Mike's Natural Soaps

Got a reply from Mike this morning, haha thats another upside to dealing with an artisan maker, I'm sure he won't mind me sharing it with all and sundry:

I'm very sorry to hear you're having a difficult time getting a good lather. Two things come to mind:

1. Though it sounds like you've already done a good amount of experimenting, it's worth noting that my soap requires and unusually high amount of water to hit its stride - don't be afraid to really saturate it.
2. My soap does not respond well to high heat - if you use very hot water or a scuttle to shave, it might thin out the lather. If this is the case try using slightly cooler water.
I can't guarantee that I'll have time, but I'll try to record a short palm-lathering iphone video later today.
Best,
Mike
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As I said back to him I'll try with even MORE water then but I really did feel that I fed it well and truly enough and that the lather was so think that adding more water to it was going to make a bad lather even worse. Usually I only add water when you get that thicker feel and noise that the lather wants a bit more....but I never got that with his.

Heat definitely isn't an issue. The water here is 50degrees max.

Anyway will try again later today - gawd knows I had several weeks of horrible lathers before I finally came to grips with MWF, haha so is MNS takes a few goes to get right thats ok. :)

I've popped the orange/cedar/pepper down over the top of the thin layer of bay rum in the container (seemed like they'd get along) so we'll see how that goes.
 
Could be a water hardness issue Nick. I know that MWF was a bitch to get anything out of in Mudgee (town supply is partially bore water from Limestone!), yet Sydney I get a great lather. If the water has lots of minerals in it then it is always harder to get a good lather.

Melbourne has some of the softest water in the country, so maybe someone down there could give it a go?

The Orange & Bay Rum sounds like they would be okay as a combo. Maybe Mike will make an Orange Bay Rum in our honour :laugh:
 
Razormonsta said:
Could be a water hardness issue Nick. I know that MWF was a bitch to get anything out of in Mudgee (town supply is partially bore water from Limestone!), yet Sydney I get a great lather. If the water has lots of minerals in it then it is always harder to get a good lather.

Melbourne has some of the softest water in the country, so maybe someone down there could give it a go?

The Orange & Bay Rum sounds like they would be okay as a combo. Maybe Mike will make an Orange Bay Rum in our honour :laugh:
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This was something I considered and discounted...being in Coffs Harbour I think we've pretty soft water too. Definitely not an issue with minerals - we've amongst the highest rainfall in the land.

Yes, I did think the orange/cedar/pepper and Bay would work well together - the Bay alone is great but was getting a tad thin after several uses, seemed the best 'combo' of the ones left and the fact it was already used as well made the choice all too simple. :)
 
If you can't get it happening and decide to give it up, I'd be happy to take anything left off your hands to try, Nick. RM's suggestion about Melbourne water is perhaps worth a go, though it sounds like you've experimented pretty well and that water quality will make a marginal difference. It's a shame the results have been disappointing so far, but maybe that goes to show just how much of the hype YKW is bollocks. I'm yet to witness that significantly yet. I'm still hoping for a miraculous epic lather though, the scents sound brilliant.

Here's a thought. I don't know what the opinion on super lathers (or whatever they're called) is over here, but if it's no good solo, I guess this could always be mixed with something else, right? Might improve skin protection and still moisturise nicely.
 
Mong. said:
............I don't know what the opinion on super lathers (or whatever they're called) is over here, but if it's no good solo, I guess this could always be mixed with something else, right?..............
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That's a bit of a cop out in my opinion. If it doesn't produce a nice lather, why bother. Plenty of great soaps out there that don't need mixing with something because they're lacking in the ability to actually make a lather.
 
Pjotr said:
That's a bit of a cop out in my opinion. If it doesn't produce a nice lather, why bother. Plenty of great soaps out there that don't need mixing with something because they're lacking in the ability to actually make a lather.
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^^^ This. If it don't work - try something else as there are LOTS that do.
 
I agree that looking at a 'super lather' as a solution isn't the answer. SL's can be fun in their own right but one shouldn't have to go to this level, but each to his own. I do them from time to time just for a laugh and to use up the creams I have and rarely use on their own.

That said, having used another couple of other soaps (Non-MNS) since one does appreciate the slickness and moisturising properties that they have. I was cleaning out a couple of soap containers yesterday and got some of the MNS on my finger.....went to wash it off and it was SO super slick. The best way to describe it is that it was a level of slickness like that when you get bleach (or any other alkali) on your skin....and when you go to wash it off you'll feel a slickness (which is because the alkali in it has saponified - essentially turned to soap the oil/fat in the top layer of your skin!) Well THAT slick.

The moisturising properties really are the best I've ever had in a soap.....no exaggeration when I say I feel post-shave like I've already applied a 3rd party moisturiser, your skin has a plump and rich feeling but not oily.

I'd agree with a few things stated earlier.....first there's a lot of crap written in general over at YKW BUT I really do feel that these soaps 100% definitely will give an excellent lather it's just a matter of adjusting my technique and trying a few more times.

One could be fooled by the length of this thread but I've only attempted to use them THREE TIMES IN TOTAL SO FAR.....so it'd really be premature to label them as crap latherers just yet.

Like I said, many soaps out there are tricky to lather but ultimately when you come to grips with them are brilliant to use......now I know some folks like the Arko's of the world that are basically foolproof - there's nothing wrong with this but personally I have no issues with slightly adjusting my technique to get a great result - ultimately I'll assess this as being feasible WHEN I get the best results possible eg. if its a so-so result and a lil messing around them I won't go ahead with it - but if its a brilliant result and the same mid-level change then I'll still buy some.

