Thread: Making Lather

Originally Posted by Denno

Im sorry 2 minutes to whip up some lather? I whip it up in 30-40 seconds.

There are many variables, you should spend as long as needed, it's not a race (at least not at this point of the shave.)
Hard water slows it down, hard soap is different to creams, badger brushes can be quicker than boar brushes.

I had to follow this advice to get good lather from a puck of soap:

How to make great lather from a soap ~ Tutorial - Badger & Blade
(From: Lather Help. )

Alternatively this sounds excellent:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...tml#post319377

+1 Rajagra I was reading and going to post the same 2 threads. I originally posted the one from Badgers and while still looking on building better lather I found the other. They both helped me out I have gotten great results from both. Just take your time winterkid and you will get it down it takes some time. And welcome to SRP this is a great place with lots of great advice for us new straight shavers

Thanks guys. I read both links and the soaking the brush and adding some water to soap really worked! My family had fun playing in the lather and we had some left over.

You guys are great!

I'll just be sitting watching TV , then get my soap brush water bowl and make so lather... I get a nice lather with in a a minute.

This is an article I found on the Badgerandblade site. Works great for me. After I load the brush I move to a bowl to make the lather. Have fun! Making lather is pretty cool but keep it warm.
Dannyr

How to make great lather from a soap ~ Tutorial
The following is a guide and suggestions for the foundation for a great lather.

This tutorial was developed by a group of B&B members in collaboration. A team of struggling new wetshavers worked with more experienced members to learn how to make great lathers with a variety of soaps. They documented their progress – triumphs and setbacks – and developed the method shown below. This method of lather making is not the only way to get to a great shave – it is however in our collective experience the simplest and easiest to communicate through our chosen medium. We hope with this we can get our new lathermeisters on the fast track to great shaves. Enjoy!

OK lets get started~
If you are using a soft brush it may take up to a full minute to fully load your brush, or as little as 15 seconds with a premium soap brush.

1. Fill sink with hot water and submerge bowl in water.

2. Place brush into bowl and let soak while you are showering- at least a couple of minutes.

3. Place a thin layer of water on your soap and let soak for at least a couple of minutes. (A teaspoon's worth)

4. Remove brush from bowl and squeeze bristles vigorously. Give it a couple of good shakes as well.

5. Dump the thin layer of water off of soap. (Your lather bowl is a good place for this)

6. Begin swirling your brush in a circular motion with light to medium pressure. Add some plunger motions, use the whole brush including the sides of the brush. Continue swirling until a paste-like consistency begins to form on the top of the soap and on the brush.
Bubbles mean too much water. A large volume of lather means too much water.
Continue to swirl until a noticeable audible and tactile difference is made when the brush moves over the soap. When the paste is forming the brush is noisier and seems to drag over the soap instead of smoothly going over the top. The brush will “drag”.

7. Take a look at your brush, do the bristles clump together? If yes, you're done. If no, continue to swirl and load.

8. Now you can build lather on your face or move to a bowl!

9. Add water as needed- a few drips at a time.

i do not own a boars hair brush but i have heard a badger hair makes better lather use hot water and swirl the brush like there is no tomorrow

Badger might be better for you, but you should be able to get very good results with your boar brush while you are getting the hang of it... from what everyone has said you seem to be on the right path.... It only gets better.

Originally Posted by winterkid

30 sec? Wow. I tried it again this morning and it was still whimpy.

I'm using a soap bar I got from a local barber online seller (not associated with SRP). It was only $1.50 so I thought I'd try it. There's not a name on it, so maybe its the soap.

This morning I rubbed my boar brush in the mug with the bar until the tips were showing the soap. Then I switched to another mug to make the lather. I added about 1tsp or water and slowly added more since it looked dry. Eventually I added too much and it was runny and ran down my neck.

Since that was a bust I rinsed out my brush ans redipped it into the soap mug and tried mixing it on my face. All that did is make my face sudsy, but no real later. By the time I shaved one cheeck what use to resemble lather was all but gone.

Is it the soap? Is it my whipping method? Brush? or expectations?

You're using a 1.50 soap bar? You want to get some better soap -thats prolly Williams or Marvy? another cheap soap. They aren't bad per se, but if you're starting out the whole learning to lather and using a straight you definitely want the good stuff. Get some Tabac, Mitchells Wool Fat, Honeybee Spa, ect. I got my Tabac from qedusa.com, I guess they still have it there... you may have to email them, the website is notorious...

As far as method goes, I just rub the soap cake on my whiskers till I have a good build up, then build a lather on my face with the wet brush. If you load up your face with soap you shouldn't have much trouble with this method.

Originally Posted by Rajagra

There are many variables, you should spend as long as needed, it's not a race (at least not at this point of the shave.)
Hard water slows it down, hard soap is different to creams, badger brushes can be quicker than boar brushes.

I had to follow this advice to get good lather from a puck of soap:

How to make great lather from a soap ~ Tutorial - Badger & Blade
(From: Lather Help. )

Alternatively this sounds excellent:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...tml#post319377

Hehe ofcourse its not a race. Just feelt that 2 minutes seemed like a real long time. I use a mug to make the lather to. Just use the same cup that soap is in is not that good.

A lathering trick I learned last night...

My soap bar in a small coffee mug was getting gooy on the bottom of the bar where the water splashed over the edge of the bar. I guess it's not a health problem, but I just didn't like the way water was getting stuck under the bar without any exposure to light or air- it just seemed stagnant and a place something would grow that's unwanted.

So I popped my small mug and bar into the microwave and melted the bar. After leaving it out overnight it hardened again and it ready to go. No water will get stuck under the bar now.

Be careful not to use the melted soap (duh!) and try to stir it before it hardens with a spoon or brush to make sure its mixed properly. Rinse out the spoon or brush proptly or you'll have a soapy goo stuck to them.