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To soak or not to soak...that is the question..

D

Director

Member
So I got my APR soap in the mail this morning, still no razor (apparently it takes AP 10 days to get stuff from Sydney to SE Qld?). Anyway, as a noob the soap seems fairly solid to me so I was wondering if I'm supposed to stick some water in the container for a few minutes before attempting to load the brush? (probably a typical noob question. :) )

Cheers
 
Let me leave this here :)

2016.06.28_can-of-worms-by-jason-crislip-jpeg1.jpg


Jokes aside, I've never had to bloom (put water on top of the soap for a time before use), even with triple milled soaps. Some shavers with harder water like to bloom, as it makes it easier to overload the brush. Very much comes down to personal preference.

@Sxot is the maker, so he can probably answer from what he's found
 
No [mho] soft soaps need at most a damp brush and the slow addition of water to build a cream. Not bubbles. Compressed triple milled soaps "may" benefit from the addition of a few drops of water but again you want soapy lather not soapy water.
 
Oh noes, I wasn't aware this was a contentious issue. :)
OK I'll try it first with a damp brush and see how it goes....once my razor actually arrives. Though I might play with the soap and my catridge razor in the meantime....or is that heretical as well? :)

Cheers
 
Director said:
Oh noes, I wasn't aware this was a contentious issue. :)
OK I'll try it first with a damp brush and see how it goes....once my razor actually arrives. Though I might play with the soap and my catridge razor in the meantime....or is that heretical as well? :)

Cheers
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No one here really gets to out of shape about anything, so no need to worry lol... have a look at some of the discussions in other places for a laugh though when you have time. Great lather will make shaving with anything easier :)
 
I tried it without water and with water.
I now always put water on top and then quickly drain before letting it rest a few minutes before loading.
Seems to pick up more soap with less loading time for me.
 
I don't soak/bloom soft or hard soaps. It's not required and in my experience, it degrades the soap!

I don't buy that it makes it easier to load.I've loaded triple milled soaps with some of the flopiest badger brushes with no issue.I now use pillow soft synthetic which has zero issue loading up the hardest soap.

From memory, blooming was a term coined by the PAA guy who said that the water on top bloomed/brought out the scent of the soap, even before it's used.

Also, using bloom water as a "pre shave" makes no sense to me as one creates a lather straight on top of that so it's not a pre shave, it's just a slick layer of water. The only time it can be called a pre shave is if it is left in the face for a couple of minutes prior to the lathering...but none of the guys do that on any of the YouTube videos.
 
I used to bloom soap and don't bloom any soap either hard or soft ever anymore. Doesn't make any difference IMO. The only positive effect that blooming may have is to help release the aroma and fragrance contained in the soap.

I should also add that I basically build a lather on the soap puck itself these days so it takes me quite some time either way.
 
Start lathering as quickly as possible. As @Korbz already mentioned, a good lathers is crucial to any decent shave
 
I like to put a small amount of warm water on top to help load up a bit more soap but thats just me.
 
I bloom my soap while I'm in the shower, It's just what I do and it works fine, no major injurys or social uprisings as a result yet.
 
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If you do bloom your soaps, don't press the brush too hard into the soap. I recall a guy on another forum wondering why he only got 10 shaves in a 4 oz tub of soap before he saw the bottom in the tub...
 
Ok, thanks for the tips. My anticipation got the better of the last night and I had a play with my APR Winterfell soap and new brush...errrrmeegerd! It smelled amazing and I was able to work up some kind of lather without any problems. Then I used my schick 5-blade cartridge...... :)
 
There's a few lather teaching threads. On youtube, the meeker man lather videos are the technique a few of us use.
 
Don't skimp on the product when you lather - seriously life is to short for airy/bubbly crap lather...20 shaves on certain soaps is absolutely right ;)
 
alfredus said:
Don't skimp on the product when you lather - seriously life is to short for airy/bubbly crap lather...20 shaves on certain soaps is absolutely right ;)
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Sorry but that is crap. Unless it is a 20 gram sample, your face is 140cm wide and you have a 48mm knotted brush, and you like flicking 80% of the soap around the bathroom as you lather.

I recently tried to load heavy on a sample I was given of ghost ship (by @TomG I think), and found at the end of the day I must have loaded 2.5g of a 10g sample. I had plenty of good yogurty lather for 3 passes, and could have washed the rest of my body with the remainder.
 
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