Thread: lather

help me
i sust began with straight razor shaving but i don't succeed in making a good lather what am i doing wrong
i get a very thin layer of lather but when i try to shave the blade doesn't glides smoothly over my skin.
i'm jusing an omega shavin brush and palmolive shaving stick

stijn

May not be the lather, could be that you are using too much pressure, too much blade angle. The First straight razor shave - Straight Razor Place Wiki should be a good place to start.

I too am just getting started at all of this. I found a great deal of help from these tutorials:

Category:Lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki

If you're interested, Jockeys has great video on making uberlather. Even if you don't make uberlather, the loading and whipping of the lather are good guidelines:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/videos/32963-jockeys-makes-some-uber-lather.html

Practice makes perfect!

Originally Posted by InstaRAD

May not be the lather, could be that you are using too much pressure, too much blade angle. The First straight razor shave - Straight Razor Place Wiki should be a good place to start.

i dont think so becouse when i use shaving gel i have no problem at all

Whipping up a lather may require more time with the brush and getting a feel to balance the soap and water in the process.

Starting out, I expected straight shaving soap to lather up like other commercial soaps and it didn't. What works for me is 30 seconds lathering on the soap/hand and then 30 seconds on the face. Sometimes I need to dip the ends of the brush hairs in the water to add water to the lathering process.

I still have to discipline myself on the time to make a lather as I naturally want to cut it short and start shaving.

Good Luck,

Pabster

Whipping up a good lather is a bit of a knack, but doesn't take long to learn. It's something you can do anytime, and is a good investment in time if you're trying a straight.

Always better to use too much product to start and cut it back as you get practised. Any brush can do it, nice ones just make it easier and do it with a bit of luxury.

A good soap is a must too - one that lathers easily like Tabac or L'Occitane Cade are great. Just start with a soaked and squeezed brush on a puck that had a bit of warm water sit on it for a few mins, then pour off the puck water. Load the brush way up, how long depends on how firm your brush is, so YMMV - then go to a bowl or your face to build it up. After a couple of minutes it should look wet and creamy, never sudsy, thin or foamy.

Mantic59 on Youtube has a number of excellent lather tutes. Check them out. I'd save te Uberlather til you can do regular fantasic lather - you have to know how before you can make it better.

I had zero luck getting a good lather with the Palmolive stick until I milled it into a container.

Originally Posted by Drubbing

...I'd save te Uberlather til you can do regular fantasic lather - you have to know how before you can make it better.

Right, I agree. I just recommended Jockeys video for it's excellent example of loading a brush, added water a little at a time, and how to whip it up. Should work well in most scenarios.

Hello, stijn:

If I may make a suggestion:

If I were in your situation, the first thing I would do would be to retire the shave stick and try a puck of Mama Bear, Michell's Wool Fat, Tabac, Truefitt & Hill, Trumper, Taylor of Old Bond Street, Edwin Jagger, and many others. I mean a real puck of soap. Or tube or tub of shaving cream.

Shake off all the water from the brush and begin loading it by swirling it around in the puck, occasionally pushing the brush down into the soap gently, for about a minute or so. Then apply the brush to the face in circular motion, occasionally nudging a little tip into a little bit of water, and continuing the process for couple of minutes. Add a tiny bit of water as needed. You'll have good lather.

If you like to make lather in a mug, do the same process in the mug and when your lather has reached a rich and creamy consistency, then soap your face.

Regards,

Obie

Originally Posted by geruchtemoaker

help me
i sust began with straight razor shaving but i don't succeed in making a good lather what am i doing wrong
i get a very thin layer of lather but when i try to shave the blade doesn't glides smoothly over my skin.
i'm jusing an omega shavin brush and palmolive shaving stick

stijn

Aha shaving stick.... it has been years.

First foggy remembered thought ....
use your whiskers as a stiff brush.

So first rinse your face with cool to warm water.
Rub some shave stick soap on your
whiskers then rub your face with wet hands and
build a half lather.

Rinse.

Rub some additional shave stick soap on your
whiskers then rub your face with wet hands and
build a half lather. Switch to a damp brush, work
up a face lather adding drips of water to the brush
as needed.

The key if I recall what my Dad did was to use the
whiskers as a lathering tool. In fact you might
not even need a brush. Just do not rush you still
need +3 min of lather soak time....

It will not be uber-thick lather...

Or just stick with your other lather that works for
you.....