Blooming! your veiws please

It has made a big difference for me especially in a few tougher soaps

Hi to all. I have just heard of a thing called blooming and you use your soap to do this. I would like your personal views & opinions on this. What does it really do,how you bloom your soap & if it has any benefits or not to your shave. All your veiws will be appreciated. Cheers, enjoy your day.

I'm a bit of a language Nazi, aka a usage nerd, and I think part of the reason some people get confused about "blooming" is because it's a needlessly fancy and misleading term. The puck doesn't sprout little pucks, it doesn't grow or change shape. Instead of "blooming" let's call it what it is--soaking. 

By soaking a puck in water, you are hoping to soften the surface to make it easier to get a lot of soap on your brush. That's about all there is to it. If ever you've left a bar of soap in a water-filled soap dish, and noticed that the bar's bottom is now soft, that's what you're doing here but not for nearly as long. 

I find no need to soak soft soaps like most of the artisan soaps--Catie's, Soap Commander, Tiki, etc. They later fine as they are. 

I have tried soaking Mitchell's Wool Fat and Saponificio Varesino but didn't find that it made a big difference. If I have a hard soap that's tough to lather, I'll shave off a few bits and put them in the mug and then lather. Works great. Got the idea from PaulHfilms on youtube. He did it with Mitchell's and got a stupendous lather. 

Anyway, as with everything, try soaking and do it if you like it. Don't if you don't. Be sure afterwards to let the soap air dry.

I'm a bit of a language Nazi, aka a usage nerd, and I think part of the reason some people get confused about "blooming" is because it's a needlessly fancy and misleading term. The puck doesn't sprout little pucks, it doesn't grow or change shape. Instead of "blooming" let's call it what it is--soaking. 

By soaking a puck in water, you are hoping to soften the surface to make it easier to get a lot of soap on your brush. That's about all there is to it.

Well, the scent "blooms" into the room, and, as some have mentioned above, that's a key reason some of us do it.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blooming

—used to make an angry or critical statement more forceful

—used as a generalized intensive <blooming fool>

I sometimes SOAK hard soaps to make lather more easily. I never BLOOM or INSULT them.

I only soak triple milled soaps and only if I'm going to use a soft brush like a Plisson.

Personally, I don't think it is all that necessary for most soaps.  All but the hardest soaps seem to load fairly well without it .  However, I do it just for the scent.  Scent is a major factor on what soap I want to use for the day and I will bloom the soap to bring out the scent.  In Fact, I have gotten into the habit to do it almost every time.  Unless I am in a hurry, It gets bloomed.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blooming

—used to make an angry or critical statement more forceful

—used as a generalized intensive <blooming fool>

I sometimes SOAK hard soaps to make lather more easily. I never BLOOM or INSULT them.

Yes, no blooming reason to call it blooming.

Hi, I tried my Edwin Jagger aloe vera hard soap & here is what I found. The first time I didn't bloom. It lathers well with my boar brush and the scent well there not much of scent. The second time I did bloom & I found that the scent came alive not much mine you but enough to notice. Now when I went to lather that was impressive it was easier, richer,thicker it was great.. I will bloom or soak this soap from now on. As to calling it blooming or soaking. The soap scent & lather bloomed but as they say To get a flower to bloom just add water. Cheers

I only do it on very hard soaps.

I don't usually put any water on the soap, just water from the brush. This helps keep the soap dry. I did however soak a puck of SV Felce Aromatica this morning because this was the first use, and it may help loading with hard soaps.

One habit of mine is I like to do my rinses with the "soap broth" or "brine" this way it adds some slickness, and you can check the slickness of a particular soap much easier. Does anybody else do this, or am I just weird?