Instructional Vids...

The problem with instructional lather vids is that... virtually none of them actually show building lather. I've seen about one and a half vids on YouTube that show the actual building of the lather.

In one video, the camera is only on the bowl & soap, but he uses some concoction of "locally handmade soap" that looks like chunks of lard, and an oil from a local plant. The lather produced (likely meant as an overview/quick demo of how-to) was mostly huge bubbles, like you would see washing dishes. Outside of those issues, it was a decent video.

Face lathering vids don't really count, either. They very rarely show how this person is building the soap on the brush.

Also, there don't seem to be any vids showing examples of how it goes wrong. Like too much water, overworked lather, the difference adding glycerin makes, how much time it takes a lather with not enough water to dry out once applied to the face.

The camera should basically always have the brush in the shot. Maybe a wrist mounted GoPro?

If I weren't a noob myself, I'd make one, or six, of these vids. I, and surely other noobs, welcome useful submissions.

NewBee or not,,, it sounds like your calling,,,, crank out a good video on the things you want to see. Maybe have someone shoot the video for you as you make the lather.

Somethings a video just won't show. How full a brush is with water for example. How much soap is coming off the puck etc.
Soap is not that expensive and what I did was play making lather until I got it right. Then proceeded to learn over the years. I get your frustration but I bet if you spent as much time experimenting as you did searching a vid you would already know what you seek :<0)

Learning how to "load" a brush with soap and then "build" your lather on your face can be a little challenging at first. This is one of the better vids I have found to illustrate how to "load" a brush and then build a lather on your face. You clearly get to see all of what you are asking for. Pick a method and practice, you don't need to be shaving, till you can do it. Just takes some time.

Bob

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4zESTQWDuw

I have spent more time lathering than searching. I practice my lather on my non-shave days. Somebody that is reasonably decent at instruction/training can explain AND demonstrate those points. Squeeze the brushes. At least three, of similar makeup. One with the usual 5-15min soak in hot water. One with a short soak (30sec to a min?). And one just ran under the faucet several times. And try making a lather with each, with extremely similar soaps (or same kind if possible).

These thing need consistency. Someone watching these vids to improve their own technique is doing so, in part, to eliminate variables; the instructor adding variables doesn't help any.

I only have one soap, one brush, one everything needed for this. I cannot demo what I suggest. For whatever reason, I seem to have a natural nack for being a trainer, which starts with taking notes as the trainee.

Bob,
I've seen that video a couple times. He demonstrates a few points well, and even shows what the brush looked like once he had it loaded.

Still left a bit of mystery to the process. And face lathering is not ideal for noobies to start out on. That takes already knowing what a good lather is supposed to be.

I will differ on that comment , face lathering is a great way for a newb to start ,,soap is cheap and that video bob gave you is a pretty darn good one to learn in , that guys has a few videos on the subject and geofatboy does lather and shaves all the time also, building a good lather is pretty basic , just mix it up on the dry side and add water till it's right. Tc

Okay so your giving it an honest go and it ain't happening. Let's do it here.

Lather on your face or in a bowl ?
What soap are you using ?
What brush ?
Sometimes the hardness of your water will make it impossible to lather certain soaps.

No matter just do this.
Dab some water onto your puck and let it sit there for a minute or 2 or 30. This only softens the surface but that is enough. The harder the soap the longer the soak.
Soak your brush until it stops bubbling. This takes about 10 seconds. Shake while under water and it's full.
Give it a gentle shake out of water and WATCH how much comes out. Bend it against your palm and SEE how much more comes out. It still has water in it.
Go to the puck and start doing your thing. You should start to see lather before you pull out and go to your face.
When you apply it to you face if it doesn't start making lather immediately then something is lacking. Dab it in water and give it another go.

If you have done all this and still not getting lather then I suspect your soap and water aren't getting along. Artisan soaps that are not popular can be a challenge to lather correctly if possible at all. Sometimes I think these small soap makers are targeting DE guys. I think this because of the links I see and other things they sell. For me these makers soaps can produce a great lather but you have to learn the perfect combo of soap and water. And most times it's just a matter of brush back bone and and/or more soap.

If you really REALLY need a special vid with details of how I have done it for years send me a PM. I'll give it a go for you.

The vid is on a soft soap. The particulars you mention Do Not Matter so much.

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Originally Posted by Crawler

Bob,
I've seen that video a couple times. He demonstrates a few points well, and even shows what the brush looked like once he had it loaded.

Still left a bit of mystery to the process. And face lathering is not ideal for noobies to start out on. That takes already knowing what a good lather is supposed to be.

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Face lathering is how I started 40 odd years ago so any newbie can do it, simple as that. You can use an old cereal bowl if you want to build lather in too. No matter how you do it you still have to get the water to soap ratio correct.

No, there really is no consistency to "exactly" how people load and build a lather. Everyone finds their own way of doing it. You just take any example that is reasonable and modify it to what works for you till you can get repeatable good results.

When you build your lather you want it to be rich and creamy, not dry and pasty or light and airy/bubbles in it. When you have the right amount of water to soap in the lather most will get a shine/sheen to them. When you pull your brush away from the lather it should leave a little peak like a good whipped cream.

To make it easier, stay with one good soap and one brush to eliminate variables introduced by switching soaps and brushes around.

Like most things with traditional wet shaving making a good lather is a bit of an art, not science, that has to be practiced till you get good at it.

Bob

Someone told me about the finger rubbing test a few weeks back I cannot remember who. But they helped me out so much. Hopefully they can chime in on that.

