How to Use Shaving Soap? How To Lather Shaving Soap?

A shaving brush is useless if not accompanied by traditional shaving soap or cream. Besides, straight or safety razors are also disastrous if facial hair and the skin are not lathered up with shaving cream.

To be precise, learning “how to use shaving soap?” is highly important if you want a closer shave without razor burn, skin irritation, and other post-shaving hassles.  The thick and creamy lather that the shaving soap forms uplift a wet shaving experience and add value to your shaving regimen.

On the other hand, it is easier to build a lather with canned foam, but the results are not satisfactory, which is one of the reasons why many men use shaving soap over other cream types.  Also, there are different types of shaving soaps, which you must know before buying to create a good lather.

Besides, all your investments and efforts will go in vain if you don’t know how to lather shaving soap.  That’s where this article will help you in knowing:

• What’s the best shaving soap type?
• Which grooming accessories to add?
• What are the methods of creating lather?

Lastly, we will also touch on a post-shaving cleaning maintenance point to extend the shelf life of your grooming accessories.

So, let’s get started.

Types of Shaving Soaps

Though there are different types of shaving soaps, we will still recommend hard shaving soap that requires rigorous brushing to create a thick lather.  Also, this shaving soap type delivers an amazing shaving experience.

Contrary to this, liquid soaps like canned foams and gels contain water and chemicals that may harm your skin and hair.

So, let’s have a look at the types of shaving soaps:

Triple-Milled

According to us, it is one of the best shaving soaps as it lasts long, prepares, and moisturizes your beard.  Shave soaps undergoing a triple-milled process become a dry recycled bar of soap that does an incredible job at shaving.

Semi-Hard

As the name says, it’s somewhere between triple-milled and creamy consistency.  Though it looks hard, it easily melts.  Another disadvantage is it doesn’t last long, which eventually increases long-run costs.

Shave Cream

It is the creamiest and more lightweight than the other two soap types.  We do not recommend this type since they are creamier and thinner.

Since there are three types, we will discuss hard soaps that last long and create a rich lather.  Now let’s look at some essentials without which creating lather is next to impossible.

Essential Things for Creating Lather

Shaving Bowl or Mug

A shaving bowl or mug is important if you don’t want to create a lather directly on the face.  There are different types of shaving bowls that you can choose from and use to create a nice lather. In our opinion, a shaving lather bowl made up of ceramic is best since they hold the heat and let you enjoy warm lather.

Shaving Brush

Just like bowls, a shaving brush also plays a crucial role in creating a perfect lather.  The brush bristles will not only create rich lather but also help in lifting flat-lying facial hair.  

Besides, it also has different types of shaving brushes.  According to us, a shaving brush made from badger hair is the best.  It retains water, and the bristles do not massively fall apart as compared to synthetic bristles.  When you combine a shaving brush and bowl, you can expect a rich lather.  However, a new shaving brush comes with a few complaints like coarse bristles and animal smell.  

Therefore, we have got you covered with tips that take care of such issues.

How to use a shaving brush?

• Run a shaving brush under warm water.
• Fill a half mug with warm water and add a hair conditioner.
• Create foam with a shaving brush.
• Leave the brush to soak in the solution for 10 minutes.
• Rinse out the shaving brush and create a lather using it.
• Let the lather dry overnight
• Rinse the brush the next day & let it dry

The process will remove the animal smell and soften the brush bristles for building up a lather.

Note: While breaking in a new shave brush, there would be some bristles shedding, but you don’t need to worry about it.  Also, the smell won’t go away in the first place, you will need to continue the shaving routine, and the smell will go away on its own.

Shaving Soap

As we have already discussed, the best shave soap is the one that is triple-milled and hard.  However, it still depends on personal preference as to which type one chooses for himself.  Always choose a brand that uses natural ingredients that ensure a good quality shaving soap.  If you have sensitive skin or an allergy to fragrances, you can choose the unscented soap for yourself.

Now that you know what prerequisites are – let’s know the methods to create lather.

How to Use Shaving Soap?

Before knowing how to lather shaving soap in a mug, you must prepare your face and skin.  You must splash some warm water on your face to dampen and soften your beard.

Method 1: Lathering in the Shaving Bowl

The below-mentioned steps will let you know how to use shave soap and a bowl to create a good lather.

Step 1: Damp Badger Brush in Hot Water

Since you have a shave bowl, you must fill it with hot water(not boiling).  Place your shave brush for a minute or two until the bristles get soaked.  After a while, take out the brush and remove excess water from a bowl.  Also, wring out your shave brush to make it look slightly damp.

Tip: Do not soak brush under a sink full of water to maintain hygiene and sanitary. 

