What am I doing wrong? Wool Fat.... New to DE

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106
Hi all, new here and new to DE shaving as well. About 2 weeks in, started when I saw a Wilkson Sword classic in Tesco's with the wilkinson soap and brush etc...

Had a couple of shaves with that and really enjoyed the smooth shave, and 'man time' experience. So I done some research and splashed out on a Merkur 34c, some nice blades, an expensive Parker silver tip badger brush and some Mitchells Wool Fat soap. (And a lot of Proraso after shave+liquid creme....).

Now no matter how many videos I watch, guides I read... I cannot produce the thick mountainous cloud of lather on my face. No amount of soaking the soap, loading, swirling, bit more water, bit less water etc seems to make a difference.

I have read that its not the easiest soap to lather, I am in a very hard water area as well.... But surely there is a way to get this right?

Out of curiousity I tried a regular Proraso boar brush this evening, new out of box, just a quick soak, and loading then working the wool fat with this much stiffer brush was producing a different, almost creamy like consistency immediately.... Not great but I think the brush needs a good long soak and few goes to break in. Does this soap need a stiff brush?

Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying the best shaves I have ever had... However my wool fat lather is weak compared to all the videos I watch, and it quickly dissapears from my face.

Any advice?
 
Welcome to the forums.

Ditch the Mitch! Use it as a bath soap instead.
Many say they can get a good lather, and I have too a few times but mostly it's a dead loss.

There are plenty of great soaps out there that are reliable lather generators. Why not continue with the theme - Proraso soap - great performance. The Body Shop's Maca Root, Tabac, Palmolive and a great range of artisan soaps that are out there to be discovered.

With a start like Mitchells and Wilkinsons things can only get better :)

Good luck and enjoy.
 
Hi all, new here and new to DE shaving as well. About 2 weeks in, started when I saw a Wilkson Sword classic in Tesco's with the wilkinson soap and brush etc...

Had a couple of shaves with that and really enjoyed the smooth shave, and 'man time' experience. So I done some research and splashed out on a Merkur 34c, some nice blades, an expensive Parker silver tip badger brush and some Mitchells Wool Fat soap. (And a lot of Proraso after shave+liquid creme....).

Now no matter how many videos I watch, guides I read... I cannot produce the thick mountainous cloud of lather on my face. No amount of soaking the soap, loading, swirling, bit more water, bit less water etc seems to make a difference.

I have read that its not the easiest soap to lather, I am in a very hard water area as well.... But surely there is a way to get this right?

Out of curiousity I tried a regular Proraso boar brush this evening, new out of box, just a quick soak, and loading then working the wool fat with this much stiffer brush was producing a different, almost creamy like consistency immediately.... Not great but I think the brush needs a good long soak and few goes to break in. Does this soap need a stiff brush?

Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying the best shaves I have ever had... However my wool fat lather is weak compared to all the videos I watch, and it quickly dissapears from my face.

Any advice?
I have great shaves with MWF. I find that it needs to be used regularly, which I interpret to mean that it shouldn't dry out between shaves. My routine is to soak my badger brush while I shower. I then load the brush until the end of the brush is saturated with paste, takes about 30 seconds with my water but the key is to have a good load of pasty cream in the brush. I then paint the paste on my face, then face lather until it is the yoghurt consistency that I like. I usually have to dip my brush in water twice while I face lather before I get the consistency I like.

I also use Body Shop Maca Root consistently and have used Proraso white in the past. Both of those are good but I don't find them as slick or as long-lasting on the face as MWF.
 
I found this on the B&B site (hope I'm allowed to put this up...delete if I'm considered naughty)...
..."
IMO, the performance of Mitchell's Wool Fat (MWF) is more susceptible to water hardness than most other shaving soaps.
I suspect that many shavers who find MWF surprisingly easy/near impossible to get a decent lather from are either blessed or cursed by soft/hard water.

That's the impression I got when travelling anyway.
Once I was surprised that MWF lathered so well, considering that the city I was in was known for its hard water, only to find out that the owner of the small hotel had installed a water softener for his guests. ..."

So it could be your water causing the problem.
 
I found this on the B&B site (hope I'm allowed to put this up...delete if I'm considered naughty)...
..."
IMO, the performance of Mitchell's Wool Fat (MWF) is more susceptible to water hardness than most other shaving soaps.
I suspect that many shavers who find MWF surprisingly easy/near impossible to get a decent lather from are either blessed or cursed by soft/hard water.

That's the impression I got when travelling anyway.
Once I was surprised that MWF lathered so well, considering that the city I was in was known for its hard water, only to find out that the owner of the small hotel had installed a water softener for his guests. ..."

So it could be your water causing the problem.