My experience being a fellow noob of 8 months in. I started bowl lathering because someone said it was easier. I started with a crap brush, my lather was crap. Got a new brush for Christmas and my lather making capability sky rocketed. Then I found face lathering and for me that was so much easier. I can nail it every time and bowl lathering for me now nails it about 80% of the time. After a few months lather making will just click for you and you'll get it.

As for the videos it's very hard because you do not have his brush or soap most likely and even if you do it's the process you need to be aware of not the exact thing that works for him because it may not work for you. I found the videos helpful you've just got to pick out what you need to know. Sometimes it's what they say that counts not what you see. :gl:

*sigh* I started this thread because of the number of instructional lather vids that never showed the lather. Not because of my own lacking lather.

The only issues that I'm having related to lather is that it takes me forever to shave still (so I only lather in sections). And, according to my self education, the VDH unscented soap I use might not be the best choice, as it is a "clear glycerin puck". I am making progress with my lather, via the de facto recommended method of trial and error. I will make do with what I have. I was not seeking some sort of Skype tutor. I am merely making a suggestion; planting a seed. Should somebody who does the occasional informative video have some spare time, maybe they could do a more targeted video on lather.

Y'all see these videos, and your brain translates what the person says to hook in with what you already know. What if somebody doesn't know square-one about wet shaving?

Another member here that started wet shaving about two weeks ago mentioned in their introduction post that they had only ever used electrics... and they were asking whether the SR they were eyeing was worth the price. I cringed. Especially after the learning curve I got switching from goo & cartridges to soap & SR.

The best thing I can compare this situation with the videos that "leave a lot to the imagination", is telling a child (8 to 10?) how to light a match simply by speaking. It's a rather simple concept, and very simple action to swipe the head of the match on the rough strip on the side of the box with the right amount of pressure (for the sake of argument, maybe you weren't quite that specific while instructing the child). But a child doesn't have previous, similar experiences to tie into this data they are hearing. It's basically the same thing, then, when you tell someone about to switch from electrics to SR that they "soak the brush, build the soap onto the brush, add a tiny amount of water, start building the lather, add more tiny amounts of water, and viola! Perfect lather! And mind your angles."

Am I still making sense? I'll stop now, before I get on a soapbox or somethin.

Sincerely,
Crawler.

Practice practice practice. It will come quicker than you think. Make a dry thick lather and then slowly add a few drops of water at a time until you turn it into a wet watery mess. Rinse it all down the drain and repeat a few times and you will learn a ton! For me two key things have opened the door. 1) soaking the puck to soften it (made all the difference in the world.) 2) start with a few drops and add slowly with drops from finger tips. Maybe 3-6 drops at a time. Now I can whip up a lather from Williams puck that rivals canned goo in less than a minute.

Maybe I'm not understanding your issue,,,:shrug:
But,,,,

Most of the videos related to wet shaving are done by individuals that don't make a living from it & their videos are just a way to share the pleasure of the experience. The videos are not necessarily there to instruct you in the same methodical manner, as a mechanic would in producing a video on how to break down a carburetor. Start making some videos that meet your standards,,, I'm sure it would help a lot of shavers.

Your example of matches,,,, funny little story,,, I'm 7 years old & caught striking box kitchen matches in the house one day by my mother. She calls my dad at work to tell him, "Little Johnny likes to play with matches."
My dad enters the bathroom later that night as I was taking a bath,,,, he smiles & asked me if I like matches,,,,, I knew that any answer would be wrong,,,, he empties a box of kitchen matches into the tub of water with me. He then tells me, "Enjoy yourself, for every match that does not light, you get a strike on the back with the belt." None of them lit & after the 10th or 12th lashing with the belt, as I sat in the tub, he got bored and left.

I don't use matches anymore after that,,,, I use a Zippo,,,:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Crawler

*sigh* I started this thread because of the number of instructional lather vids that never showed the lather. Not because of my own lacking lather.

Y'all see these videos, and your brain translates what the person says to hook in with what you already know. What if somebody doesn't know square-one about wet shaving?

Sincerely,
Crawler.

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Sorry to have misunderstood your complaint.

There are so many vids on how to lather and shave out there today you really have to wonder how people managed to learn these things in the old days. Like I said I started shaving 40+ years ago in prehistoric non internet vid times. I don't recall getting any in depth instructions from my father other than be careful and don't cut yourself, have at her.

It would have been so much easier with the internet and vids of today but would still entail experimenting and finding what works for you either way.

There is always room for improvements in tutorial vids for sure. Oth if a person can't in a relative short time figure out how to make a good lather with what is out there even now I have to shake my head. Take into consideration too the number of shave forums that a person can also go to for help with what ever a they need help with.

Bob

There was no videos when I started , maybe we're in an age where we want someone else to do the work instead of just doing it ourselves. Mtc

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Originally Posted by tcrideshd

There was no videos when I started , maybe we're in an age where we want someone else to do the work instead of just doing it ourselves. Mtc

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Lol. Like I tried to say: I'm not demanding someone go out and spend a whole day "whipping up" videos... excuse the pun, already worked my 8+hrs, shopped a bit, and had lunch, all before 11am.

Anyway... twas merely a suggestion. I'm willing to make the videos, but lack the resources at this time. I'm still a one soap show.

I'm not looking for someone to do the work for me. I'm among the exception to my generation (especially those younger). I'm old-fashioned. I take pride in my work. I believe in EARNING the money you make. I have trouble asking for help; not that it matters: sometimes, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. And if it's worth doing once, it's worth doing right the first time!!! And if you don't make a mess in the first place, there won't be one to clean up.
:rant:
These are the rules that mandate my life.

But I digest.

Okay I get it now. I know who to call if I want my videos critiqued :<0)