Thread: I aint got no lather!

What Carl said. Basically failure to get a good lather is operator error and not generally equipment related.

Bob

One more thing to add to the sound advice above:

Some soaps/creams will need more or less water than others to get the type of lather you want. For example, I can get a good lather using very little water when I use Van Der Hagen soaps, but until yesterday I couldn't get Williams to lather well at all. I happened to come across an old thread about Williams and learned that it needs LOTS of water (read: enough to cover the bottom of your mug) to get a good lather going. In fact, on the Williams website under the "Shaving Tips" section, the first tip they list is "Don't spare the hot water", so even they are acknowledging that Williams is a thirsty soap.

I say all of this to say (or in Reddit terms, TL;DR) experiment with the amount of water needed for each soap you own, as they will all be different.

Also, don't be afraid to post up a question if you're having problems with a particular soap... there may be something you're missing that one of us has overcome before. Case in point: Arko. It's a fantastic soap, but can perform better if you build the lather a particular way (do a search on YouTube for "How to lather Arko" and look for 3 videos posted by Carmine Sirianni).

It's all about experimentation and practice... keep trying, and I promise you that you'll be rewarded for your efforts.