Thread: Having a hard time creating decent lather

All along i thought my crummy lather was due to the cheap wal-mart soap and boar brush i got. So i got my Truefitt and Hill shave cream in the mail yesterday and a decent starter badger brush today. Still i seem to be having an issue creating lather like ive seen in the videos (using the same cream as mine in a few).

I pretty much let hot water and the brush soak in a mug while i prep my face, then i drain the hot water from the mug and shake it from my brush. I put some of the cream in the mug and begin swirling and it just ends up creating a bit of lather on the brush itself or some on the edges...not near as thick as the videos ive seen.

The only way i can get decent lather is if i add more cream, but adding more water seems to water it down too much. I dont want to have to use a ton of cream everytime (this stuff was expensive!!) and all the videos say a "almond" sized amount will work fine.

Can anyone who uses creams let me know what "recipe" works best for you and how you get good lather? Thank you

Have you looked here?
It shows what amounts to use. Be fairly rough with it. I scrunch & plunge the brush to incorporate the lather as it forms, & whip it, like i'm beating eggs.

I am using a separate mug from the one my puck is in. I put just a touch of hot water on the puck to soften it a bit before I'm ready to start. After face prep, I add about 1/4 teaspoon of hot water in my lather mug,wet the brush and shake all excess water out, swirl the brush on the puck to load it then begin mixing, whipping, beating what ever you wish to call it. As it starts to make I can drizzle a bit more water if it's too dry or swirl on the puck to add soap. It takes some practice (just like everything else) but you will get the hang of it. I did.

Shaking the brush and adding water later is more difficult than simply letting the brush hold its natural load of water.

I remove my brush from the mug of water and hold it vertically so excess water runs off. I swirl it around lightly in the pot of cream 5-10 times. If there is any water left in the pot of cream, I tip it into the empty mug. I stir the brush quite slowly for up to 30s. This gives a thick creamy lather - can't see skin through it - and will last for 4 passes with plenty remaining.

I think you are shaking out too much water. Also your new brush may need breaking in (clean it with shampoo a few times.)

Where is the latherking when we need him?

Originally Posted by Rajagra

Shaking the brush and adding water later is more difficult than simply letting the brush hold its natural load of water.

I remove my brush from the mug of water and hold it vertically so excess water runs off. I swirl it around lightly in the pot of cream 5-10 times. If there is any water left in the pot of cream, I tip it into the empty mug. I stir the brush quite slowly for up to 30s. This gives a thick creamy lather - can't see skin through it - and will last for 4 passes with plenty remaining.

I think you are shaking out too much water. Also your new brush may need breaking in (clean it with shampoo a few times.)

Maybe thats the issue im running into here, ive been completely ringing the water out of the brush. Youre just saying to let the excess drip off the brush?

Rajagra's point about the water is valid. I give mine a gentle flick, but as it's a silvertip, there'a quite a lot left in there.

Originally Posted by shorynot

Maybe thats the issue im running into here, ive been completely ringing the water out of the brush. Youre just saying to let the excess drip off the brush?

Yes, I just hold it still for about 5 seconds. Sometimes I hold it bristles up, it seems to release the excess water more quickly.
My brush is silvertip so it holds lots of water. I don't use too much cream, I've been using this tub for 6 months for about half my shaves, I'm about 3/4 through the tub.
I don't whisk vigorously, that makes frothy suds for me, at least at first. Slower stirring works better for me. I end up with lather so thick and creamy it's hard to avoid the "Father Christmas" effect on the first pass. It is most definitely not too watery.

As you can see there are different methods that work.

For reference I use Taylors of Old Bond St. cream. My water is hard.

Originally Posted by Rajagra

Shaking the brush and adding water later is more difficult than simply letting the brush hold its natural load of water.

I remove my brush from the mug of water and hold it vertically so excess water runs off. I swirl it around lightly in the pot of cream 5-10 times. If there is any water left in the pot of cream, I tip it into the empty mug. I stir the brush quite slowly for up to 30s. This gives a thick creamy lather - can't see skin through it - and will last for 4 passes with plenty remaining.

I think you are shaking out too much water. Also your new brush may need breaking in (clean it with shampoo a few times.)

This is my method as well. Your new brush should hold the proper amount of water. Experiment with the amount of time you let the water run off. I find 2 seconds is too long. Have fun with lather practice. Hey, this is supposed to be fun.

Several things can cause a low quality lather, the most important is any oil left on your brush (break it in) or using a preshave oil. The only oil I have found that does not crap out a good lather is olive oil or vit. e oil. The stuff you buy premade that I have tried have kill my lather. That may be a cause if the stuff listed above does not cure your problem.

Crom