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

A few years back (and over on another forum) we were discussing water hardness and the subject inevitably moved to MWF. I think we identified the hardest and softest water in the UK and I managed to get a bottle of the hardest water to compare to my water which is practically in the same postcode area as where MWF is made.

Here's the results: https://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/co...wool-fat-water-sensitive-answer-inside.35452/

... where I was suprised to find that hard water was in fact better!

Hot, cold, hard, soft, sythetic, badger, boar, whatever ... best soap you can buy. So long as you're chosen. If you can't lather it, you're not chosen.

I've not been shaving much for the last couple of years and when I did it was a cartridge and canned goop. Within the last couple of months I've come back to my more traditional products and a dry puck of MWF. Wet brush, 10 swirls, lather heaven. No other preparation.
 
I'm in Lincolnshire and we have hard water here. I bloom it whilst showering, remove water from soap and brush when I'm ready to start shaving, swirl the brush over the soap in a figure of 8 with, I'd say, moderate pressure. I'm not lathering like I hate it but neither am I treating it like a precious lady on a 1st date. I'll add a few drops of water every several swirls until I've got the consistency I want.

This comment probably hasn't helped but from what you've put I can't see what's wrong
 
I'm thinking maybe that's it's not just water hardness but specific minerals etc. in the water that make it so variable. It seems people can get a good lather in hard water areas just like soft water areas.

As I've said before, I have had very good lathers with it but it seems to be a fluke when it's a success.

For me I think it's because I don't use it regularly and it probably dries out somewhat between lathers.
I have no problems with my (many) other soaps, so for me life is too short to spend trying to get it to lather. Plus it smells a bit like Granny's mothballed knicker drawer.
 
pjgh said:
A few years back (and over on another forum) we were discussing water hardness and the subject inevitably moved to MWF. I think we identified the hardest and softest water in the UK and I managed to get a bottle of the hardest water to compare to my water which is practically in the same postcode area as where MWF is made.

Here's the results: https://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/co...wool-fat-water-sensitive-answer-inside.35452/

... where I was suprised to find that hard water was in fact better!

Hot, cold, hard, soft, sythetic, badger, boar, whatever ... best soap you can buy. So long as you're chosen. If you can't lather it, you're not chosen.

I've not been shaving much for the last couple of years and when I did it was a cartridge and canned goop. Within the last couple of months I've come back to my more traditional products and a dry puck of MWF. Wet brush, 10 swirls, lather heaven. No other preparation.
Click to expand...

10 swirls and over 4 and half minutes (280s) of whipping :oops: ..regardless of the resulting lather I'd say that was a tough soap to lather!
 
haven't used MWF for a while now but I seem to remember now that my grated MWF puck in a wide bowl (SS Aesop) worked well by loading the damp brush with the soap and then adding drips of water and building the lather on top of the puck in the same bowl..this sped things up nicely as you‘d imagine. Being a hard puck such as it is I just rinsed it with cold water to remove any leftover lather and wiped surface clean for next time. Even doing this the soap lasts for a long time and is only possible due to it being such a hard triple milled soap
 
Maybe there is a large variance of soap batches with MWF. It would explain the mixed reviews. I can get it to lather with hard Essex water but it needs work and never tend to get steady results. Can be good some days and rubbish the next.
 
lastcoyote said:
10 swirls and over 4 and half minutes (280s) of whipping :oops: ..regardless of the resulting lather I'd say that was a tough soap to lather!
Click to expand...

"... with the intention of building a lather for 360 seconds" which was a time set from the beginning. It perfectly usable on the face after 20 or 30 seconds. No idea how long folks fiddle about with their bowls, hence the guess. I usually do 10 swirls but in this test I did it twice to ensure proper loading as I had an unknown element in the equation, namely hard water. This soap will load and lather with literally no effort.

fly3k said:
Maybe there is a large variance of soap batches with MWF. It would explain the mixed reviews. I can get it to lather with hard Essex water but it needs work and never tend to get steady results. Can be good some days and rubbish the next.
Click to expand...

I must have been through 8 or 10 pucks now and not felt any difference. New, dry, soaked, dried out and cracked, it just works.

Maybe ... maybe it's not one for bowl lathering. Personally, I find it fine in the bowl but then I don't bowl lather. I'm not quite sure what folks are looking for when bowl lathering. On the face, it builds up a thick cushion quite easily.

Back to the OP ...

Try following this to the letter - don't wet the puck but soak your brush (badger or boar) or just wet it and flick out excess water with just the one flick. Swirl your brush around the soap just 10 times. If you're bowl lathering, get started and add drops of water at a time. I mean drops, not a splash. On the face, your face bristles should hold sufficient water, so just get cracking and dab the brush in water to keep building as required.
 
Well disappointingly soaking the MWF for over 24 hours appears to have done nothing for my lathering ability.
My silvertip badger brush, even with a bowl cannot bring this stuff to a thick lather with staying power.

all I get is a bubbly lather that lies thin on the face and disappears quickly.
DAF2E491-43C9-4036-9BA1-34DE14D5D907.jpeg
 
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Out of curiosity I tried exactly the same procedure with my cheapo Proraso Boar brush which is much more course/stiff. I got better results pretty quickly. I am curious however, if the lather is too bubbly and thin that means I have over watered correct? I do think maybe brush stiffness may be helping here, however I think I used less water the second round. Maybe it literally is a damp brush and DROPS of water, not a splash or two off the fingers.

74A1491D-8E85-4F9E-B3F1-CF17550CBF8C.jpeg
 
tomstephens89 said:
Well disappointingly soaking the MWF for over 24 hours appears to have done for my lathering ability.
My silvertip badger brush, even with a bowl cannot bring this stuff to a thick lather with staying power.

all I get is a bubbly lather that lies thin on the face and disappears quickly.
Click to expand...

yeah (that's) not good at all. Does look to me in that photo like a case of under loading the brush with soap and adding too much water creating bubbly airy proto-lather. I like to start with a drier brush, damp but free of excess water then swirl like you hate it on a pre softened MWF soap surface. It should create like a paste lump in the middle of the brush and you'll feel it getting grippy on the soap surface then build up the lather with that in a bowl using a drop of water every now and then. It's still not easy or perfect lather but it'll be better than the result you have in the photo above.
 
ok so Tommorrow I will put a little water on top of the puck whilst in the shower, take the brush out the soak and squeeze out the majority of the water. I will then load for a good minute and build in the bowl. I will only add a drop of water at a time as well.
I loaded for 30 seconds, but I think I probably used way too much water. And yes the boar brush definitely picks up more soap.
 
I just used my MWF this evening.
Had no issues, didn't bowl lather, just loaded and face leathered.
I had a lovely shave, no issues with the soap. I live in an area that has hard water, not hard enough that my coffee starts to develop a cataract on the surface, but enough to cause a decent amount of crust in the kettle.
I love the soap at the moment.
 
tomstephens89 said:
ok so Tommorrow I will put a little water on top of the puck whilst in the shower, take the brush out the soak and squeeze out the majority of the water. I will then load for a good minute and build in the bowl. I will only add a drop of water at a time as well.
I loaded for 30 seconds, but I think I probably used way too much water. And yes the boar brush definitely picks up more soap.
Click to expand...

one other thing I like to do with all my soaps is to pour the bloom water (that was sitting on the soap whilst you shower etc) in to the bowl I use to lather and then immediately empty the majority out of the bowl again, discarding it down the sink. Just that little wet coating residual soapy bloom water in the lather bowl is enough to get started with your soap loaded brush, then add drops of water as you go lathering.
 
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