Thread: Frustrating lather

I am sure this has been asked a million times so I'll go for a million and one. When I make lather (shaving soap), it looks creamy and with peaks. It goes very smoothly on my face but it dries out too darn quick. I am a newbie so it takes me a little longer to shave but I do not think an excessive time. Any ideas about what I am doing wrong? I am enjoying the experience of SR shaving but the lather thing is frustrating. Thanks.

Albuquerque's got some hard water, which can make lathering a chore. Try with some distilled bottled water...that was my issue up in Ontario and it did the trick.

Are you using hot or cold water to make your lather?

Heat, if used in excess, can cause your lather to dry a bit faster than it should.

Also, what soap/cream are you using? Depending on the kind used, you may or may not get good lather...

Hey orion, welcome to the game.

First, there's nothing wrong with re-applying lather part way through the shave. Sure, you will take less time shaving as you learn but proper technique and comfort are more important than speed.

There are only a few reasons for weak lather, to wit:

You need to experiment a bit. As MWS mentioned, hard water can be a problem. Since it in effect "deactivates" some of the soap, try using more product. I have ferociously hard well water here but have learned to live with it. If using puck sap, load the brush with a damp - not dripping wet - brush for a bit longer. You can then dip the brush tips in water again, shake it off, and load some more. Some find it helpful to pinch the knot between thumb and forefinger while loading to stiffen it a little. If using a stick or a cream, just apply/use a bit more.

The next possibility is that you may not be using enough water. Some soaps just need a lot of water to build a good lather. If it seems like it's getting thin, just work the dickens out of it for a bit. You will be surprised by how much it will thicken up as you beat more air into it.

Finally, you might want to try a different soap. Each soap seems to act a little differently for each guy according to water quality, brush used, technique, and seemingly the phase of the moon. What works for me might not work at all for you.

Part of the fun is experimenting (that's a code word for playing.)

rs,
Tack

Before I switched to cream I used to fill my cup, with the soap in it, up with hot water and let it sit a couple minutes as I was wetting the brush... Then, I would pour off the water leaving the soap hot, wet and ready to go and that seemed like it made quite a difference in both loading the brush and building the lather; most likely because I got more soap loaded. I was also playing with adding Glycerin (just the stuff from the Grocery Store) to my soap like 6-8 drops in the cup after I loaded the brush and right before building the lather. Right before I lather up with soap or cream I reach down and splash water up on my face so that it is kind of dripping/running off just seconds before putting the brush to my face.

Shawn
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Here's a post with some info...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...akthrough.html

Thanks to all for your ideas. I am using hot tap water. I use SRD soap. I think I will experiment with the amount of water and see how it goes. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by orion1

Thanks to all for your ideas. I am using hot tap water. I use SRD soap. I think I will experiment with the amount of water and see how it goes. Thanks again.

orion,

This will save a lot of typing. This video is Lynn showing how to use an SRD soap. Enjoy, and

Regards,

Howard