Thread: Lather vanishing problem

Hello everybody!
I've been reading quite a while this forum and wiki and would like to thank you all because you have helped me a lot starting shaving with straights.

My biggest problem at the moment is lathering I hope you can help me with that too. Or actually I think that the lathering is not a problem but after I have lathered my col. conk's soap in a bowl it starts quite soon to vanish from my face and from bowl also. I'm not able to put so much lather on my face that there would still be something left before I'm finished shaving.

I'm not sure what is happening to lather but it seems to be drying up. But adding water doesn't seem to help. Lather is not stable how mother how much water I add. And I'm pretty sure that I have also dried lather which is too dry. I'm pretty much out of ideas with this. Does anyone have any ideas what I could be doing wrong?

I do not recall Col Conk soap being one of the better latherers out there, but what I do is put hot water onto the soap and soak the brush. Then I squeeze out all the water from the brush. I use pressure to gather up lots of soap and then add a little water until I get an explosion of self supporting lather. I think your not getting the right amount of soap, mixed in with the right amount of water. Then I think you might also not be airing it up right with the brush.

For me the entire affair is a little violent. Try being a little more forceful about the whole thing.

Hey Smark,
I have used Col. Conk, in the past and there are a couple things i think you can do to improve the lifespan of your lather...
If ya think you have the soap/water ratios worked out, then as mentioned soaking your brush works well, adding glycerine really helps as well as possibly using filtered water...maybe there is something in your water that is reacting with the soap?

Thanks,

Mac

Thank you so far! I've been soaking my brush and also tried to squeeze it really dry after that so I've have got lot of soap and just a little water. And then added few drops of water at once. I think I've been able to produce a pretty thick and nice looking lather but it doesn't survive long enough to shave even one pass with it. Although it's hard for me to say anything about quality of lather because pictures and videos is all I've seen besides the one I've made. I'm not sure if I have right relation of water and soap but I've had too much and too little water and neither seems to work.

Is it normal to have short lifespan of lather if it is too dry and also if it is too wet?

Tap water quality here in Finland is really good and hardness in my area is between soft and semi hard. I don't think that is a problem but could always test some bottled water. Glycerin helps also with lathering? How much should I add?

Oh and one more question. I usually wash my face or take a shower before lathering. But my face is usually dry when I'm ready to put some lather on it. So should I spill some water to my face just before I put some lather on it?

I always have my face wet before lathering.
Have you tried shaving creams? I find the ladder from cream just great and long lasting. Try Proraso or C.O. Bigelow (made by the same company I believe)

I haven't used Col Conk soap, but whenever I use any shave soap I make sure that I " mash " the brush on the soap when I'm charging it. I make a motion like I'm using a plunger on a sink hole to get the soap well and truly into the brush. When I move the brush to a bowl I whisk the brush around the sides of the bowl to generate lather, avoiding the bottom of the bowl initially.

Are you using a bowl just to generate the lather, or are you lathering directly on the soap?

My best man uses Col Conk soaps, and swears by them. I can attest to the fact that one can build rather decent lather with them. Speaking of which, TonyJ and gugi have provided all the information on building lather from soap you might ever need: Making basic soap lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki.

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress.

Regards,
Robin

^^+1

usually if your lather is dissapearing it means not enough water or not enough soap.

Does your lather have a bunch of tiny air bubbles/holes? you may need to add more soap, try swirling your brush on the soap upside down it can help work the soap deeper into the knot that way (if that makes sense)

you said you already tried adding water slowly. Did you keep doing it till you went from to dry to perfect to runny soapy water? It can take 1-3 minutes to make a good lather sometimes. Sometimes what you think is great lather is really too dry if you add more water and mix another minute or so the lather will explode in your bowl.

Good luck let us know how you progress and if you find out what the problem was!

I use col conk soap, it can build a good lather but there is some tricks to make the most of it. Soak the brush and get it wet, I usually only shake out one swish of water out of the brush. If you have a soft brush hold the brush hair and load the brush about ten or so circles, then hold the handle and piston the brush up and down, while doing another 10 or so circles, that will load the soap deep into the brush.
Now slowly add water to your bowl, or add water onto the brush if you face lather.

Starting with a wet face helps a lot too

Crom