Review Barrister & Mann - Seville (Excelsior)

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TheChrisC

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I used le grand chypre in excelsior past days and found it thirstier than glissant. Performance wise I couldn't find nothing to complain about. Residual slickness could be better but it is there just enough for my taste. Post shave on first is nothing special but as there is no sting from aftershave at all it gets high grade from me.
Post shave is where I think Excelsior is a let down. Having used WK Siero and Zingari Sego you notice the difference, although I always moisturise so post shave doesn’t matter as much to me.
 

CobraX

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I fully submerge the knot in a small bowl of water, then get the brush out and gently squeeze the knot once. That leaves me with a decent amount of moisture in the brush without it being dripping wet. I then load my brush for about 30-40 seconds. And finally I keep building the lather on my face for probably 8-10 minutes while regularly adding a bit of water to the brush. It gives me a very slick lather.

The only soap base where I barely load the brush is Barrister and Mann's Reserve base. With that base I load the brush for about 12-15 seconds (20 seconds max). Just for the record: I'm talking about load times for 24mm synthetic brushes here which aren't lather hogs.
 
D

Deleted member 1881

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I fully submerge the knot in a small bowl of water, then get the brush out and gently squeeze the knot once. That leaves me with a decent amount of moisture in the brush without it being dripping wet. I then load my brush for about 30-40 seconds. And finally I keep building the lather on my face for probably 8-10 minutes while regularly adding a bit of water to the brush. It gives me a very slick lather.

The only soap base where I barely load the brush is Barrister and Mann's Reserve base. With that base I load the brush for about 12-15 seconds (20 seconds max). Just for the record: I'm talking about load times for 24mm synthetic brushes here which aren't lather hogs.
And you get enough lather for 3 full pass shave? Doesn't get thinner after the first pass?
 

CobraX

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And you get enough lather for 3 full pass shave? Doesn't get thinner after the first pass?
I do 2 passes with touch-ups. Lather is always thinner after the first pass, but that isn't a problem at all. The lather should only be thicker on the 1st pass. After the 1st pass most of the hair is already removed, so cushion matters much less then. After the shave I still have lather left in the brush (I can still squeeze a decent amount out of it).
 
D

Deleted member 1881

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I do 2 passes with touch-ups. Lather is always thinner after the first pass, but that isn't a problem at all. The lather should only be thicker on the 1st pass. After the 1st pass most of the hair is already removed, so cushion matters much less then. After the shave I still have lather left in the brush (I can still squeeze a decent amount out of it).
My lather on the second pass is thin and kinda dry. What do you suggest?
 

CobraX

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My lather on the second pass is thin and kinda dry. What do you suggest?
If the lather is starting to dry during the second or third pass, you can always add a bit of water to it by wetting the tips of the brush and then going over the lather again. But it might also be that your lather was too dry to begin with. That can easily happen if you overload the brush. I already add tons of water to my lather and I only load for 30-40 seconds. If I'd load my brush for a minute, I'd be working my lather and adding water for more than 10 minutes I think.

If you think your lather is too thin on the second or third pass, you can try to squeeze out a bit of lather from the brush, then apply it to the tips of the brush and paint it onto your face. But like I said before, I don't care that much about volume after the first pass. I still want a bit of volume, but nowhere near my first pass. I do want my lather to be slick though and not dry and pasty especially after the first pass.

So in your case I would probably try two things. Hydrate the lather like you're hydrating it right now, but load the brush for a shorter period of time. See if that helps. Or load the brush like you're loading it right now but add more water to the lather. I want my lather to have a nice sheen to it.
 
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D

Deleted member 1881

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If the lather is starting to dry during the second or third pass, you can always add a bit of water to it by wetting the tips of the brush and then going over the lather again. But it might also be that your lather was too dry to begin with. That can easily happen if you overload the brush. I already add tons of water to my lather and I only load for 30-40 seconds. If I'd load my brush for a minute, I'd be working my lather and adding water for more than 10 minutes I think.

If you think your lather is too thin on the second or third pass, you can try to squeeze out a bit of lather from the brush, then apply it to the tips of the brush and paint it onto your face. But like I said before, I don't care that much about volume after the first pass. I still want a bit of volume, but nowhere near my first pass. I do want my lather to be slick though and not dry and pasty especially after the first pass.

So in your case I would probably try two things. Hydrate the lather like you're hydrating it right now, but load the brush for a shorter period of time. See if that helps. Or load the brush like you're loading it right now but add more water to the lather. I want my lather to have a nice sheen to it.
Thanks. Very detailed answer.

My real problem is this: I overload, I can't get lather for 3-4 passes, no matter what. The lather thins out.

I don't overload, the lather is even thinner with no good coverage even for the first pass. If I bowl lather things get a bit better.
 

CobraX

Forum GOD!
Thanks. Very detailed answer.

My real problem is this: I overload, I can't get lather for 3-4 passes, no matter what. The lather thins out.

I don't overload, the lather is even thinner with no good coverage even for the first pass. If I bowl lather things get a bit better.
Hmm. Do you have very hard water? Do you have that problem with all types of brushes or only badger brushes?
 
D

Deleted member 1881

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Hmm. Do you have very hard water? Do you have that problem with all types of brushes or only badger brushes?
Badgers for sure. I use mostly Tuxedo.
In Athens the water is soft. I will find some numbers if you can understand them. Wait.
 
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