Thread: Dry Lather

By the time I go the shave the other cheek I find the lather has dried up, how does one avoid this? Is it poor lather creation? I use Taylors of Old Bond Street cream.

The key to a good lather is to use a smaller amount of water. Soak your brush and then shake it out. Put a little cream on it and then swish the brush in your palm or a bowl to start the lather growing. Then add just a few drops of water and swish again. You can do this a few times to really build a nice thick lather. It really works well when the brush is loaded correctly.

Have fun.

Also, sometimes when we start out it can take so long to go from one side to the other even the best soaps and creams can dry out. If that's not your problem just follow Lynn's advice.

+1 on everyones advice so far, I had this problem with MWF and tabac soaps, I solved it with a penny sixed blob of glycerine! its cheap and will also help in your lather building. I like to build a lather and then add it, aqdding it before doesn't seem to work as well.

Originally Posted by pritesh

By the time I go the shave the other cheek I find the lather has dried up, how does one avoid this? Is it poor lather creation? I use Taylors of Old Bond Street cream.

Shave Faster I am only sorta joking, as you get faster this won't be an issue, assuming you are making the lather like Lynn told ya, until you do try lathering 1/2 the face at a time or re-lathering as you get to the second half...

I generally soak the brush for a few mins in warm water, shake it off, place about a pea sized amount cream or a tad more into the bowl and swish it round for a minute or so and add a few drops of water if i feel it requires it. By the time I get to the other cheek the lather is dry and power like. I will try and add a little more water to it and see what happens.

I do both sides of my face before I do the dreaded upper lip and chin area. By the time I finish the sides the cream is dried on my chin and upper lip so I just relather. The drying lather generally has softened my beard on the chin and upper lip while I was shaving the sides.

This is not a great problem. Lather is cheap and plentiful.

Happy Shaving!

Should the lather be applied to a dry face or damp face?

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Shave Faster I am only sorta joking, as you get faster this won't be an issue, assuming you are making the lather like Lynn told ya, until you do try lathering 1/2 the face at a time or re-lathering as you get to the second half...

IMHO, lathering the entire face is good as it continues to hydrate and soften the whiskers. However, if you allow the lather to dry, the soap begins to act as a drying agent. When I have lather that starts to get dry, I wet my hand with hot water and rub the dry lather to work it into the whiskers. Then I reapply some fresh lather. Putting fresh lather on top of lather that has dried leads to a drag or blade skipping.

Lather is cheap - keep the skin and whiskers hydrated.

Originally Posted by jerrybyers

IMHO, lathering the entire face is good as it continues to hydrate and soften the whiskers. However, if you allow the lather to dry, the soap begins to act as a drying agent. When I have lather that starts to get dry, I wet my hand with hot water and rub the dry lather to work it into the whiskers. Then I reapply some fresh lather. Putting fresh lather on top of lather that has dried leads to a drag or blade skipping.

Lather is cheap - keep the skin and whiskers hydrated.

This is what I've started to do. If I see some dry lather, which sometimes happens in the areas where the lather was applied too thin, then I refresh it.