Again I have to stress I've tried 3 shaves.....with 1/4 of the samples!!! So very early days by anyones reckoning. So will it deliver a brilliant lather, I'm still optimistic but I can already guarantee that it's the best smelling range of soaps I've ever used (and thats something that won't change with use)....and also more importantly it's also the best moisturising soap I've ever used BY FAR....again something that the lather side won't change.

Alas I won't be due for a shave today but I'll have another whirl over the weekend and see how that pans out. Haha rest assured if it doesn't perform really well I'll call a spade a spade, I don't know any other way. :)
 
I'm not sure whether it is the soaps you know. I had similar problems with some Mama Bear's samples that Mark pif'd to me. It might just be that the surface area is a little too small to be able to get a decent amount of soap loaded without a lot more effort.
 
eggbert said:
I'm not sure whether it is the soaps you know. I had similar problems with some Mama Bear's samples that Mark pif'd to me. It might just be that the surface area is a little too small to be able to get a decent amount of soap loaded without a lot more effort.
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Valid point but should be an issue as I have 2 of the samples (Orange +Bay) spread across a ~9cm diameter container I use for all my soaps (flagged in the heads up section). Anyway we'll give it a few more tries and see.
 
Nick the Knife said:
Valid point but should be an issue as I have 2 of the samples (Orange +Bay) spread across a ~9cm diameter container I use for all my soaps (flagged in the heads up section). Anyway we'll give it a few more tries and see.
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So what you're saying Nick is you don't know how to lather?

Have you thought about a Lathering course at Tafe?
 
JugV2 said:
So what you're saying Nick is you don't know how to lather?

Have you thought about a Lathering course at Tafe?
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Thats a sensational suggestion, however when I did call them to try to sign up they said you'd flunked AGAIN last semester and would be held back to repeat it AGAIN (how many times have you done the course there?) so they'd no room for new applicants in the forseeable future!!! Get a wriggle on so the rest of us can have a crack eh! :D
 
Seems to be always the same with soaps that have problems. First it's "must be my technique" followed immediately by "must be the water quality". How about "must be the soap"? I'm not saying it is but the signs are ominous. Don't know much about soap making but logically if a soap is loaded with perfume and moisturising liquid, which seems to be the case given that people seem to love the strong scent and it's moisturing qualities, it must surely affect it's ability to make a nice lather. Don't know Nick, but it looks like a typical FOTM job to me.
 
Nick the Knife said:
Thats a sensational suggestion, however when I did call them to try to sign up they said you'd flunked AGAIN last semester and would be held back to repeat it AGAIN (how many times have you done the course there?) so they'd no room for new applicants in the forseeable future!!! Get a wriggle on so the rest of us can have a crack eh! :D
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Hahaha that's gold!

I've done the course so many times but every time the water is too sharp, or the brush is too tired, or someone walks in on me lathering and it upsets the soap.

Maybe I should just go back to Fauldings Tube 'O' Crap!

:laugh:
 
JugV2 said:
...........Maybe I should just go back to Fauldings Tube 'O' Crap!.......
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Now there's an idea. You can get it almost anywhere. I've used it in the past, largely in ignorance of what I now consider better quality soaps, so maybe now I've just become a soap snob. All this tallow first yuppie bullshit I've fallen prey to. Let's do it Jug. You start first and I'll folllow suite. I promise.

Actually thinking about it you can also get tubes of stuff that's just called Shave. Fauldings sounds pretentious in comparison.
 
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Pjotr said:
That's a bit of a cop out in my opinion. If it doesn't produce a nice lather, why bother. Plenty of great soaps out there that don't need mixing with something because they're lacking in the ability to actually make a lather.
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I agree mate. I meant that if Nick couldn't get the samples going, he could potentially get a bit more use out of his remaining stock doing this. By the sound of it, there's still a reasonable number of samples to go. Beats relegation to the drawer of disavowed doom!
 
Jesus doom and gloomers....let me shine a lil sunlight in.

Ok shaved again today and had the best lather with it so far BY FAR. I put this down to using more water throughout the process than before and also I think the fact that I used my largest & boofiest brush (a Turkish one, Jaguar brand) were the points of difference IMHO.

I get the feeling that really stiff brushes won't have as easy a time with it as something thats a little softer and 'volumeous' - my other two brushes had been used before and they're don't seem 'best suited'.

The lather was much better in its texture and volume - but still not quite as good as what I've gotten with other products BUT this was countered by being very slick, smelling fantastic and also having a sensational moisturising finish.

Used with a Polsilver (4th shave - GREAT blade) and a Slim. Very good results.

I might put another few of the samples into my containers and try them using this technique, but I'm definitely leaning towards grabbing some as the upside of these soaps appeals to me and I'm certain that the progress I made today will be replicated in subsequent shaves.

:)
 
Some light through the fog of the lather?

Sounds like progress which is good!
 
Sounds like you're on the right track mate, great to hear you're now having some success.
 
Tried another of the samples and had the best lather by FAR......was actually a really nice lather, top shelf in every way.

This was with the Pine and Cedarwood (which I really do not have a lot of fondness for - smells bang on but maybe the love of Pine is a North American thing). ANyway the lather was great and VERY easy to get. Very good shave from it on all fronts.

I'm wondering if the Bay & Orange soaps weren't just not good batches or something as honestly it was SUCH A HUGE DIFFERENCE - I laboured for minutes trying to lather the others and this just went right from the get go. And I did it with the #6 Bestshave 'Mule'!

Being that I got the funds back from the horrible oil buy I think thats the shaving gods telling me they want me to get myself a few soaps for my birthday......I don't know what other possible way I could interpret this so I'm leaning towards getting some again now.
 
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