Still trying to master the lather...

**mscard** · 06-24-2010, 01:04 PM

Originally Posted by Fbones24

The simple solution to this problem is to buy two separate devices. I keep my soap in a soap dish/mug and I have a cheap lathering bowl I bought at wal-mart for less than $5. You should definitely take a trip to the Mart or Target and get a cheap lathering bowl.

Yeah I actually just ordered a puck of Gentlemen's Best Signature which comes in a wooden bowl, which should solve my problems. Right now I'm using classic brand soap from classicshaving.com. I'm not sure how much I like it. I've heard great things about GBS, so I'm going to give that one a shot too.

**Fbones24** · 06-24-2010, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by mscard

Yeah I actually just ordered a puck of Gentlemen's Best Signature which comes in a wooden bowl, which should solve my problems. Right now I'm using classic brand soap from classicshaving.com. I'm not sure how much I like it. I've heard great things about GBS, so I'm going to give that one a shot too.

Just another quick suggestion. If you are not already tapped out on the "soap spending" and you are still having problems after trying the GBS, I would suggest mamabear's soaps. Not only do they provide great glide, but in my limited experience, they have been by far, the easiest to generate a rich lather. My first time using her soap, my noob self forgot to wet my brush and I was still able to build up a lather. I have not used GBS or Classic Brand so I don't know how they compare.

**mscard** · 06-24-2010, 03:02 PM

I'll have to try mamabear's soaps. The only issue is that I haven't found a store near me that carries shaving products aside from cartridge razors and canned shaving cream, so I have to order all of this kind of stuff online, which gets expensive with all of the shipping costs.

**dward** · 06-24-2010, 03:09 PM

Work with the portions of water and soap/cream. It will vary depending on hardness and temperature of your water. Ideally, the lather will become the consistency of something like whipped cream, not meringue. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula. You are just going to have to experiment until you have it the way you want it.

**mscard** · 06-24-2010, 03:17 PM

I'll have to keep working mine, but I've not gotten the consistency I like - it's never thick enough. Maybe I'm not spending a long enough amount of time on it. I also can't ever get a good volume of lather in the mug... I just get a little bit. Idk, I'd like to watch videos of someone making a lather from just soap. Anyone have a good one?

**Fbones24** · 06-24-2010, 03:43 PM

Originally Posted by mscard

I'll have to keep working mine, but I've not gotten the consistency I like - it's never thick enough. Maybe I'm not spending a long enough amount of time on it. I also can't ever get a good volume of lather in the mug... I just get a little bit. Idk, I'd like to watch videos of someone making a lather from just soap. Anyone have a good one?

I love this simple demonstration using MB soap:

YouTube - Mama Bear Demonstrasjon

**mscard** · 06-24-2010, 03:46 PM

Yeah I really don't add very much water, but it always feels like if I add more it'll get runny. I'll try working with a bit more water.

**kaiyen** · 06-24-2010, 08:40 PM

FWIW, working with Alraz's The Bomb, which often is described as having an explosive lather-building quality with a small amount of product, I use probably 1.5x as much product due to the quality of my water.

I know the water quality isn't great because of how it affects my b&w film development. I have to use distilled water throughout because it literally changed the speed of my film. So you really do have to kind of just work with it.

Since I use creams for the most part, I use amount X, then use water in small doses, then bigger doses, until I get the right consistency but perhaps not the right amount. Sometimes I spend 2 minutes and get enough just to cover my face once. I then start adding more product, then repeating the small amount of water, then larger amounts of water cycle until I get it right.

I'm closer now. Still not there yet.

**mcjacob71990** · 06-24-2010, 08:56 PM

I used to use Uberlather however for the sake of cabinet space and cost i decided to try to just use soap. I was having the same problem as you with the lather dissipating on one side before i was able to finish the other. I worked on it for quite some time and ive found a great method.

1. Drip a bit of water onto the top of my shave soap and leave it sitting for a few minutes. (water is not an exact amount but for me it was just enough to cover the bottom of my soap dish with a thin layer)

2. Pour the soapy water into my lather bowl

3. Wet my brush and shake the water out, then work the brush over the soap until the bristles begin to become laden with soap and clump together.

4. Add a few drops of glycerin to my lather bowl

5. go to town on the water and glycerin mix with the soap laden brush for a bout 90 seconds or until a satisfactory amount of lather has been built up.

This method provides me with more than enough lather for a shave with 1 or 2 reapplications for more passes.

Hope this is helpful, its not an exact science, try experimenting with different mixtures until you find something that works for you.

Good luck and happy lathering

**razorsharpZ71** · 06-24-2010, 09:16 PM

I saw this on another recent thread here, but there is a guy who recommended putting some water-based personal lubricant in the lather mixture. Apparently, it contains glycerin and makes for a nice shave. All the credit goes to Jimbo.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/soaps...lubricity.html

Thread: Still trying to master the lather...

LinkBack

Thread Tools

Display

The Following User Says Thank You to Fbones24 For This Useful Post:

Posting Permissions