Thread: Having a hard time creating decent lather

Everyone does this a bit differently, but I think that MANY people around here wildly over complicate lathering. (and shaving for that matter)

I will suggest one thing, not because it's better, or because it's the "right" way, but simply because it's different, and works really well for some folks.


Face lathering.

The basic concept is pretty simple. Instead of lathering in a mug or scuttle, you lather right on your face.

Step 1: Get the brush wet, and shake out all the excess water.
Step 2: Load the brush with creme or soap. Do this by swirling the brush on top of your soap, on in a bowl with creme in it. Yes, you can face lather with creme.
Step 3:Go nuts on your face with the brush to create lather.
Step 4: Adjust. If the lather is shiny and dripping, just load the brush up with more soap or creme. If the lather feels sticky on your face, dip the dip of the brush in more water. Don't run it under the tap, don't dunk the whole thing and start over, just barely dip the tips of the bristles in the water.

If you do either of those things to adjust your lather, and find that you've gone all the way from sticky to shiny or vice versa, you're doing too much. Less is more.



The other thing to point out, is that a lot of the videos go WAY beyond anything that you need to do for shaving. Some go so far that in my experience (wet shaving for about 13 years now, although only with a straight for a few months) a lot of the lathers you see in videos are going to hurt your shave more than help it. There is no reason to make yourself look like santa. If you WANT to look like santa, be my guest. It's fun sometimes. But, it's completely unnecessary.

Your lather does 3 things.
1. It lubricates your skin. You can do this by wetting your face, and then smearing creme over your skin right out of the tube without lathering. You could even do this by coating your face in butter. That would be pretty stupid, and expensive, but it would get the job done.
2. Provides visual feedback for folks with bad eyes like me. i.e. if there's no lather on a spot, I know I shaved there.
3. Provides a little cushion to your razor. As long as your lather is thick enough that it doesn't run off your face, and you know what you're doing, you'll get enough cushion.

So, aim for a lather that is "just" thick enough that you can't see much skin through it. If you find that you enjoy huge gobs of foamy lather, that's great, and it's a skill you can develop, but it's not something you need to worry about right off the bat.