Thread: Horrible lather

That Mantic video is a gem, I have learned so much from it, definitely a favorite of mine. Besides the obvious points made in regard of the soap to water ratio, I would like to add that if you increase both soap and water at the same time, you may end up in a similar situation. However as Fbones says, there is a critical amount of soap that you need to use that is determined by your particular conditions: soap, brush, water and technique. Start with enough but not too much soap and then start adding water in small quantities. It is often easier at first to keep the amount of soap constant and add water. It is not impossible to make good lather after you have added to much water but it is certainly harder. I would also like to point out that new brushes, particularly boar brushes, take some time to break in. Until then, lathering may not be as efficient as you would like. One thing that has helped me in the past to speed up the process of breaking the brush in is to put some soap and lather on the palm of my hand for sometime while I watch TV .

Al raz.

Originally Posted by claytor

Sounds like your water ratio is pretty accurate (since the lather isn't running off or anything like that) but it's the amount of soap that's the culprit. Next time you load the brush from the puck squeeze the hair together to make a tight clump. Press the end of the clump (still squeezed) into the puck. Do two to three times as much swirling as you usually do to really load up that brush. The hair when released from your squeeze should be covered on the tip and stick together. From there, build lather in your scuttle as usual but you'll have to add more water. You should notice you get a lot more soap than you need doing this.

The squeezing technique is what i tend to do to load my brush. The idea of adding that much extra soap is rule that out as a problem/fix the problem and to give you an accurate sense of how much soap you need to make good lather. Good luck and keep us posted. Pictures are good too .

Thanks for the tips! I will try them next time I'm shaving. I've decided to hang up my weapons for a short while until the cuts on my face (that 'stache are is one tricky bastard if I may say so myself >.>) heal; I don't want to reopen any of the cuts. I'll see about the pictures

Originally Posted by Alraz

That Mantic video is a gem, I have learned so much from it, definitely a favorite of mine. Besides the obvious points made in regard of the soap to water ratio, I would like to add that if you increase both soap and water at the same time, you may end up in a similar situation. However as Fbones says, there is a critical amount of soap that you need to use that is determined by your particular conditions: soap, brush, water and technique. Start with enough but not too much soap and then start adding water in small quantities. It is often easier at first to keep the amount of soap constant and add water. It is not impossible to make good lather after you have added to much water but it is certainly harder. I would also like to point out that new brushes, particularly boar brushes, take some time to break in. Until then, lathering may not be as efficient as you would like. One thing that has helped me in the past to speed up the process of breaking the brush in is to put some soap and lather on the palm of my hand for sometime while I watch TV .

Al raz.

I was messing around with all the variables last time and the first time I ended up with extremely runny lather and the second time the lather looked fine but half way through shaving it was dry as a scab. I tried spreading it on the hand, and I'm not a particular fan of that technique. I can retry, but eventually I'd have to switch to the bowl, otherwise I'll have to regenerate the lather before each pass.

I used a van der hagan brush, bowl, and soap for a long time. When building a lather with these, i wouldent soak the brush in water. Just run some warm water in the brush shake it 2 or three times until the water doesnt "whoop" out of the brush, and into the sink. Just keep building lather in the bowl ontop the soap. Be sure to wet your face before you apply the lather. I think a little practice is all ya need. I mean the soap is only a buck fifty at walmart so dont be affraid to play with it. really hope this can help.

A different approach:

. . . Strop the razor _before_ showering ?

It sounds like the lather is drying out on your face, in the time it takes you to strop. Your facial hair should be reasonably wet after a shower, and might not need any time "soaking in lather".

If your lather is decent (not too wet, not too dry) when you put it on your face, shave it off _right then_. That's what I do.

[This idea is worth what you paid for it.]

Charles

Please remember that it doesn't matter how thick the lather is. I know a lot of people will disagree with me on that statement. However, my belief is that a thin lather that proficiently coats your skin works just as well as a thick lather that coats your skin.

The most important part is the skin's surface coating of the soap/cream as that is what lubricates and protects your skin from the blade.

I am also new to wet/str8 shaving and was having a hard time figuring it out. I now get routine three pass shaves with no nicks. The lather problem was solved for me by using uberlather. I don't know how to link video but you can find it by searching for uberlather by a member named jockeys. I even use his redneck scuttle. It is good stuff and really helped me out.

Some soaps and creams are easier to lather than others. L'occitane Cade is what I'm using right now and it's so incredibly easy to lather! Granted I've only tried six different products throughout my wetshaving career.

I only need a few swirls to load the brush then it lathers up immediately in my bowl. I can add a lot of water and it won't collapse on me. This is a very forgiving soap and it works nicely so if you're still having problems, try it out!