I've been working on my lather lately and haven't quite hit something I like.

Did it work better before?
Before I started straight shaving, I was wetting my face with hot water, rubbing it with a shave stick soap and then lathering with my fingers (and then with a brush). This seemed to produce a decent slippery surface. I'm thinking of revisiting this - and just re-wet with hot watered brush and dab of soap/cream.

Recent issues with lathering
Recently I've been using the Body Shop maca root shaving cream and have tried:

Lathering in bowl
Lathering on face (seems best with hot water in brush).

First application - hottest and best lather seems to be when I lather directly on face.

2nd application -
  • Bowl lathering -haven't been able to get it warm enough in bowl (and I've been experimenting with double bowl combinations sitting in sink of water)
  • Face lathering - I could do 2nd and 3rd applications with fresh load of hot water on brush and new load of cream - but it seems wasteful of the cream.

Will keep experimenting with variations on above (if that makes sense).

2nd big Q - Lathering before stropping?

Noticed that this seems to be popular.

But doesn't the face cool down, the lather dry out and you need a re-application?

Do people go straight into the shave without a new lather?

Any feedback or tips, gratefully appreciated.

All the best,
Michael.