Thread: building a lather with shaving soap

hey is there any other video links or help i can get besides the intro to traditional wet shaving on youtube. im still having a problem getting a good lather going...mabey its my soap?, any help would be great

Originally Posted by DeathMetalDremel

hey is there any other video links or help i can get besides the intro to traditional wet shaving on youtube. im still having a problem getting a good lather going...mabey its my soap?, any help would be great

Can you give us some more info on your technique? Your brush, your soap? Is your water hard? Are you face lathering, bowl lathering? Maybe someone here can help!

Originally Posted by DeathMetalDremel

hey is there any other video links or help i can get besides the intro to traditional wet shaving on youtube. im still having a problem getting a good lather going...mabey its my soap?, any help would be great

Found this on a German soap vendor site: Filmupload.de: Looks like whipped cream LOL

How do you do it? Just whirl the brush on the soap cake? Tamp? Stomp? Grate soap into mug?

Why dont you use cream? Soap is such a hassle!

I found this to be very helpful Illustrated Guide to Making Basic Soap Lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Today I did it according to this and I got to much lather for my bowl to handle

Also check out Mantic 59 on youtube

Also try mixing a little shave cream in there and you will get a richer lather.

what ive been doing is
step...
1.soak brush
2.drain excess water from brush
3.grab at the top of the bristles
4.couple rounds in the soap dish
5.few drops of water in a bowl...lots of swirling
6.application

my brush and soap are wilkinson sword. made by gillette canada. i dunno much about them my gf got my all my straight razor stuff for christmas. my water is hard

You will have to experiment with soap : water ratios but hard water will not help your lathermaking at all.
Try a tiny amount of baking soda added to the water or collect rain water or get some distilled water.
Some soaps may lather ok in hard water depending on their surfactant content.

The Wiki does have some good advice, but nothing replaces practice and experience. Keep at it and when you find the right combination of soap, water and brush swirls stick to it. You'll be getting great lather before you know it.

Originally Posted by DeathMetalDremel

what ive been doing is
step...
1.soak brush
2.drain excess water from brush
3.grab at the top of the bristles
4.couple rounds in the soap dish
5.few drops of water in a bowl...lots of swirling
6.application

my brush and soap are wilkinson sword. made by gillette canada. i dunno much about them my gf got my all my straight razor stuff for christmas. my water is hard

A couple isn't very clear. You should be swirling on the soap for at least 20 seconds, maybe even 30. You should be generating a kind of "prelather" on the soap itself. And only add more water to the soap if your cream seems too thick,t dry and pasty.

Originally Posted by JimR

A couple isn't very clear. You should be swirling on the soap for at least 20 seconds, maybe even 30. You should be generating a kind of "prelather" on the soap itself. And only add more water to the soap if your cream seems too thick,t dry and pasty.

+1

Some soaps, depending on the stiffness of the brush, can use 50~100 swirls on a cake of soap, especially if the soap has dried out a bit.

I have a question. When you make the lather in the bowl, do you want to start putting it on your beard just before it gets to the really thick lather stage. That way when you massage it into your beard you make the really thick stuff, or do you bring it to full stage in the bowl. I want to try it this way beacuse I've been building it on my face and would like to see if this works better for me. Thanks and God Bless!!!

Originally Posted by JimR

A couple isn't very clear. You should be swirling on the soap for at least 20 seconds, maybe even 30. You should be generating a kind of "prelather" on the soap itself. And only add more water to the soap if your cream seems too thick,t dry and pasty.