I agree, I'm pretty sure it is the hard water, I live in Scotland, a soft water area and never had a problem with mwf.
 
I struggled to get consistent good lather from Mitchell's Wool Fat soap, and was ready to ditch it, until I tried the seemingly bonkers idea of soaking it . . .
Top the ceramic dish (if you have it, or whatever container you keep it in) with tap water, put the lid on, and leave it until the soap has absorbed all of the water.
The soap will swell and fill out to almost completely fill the dish.
It will then lather like a champ - as long as it's used regularly, and not allowed to dry out.
 
I love MWF, you'll have to move. I've heard lots of people struggle to get a decent lather from it, fortunately I've always got great lathers but I live in a soft water area, it must be something to do with hard water I reckon.
 
If it's a new puck of soap, try blooming it whilst in the shower and your brush is soaking. Use the bloom water on your face, shake the brush a couple of times and load your brush for a good 30 seconds before face lathering. You might need to dip the tips of the brush in water a couple of times but don't overdo it.
Another thought is that it might be your new brush which needs to break in - I've had this problem with new brushes.
With my Omega 49 a single loading of MWF gives me more than enough lather for 3 passes plus clean up.
If you still think it's your hard water you could try filtered or bottled water to check on this.
MWF is my favourite soap and I get thick, luxurious lather with it, but I live in a soft water area.
 
Hi all, new here and new to DE shaving as well. About 2 weeks in, started when I saw a Wilkson Sword classic in Tesco's with the wilkinson soap and brush etc...

Had a couple of shaves with that and really enjoyed the smooth shave, and 'man time' experience. So I done some research and splashed out on a Merkur 34c, some nice blades, an expensive Parker silver tip badger brush and some Mitchells Wool Fat soap. (And a lot of Proraso after shave+liquid creme....).

Now no matter how many videos I watch, guides I read... I cannot produce the thick mountainous cloud of lather on my face. No amount of soaking the soap, loading, swirling, bit more water, bit less water etc seems to make a difference.

I have read that its not the easiest soap to lather, I am in a very hard water area as well.... But surely there is a way to get this right?

Out of curiousity I tried a regular Proraso boar brush this evening, new out of box, just a quick soak, and loading then working the wool fat with this much stiffer brush was producing a different, almost creamy like consistency immediately.... Not great but I think the brush needs a good long soak and few goes to break in. Does this soap need a stiff brush?

Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying the best shaves I have ever had... However my wool fat lather is weak compared to all the videos I watch, and it quickly dissapears from my face.

Any advice?

Welcome to the forum.

Bin the MWF it is crap or use as a bath soap.
Many, many shavers have reported exactly the same experience as you - it does not work!
You will hardly ever see MWF in SOTD photos despite all the fan boys that will tell you how easy it is to lather.
Go down to Superdrug and purchase 2 Palmolive shave sticks for about £1; grate these, with a cheese grater into a suitable container; press down hard with your thumbs. It will easilly produce mountains of thick, creamy lather with any brush. No requirement to watch tips and tricks videos. Enjoy. :)
 
I used it in London for years and it was fine, the water is hard there. MWF can be notoriously hard to lather apparently so it may be worth your while shelving it, for the time being, get a hold of something which lathers easily and go back to MWF a bit later, once you have some lather 'mileage' under your belt. I found it to be a good soap but once I finished it I never had the urge to buy more.
 
mitchells is made in bradford ,in the aire valley west yorks , the aire valley has very, very soft water . try another soap ,palmolive,s excellent & great value , stay the hell away from erasmic sticks though, in 3 decades of shaving ,the only thing i could not lather was the new erasmic stick..
 
Wow thanks for all the replies. I was practicing like a total loser today, I can't get the thick lather by face lathering, however whipping it up for even a little while in my proraso shave mug thing seems to get it working easier.
I have a nice Gruti stainless bowl that arrived today so Tommorrow I will really give it a go in there see what happens.
There are so many different opinions on MWF online... However two main suggestions being:

A. Don't use lots of water. Just a teaspoon and a damp brush.

B. Soak the soap for a whole day or something until it's absorbed all the water.

I think I am going give B a go and then use my bowl. It is very dry and still cracked up, I soaked it for nearly an hour yesterday.
Im not giving up just yet, I do have other soaps, Proraso Green, Wilkinson Sword and an Arko stick. However the feeling and soapy smell of MWF on my skin along with the legendary like praise it gets online really makes we want to work out how to get the best from it. If that means a bowl lather and a pre soak for every new puck then so be it, my water is very hard.

The whole ‘lathering experience' thing doesn't sit well with me. I have designed and built huge datacenter networks and server estates in my profession, this is just some GODDAMN SOAP GODDAMN IT!!! It can't be hard.
 
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