or Arko

This relates to face lathering

I have tried loading heavily e.g. for over 60-75 seconds but still no success after the first pass.

The initial face lather is great and perfect for a cushioned 1st pass, but then the second time around is thinner and nothing like the first. I can squeeze a bit of lather out of the base of the brush by hand but it's not much and then nothing left for the rest of the 2nd pass and I have to reload to complete the pass or for touch ups or a 3rd pass.

Any advice? What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance
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If you’re not averse to badger brushes, and you’re willing to pay the cost, I would heartily recommend a Simpson Duke 2 in best badger.
It’s an outstanding brush and excels at everything a boar brush is renowned for.
It has some lathering similarities with a short lofted boar, namely backbone and facefeel to a certain extent.
I’ve enjoyed boars previously, to an extent. My limits where reached when I realised that boars ultimately eat lather,
and don’t hold enough for subsequent passes.
 
Crossan said:
Let us know how you get on, curious as to what works for you.
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Ok so I tried a few different approaches and a combination of the advice has come up trumps. I will try my other 2 older boars after this one is properly broken in, but in the meantime, here is what worked with my fairly new Zenith unbleached 505RC XSE 26mm. (tips were pretty soft when it arrived anyway, but has now had approx 8 shaves and a few practice lathers so coming along nicely.)
  • I soaked overnight(!)
  • Cold water shave
  • I decided to try with more water rather than less, as that kept failing
  • I lifted the brush out and allowed excess water (there was surprisingly a lot less than I expected) to drip off
  • I went to the D R Harris puck and slowly and with little pressure, used the tips to swirl
  • I did 20 clockwise, 20 anti-clockwise then repeated and then and other 20 in each direction - so 120 swirls
  • The Dr Harris did not foam up as I was slow and soft so there was just some minimal froth around the edges, and I did not lose much water from the brush - seemed to retain it v well
  • I face lathered, agitating at the chin and lower jaw and there was a lot of great quality lather
  • There was plenty left on the brush but i dipped the tips anyway in water (probably unnecessary) and then almost no difference in quality for the 2nd pass - loads of great lather
  • I could probably have completed a full 3rd pass, although with a thinner lather, but I did not need to - I had plenty left for a few quick touch ups.
This was fun and seems to have worked for me, may be helpful to others. Thanks to you all for the tips.
 
Good news!

That sorta sounds like the "Marco Method" from B&B what with just letting the water fall off the brush and going in for a damn good loading. I think he's a bowl latherer and that part of his method sounds exhausting as it sounds like it goes on for minutes. Puh! Load up, smash around face and get shaving!

... face-lathering with a good boar is the only face exfoliant a fellow needs!
 
pjgh said:
Good news!

That sorta sounds like the "Marco Method" from B&B what with just letting the water fall off the brush and going in for a damn good loading. I think he's a bowl latherer and that part of his method sounds exhausting as it sounds like it goes on for minutes. Puh! Load up, smash around face and get shaving!

... face-lathering with a good boar is the only face exfoliant a fellow needs!
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That sounds interesting, keen to see that. is there more info on that anywhere you can share? I’m not a member of any other forums. Thanks
 
Sandpaper said:
That sounds interesting, keen to see that. is there more info on that anywhere you can share? I’m not a member of any other forums. Thanks
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www.badgerandblade.com

My lathering technique with Italian soft soaps

Lately I've seen that some B&B members are having issues regarding how to create a good lather with Italian soft soaps. And I have personally received several PMs regarding this subject, with many asking me what kind of lathering technique I actually use. Here is a simple tutorial for new wet...
www.badgerandblade.com www.badgerandblade.com

Useful for your Cella and probably Arko, but sounds like it'll work for you with hard(er) soaps as well.
 
pjgh said:
www.badgerandblade.com

My lathering technique with Italian soft soaps

Lately I've seen that some B&B members are having issues regarding how to create a good lather with Italian soft soaps. And I have personally received several PMs regarding this subject, with many asking me what kind of lathering technique I actually use. Here is a simple tutorial for new wet...
www.badgerandblade.com www.badgerandblade.com

Useful for your Cella and probably Arko, but sounds like it'll work for you with hard(er) soaps as well.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot - much appreciated
 
What I do... is start with a dry brush, do a quick stab in a little bowl of warm water, and go straight to a hard puck with all the water still in the brush, and work the soap until the lather is too thick. Then dip the tips in the water and lather on the face. Usually it's about ten swirls to the right, ten to the left, and a final ten to the right, all done quickly. Boar brushes and hard pucks always work best for me.
 
TobyC said:
What I do... is start with a dry brush, do a quick stab in a little bowl of warm water, and go straight to a hard puck with all the water still in the brush, and work the soap until the lather is too thick. Then dip the tips in the water and lather on the face. Usually it's about ten swirls to the right, ten to the left, and a final ten to the right, all done quickly. Boar brushes and hard pucks always work best for me.
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Thanks. I seem to have a preference for boars and keen to make them work for me. Have tried all except horse hair and just seem to be drawn to boars - even over my silvertip. Dunno why
 
TobyC said:
What I do... is start with a dry brush, do a quick stab in a little bowl of warm water, and go straight to a hard puck with all the water still in the brush, and work the soap until the lather is too thick. Then dip the tips in the water and lather on the face. Usually it's about ten swirls to the right, ten to the left, and a final ten to the right, all done quickly. Boar brushes and hard pucks always work best for me.
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Ditto.
 
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Sandpaper said:
Thanks. I seem to have a preference for boars and keen to make them work for me. Have tried all except horse hair and just seem to be drawn to boars - even over my silvertip. Dunno why
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You've certainly got an experience ahead if you decide to try horse hair. They are actually quite excellent when the pong is cured. Think wet dog. But the pong does go after repeated washing and drying. Imagine a badger brush with the backbone of boar. Horse hair also gets past Vegan objections because the horse is simply given a haircut and is not harmed. Vegan objections of boar is that it's a by-product of the pork meat industry and if we belive PETA hair is plucked from live badgers kept isolated in small cages.

Horse hair brushes by Vie Long from Maguire's Barbershop, U.K. and by Zenith from Yourshaving, Spain. Allow £25 - £35. Both brands usually sell out fast.
 
I view horse as the poor man's boar, they never quite feel as good, and after a time they get moppy and start shedding. Many modern horse brushes are too soft and flimsy, too much mane and not enough tail hair, they're made for modern "men". If you can find a vintage Ever~Ready brown horse hair brush get it, they beat all the modern ones by a mile.
 
TobyC said:
I view horse as the poor man's boar, they never quite feel as good, and after a time they get moppy and start shedding. Many modern horse brushes are too soft and flimsy, too much mane and not enough tail hair, they're made for modern "men". If you can find a vintage Ever~Ready brown horse hair brush get it, they beat all the modern ones by a mile.
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thanks for the advice. As I get more experienced I realise i am not a huge fan of the softer, floppier knots. I have synthetics - a razorock with a plissoft noir knot and a yaqi with a mew brown knot but they are nowhere near my favourites. Shame as i want to love synthetics for a whole host of reasons. I had a Simpson T3 for a bit but I just couldn't get on with it. It had backbone and wasn't soft or floppy & I liked the handle but I just didn't enjoy using it.
 
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