Blooming Soap – Yay or Nay?
Blooming is one of the most hotly debated topics in wet shaving. After endless research from wet-shaving professionals and veteran shavers, the jury is still out on the value of blooming. As blooming soap is a personal choice, we thought we’d share all the information we know about this practice and let you decide if you’re for or against it.
What is Blooming?
In wet-shaving, blooming refers to softening soap. When a soap is ‘bloomed,’ it is submerged in water before being used to lather.
Why Bloom Soap?
Blooming is used to soften harder soaps, making it easier to lather and enhancing the soap’s lubrication. It is also believed to boost the soap’s scent by bringing out the fragrance’s base and top notes.
Which Soaps to Bloom?
Blooming works best for hard and triple milled soaps. We’ve listed a few brands that work best for blooming;
How to Bloom?
Blooming is quite simple and straight forward. If you decide to try blooming, you’ll need to have a few extra minutes to spare to allow the soap to be submerged in water. To bloom soap, follow these steps:
- Fill a scuttle or bowl with warm water
- Let soap sit in water for about 5 – 10 minutes (water should just cover the top of the soap)
- Remove soap from water and begin lathering
With the soap softened, aka bloomed, load the brush onto the soap and watch a rich, creamy lather develop. Depending on your loading routine, this can take up to one minute. Only a small amount of soap is needed and you can always go back to add more soap. You can also use the water from blooming to wet your face before applying lather.
Related – 5 Simple Steps for a Perfect Lather
Are you a bloomer? Share your shaving style with us, comment below!
