Mystic Waters

I will repeat 2 key points mentioned above:

• Synthetic brush - I don’t know why, but it works, esp. when you are starting out
  
• Add water a few drops at a time.
  

This has always worked for me with hard water

*For me and my water the brush was full of dense later rather than a pile of suds, which i like.

This. If the lather is full of little bubbles or has no sheen to it, it’s a no-go for me; a good lather is relatively heavy instead of light and fluffy.

Also, good point about painting the face. I’ve noticed that aggressive swirling with Mystic Water can often introduce too much air into the lather.

I used MW Windjammer yesterday and used the method that has worked for me in the past.  My primary goal with any lather is to get a sour cream-like lather...one that has good shine and an ooey-gooey type consistency.  Today, I decided to try one of the above methods or at least a version of them.  So the process today was:

1.  No blooming the soap
2.  Used a 26mm SHD but wrung out as much water as i could prior to loading
3.  Loaded heavy and added a few drops of water during the load process
4.  Minimal swirling on the face...mostly face-painted.
5.  Added water slowly by dripping over the brush rather than dipping the brush tips in sink water

Maybe I need more practice or maybe I didn't load enough, but the lather never really came together for me.  It was more of an airy whipped cream type lather.  It still provided decent cushion and slickness but not as much as I'm used to from MW.  Here's a couple pix.  First one is after loading and second one is after face-lathering for about 5 minutes:

Thanks for giving it a try HoosierShave

I think you guys pretty well covered it. I have hard water. I also find synthetics to work easier with Mystic. But get great lather with badger by loading more and boar by loading more still. Shoot, it's not like I'm gonna run out of soap anytime soon. As stated, this soap will always produce a lower structure, dense and slick lather. My brush might not appear to have enough lather inside to get through three passes but it is there. This is sour cream vs whipped cream.

I like Windjammer a lot 

Avoid over aerating Mystic Water and if you paint it on, that will apply it and thin it out on the skin. Then you can add the water slowly and work it through the pastey/gooey phase slowly. I wish it could suck up the water a little quicker and easier but that is simply what you get with such a formula that is so moisturizing to the skin.

I used MW Windjammer yesterday and used the method that has worked for me in the past.  My primary goal with any lather is to get a sour cream-like lather...one that has good shine and an ooey-gooey type consistency.  Today, I decided to try one of the above methods or at least a version of them.

Your original method* includes loading the brush for only about 10 seconds, correct? I’m amazed that you can pick up enough soap in that time, especially since we’re talking about Mystic Water. I know that the blooming must help. Will have to try the method sometime, I’m intrigued.
* https://damnfineshave.com/thread-mystic-...#pid309701

I used MW Windjammer yesterday and used the method that has worked for me in the past.  My primary goal with any lather is to get a sour cream-like lather...one that has good shine and an ooey-gooey type consistency.  Today, I decided to try one of the above methods or at least a version of them.

Your original method* includes loading the brush for only about 10 seconds, correct? I’m amazed that you can pick up enough soap in that time, especially since we’re talking about Mystic Water. I know that the blooming must help. Will have to try the method sometime, I’m intrigued.
* https://damnfineshave.com/thread-mystic-...#pid309701

10 to 15 seconds seems about right.  I've never timed it but I don't spend much time loading.  The blooming really helps with getting a lot of soap loaded and, perhaps, getting to the gooey stage more quickly.  

I used MW Windjammer yesterday and used the method that has worked for me in the past.  My primary goal with any lather is to get a sour cream-like lather...one that has good shine and an ooey-gooey type consistency.  Today, I decided to try one of the above methods or at least a version of them.

Your original method* includes loading the brush for only about 10 seconds, correct? I’m amazed that you can pick up enough soap in that time, especially since we’re talking about Mystic Water. I know that the blooming must help. Will have to try the method sometime, I’m intrigued.
* https://damnfineshave.com/thread-mystic-...#pid309701

10 to 15 seconds seems about right.  I've never timed it but I don't spend much time loading.  The blooming really helps with getting a lot of soap loaded and, perhaps, getting to the gooey stage more quickly.  

I've tried many ways of lathering MW and I'm sure there's more than one way to do it successfully, however, I'm with Matsilainen , I load for a lot longer than 10-15 seconds.  We all find our own path in shaving (as in life) and its great to get the perspective and experience of others along the way.  Just because we may have found a way that works for us doesn't mean that there isn't a better or at least different way to get to the same goal.  The key is to keep experimenting and not be worried about failing.