Step 2: Bloom the Soap

Since the soap is hard, you must add some warm water to soften it.  You can do this step simultaneously when soaking the brush in hot water.  Leave the water for at least 10-minutes to penetrate the water into the hard soap.  It makes the next step easier.

Tip: Remove excess water after a while to ensure that the soap doesn’t lose its hardness.

Step 3: Load the Brush

Since you have softened the hard shave soap, it’s time to add enough soap to the shaving brush.  Here, you will have to swirl your shaving brush in a circular motion for a few minutes.  FYI, if you try to create a lather using shaving cream, it is advisable to jump to the next step.

Once you see all the bristles tip with a creamy compound and without bubbles, scoop out a dime size and place it in a bowl you soak your shave brush.

Tip: Do not start creating a lather on your shave soap.

Step 4: Create A Lather

Since you have added a scoop to your shave bowl or mug, it’s time to create a lather.  Splay the bristle brush in the bowl but do not damage it as the natural hair could be fragile.  Add just a few drops of water and start swirling in clockwise and anticlockwise movements.

You may soon notice a creamy lather, but it’s not over.  You will require to add a few drops of water or bloom solution to create a thick and right consistency.

Note: If you are using shaving cream, take an almond-sized amount of it and start swirling.

Step 5: Check the Lather Quality

Lastly, you must check for the quality.  If you see bubbly lather, it means there is more water or more soap.  In this situation, try stirring it until you notice a foam-like lather.

Here is a quick video tutorial:

Once you determine the lather is ready, start applying it on the face and shave it.  Besides, let’s also see how to create lather on the face without using a shave bowl.

Method 2: Lathering on Face

The best way for beginners to enjoy wet shaving is by building up a lather on the face.  Here’s how to prepare shaving soap for creating lather on the face.

All the steps mentioned in Method 1 remain the same except for step 4, wherein you take a scoop of shaving soap or cream in a separate bowl (used to soak a shave brush).

Once you load up the shaving brush with either shaving cream or shaving soap, it’s time to swirl the shaving brush on the face in circular motions.  After about 30-40 seconds of circular motion, you will be able to build lather.

The mistakes like watery consistency or very thick lather can also happen in this method, for which just follow what you read in step 5 of the above method.

Method 3: Hand Lathering

In the case of hand lathering, there are two possibilities, i.e., with or without a shaving brush.  We will cover on both ways, so let’s start with shaving brush way:

• Start lathering in a brisk and circular motion until you achieve a proper lather.
• You can add a few water drops on a shaving brush tip to dampen it.
• Coat your facial hair with the lather and shave it with your favorite razor.
• Repeat the points if required multiple passes.

Another way is to create lather without a shaving brush, which is not a proven method as it was a suggestion from one of the customers.  The customer finds it effective.  Besides, they also use shaving soap as a face wash, which is technically not intended to use;  however, it works amazingly well for them.

So, let’s see how he does it:

• Rub shave soap on wet hands in a circular motion until thick lather forms.
• Add a few water drops if required.
• Now coat your whiskers and start shaving either safety or straight razors.

We hope the article answered your question on how to get a good lather with shaving soap.  Now let’s have a look at the most ignored yet important part of shaving soap and brush.

Shaving Soap & Brush Maintenance Post-Shaving

Wet shaving is incomplete without the post-shaving maintenance part.  Also, it can drain your hard-earned money if you fail to upkeep the grooming products. So let’s see what routine you should follow post-shaving.

Preserve Your Shave Soap

Since it’s just a soap that has been whipped, you can use the leftover shaving cream or soap in the bowl in your next shaving routine.  Just leave the bowl open for a day, and it will dry out the water.  You can also keep the shaving soap near the sink for a day or two, and it will drip all the water.  Make sure you do not close the shaving soap container when wet, as it can harden the lid.

Rinse Your Brush

Once you shave off your facial hair, place your shaving brush bristles pointing downwards under running water to clear away all shaving cream and hair.  Shake the brush to remove excess water but do not overdo it to avoid badger hair from falling apart.

Let the Brush Dry

The brush won’t be completely dried; however, you must wipe the shaving brush with a towel.  It will remain slightly damp than wet.

Store it in Dry Area

You must lie down the shaving brush horizontally to tickle down the water and prevent the knot from damaging.  Also, store your brush away from the bathroom or wet area.

So this is all about wet shaving and creating a lather of shaving cream or soap.  Now let’s answer some commonly asked questions.

Conclusion

We have seen how triple-milled shaving soap is better than shaving cream.  We have also discussed what essential things you must bring together to accomplish wet shaving. Lastly, we have highlighted the mistakes that many wet shave enthusiasts commit, which hampers the quality of grooming products.

We hope this article finds you well.  We would appreciate it if you could share which method you find suitable when shaving.  Also, share some suggestions that can be helpful to other readers. We would add them to our article.