Thread: Help an old guy out with lathering

Originally Posted by cau

This asks a question I've had for a while and never had answered. Do you ever have to go back to the jar for more soap and rebuild the lather in the brush? Sometimes I feel I need to add more soap because the lather left in the brush is too wet. I rinse my face between passes and the extra water thins the lather... Suggestions.

When I get a lather that is too thin I shake out the brush in the sink, and hit the soap puck again. No rules in this game. Whatever works. It is just tough to figure out what works sometimes. I've been using a shaving brush since 1973 and I ain't got it figured out yet !

Personally, I just soak the brush in the inside of the scuttle (which is filled with hot water) as I'm getting ready to shave. Then I shake it out to a degree to fit the soap I am using. That's it really. if I miscalculated I might have to either go back to the soap or add more water however it ain't rocket science. It's either more soap or more water if I didn't get it right.

Have you seen any of the YouTube videos with bowl or face-lathering? There are a plethora of them and many are demonstrating some very good lathering techniques.
This might be a redundant question as you have been doing this for quite some time, I presume, but what soap and brush are you using, as this might be contributing to your 'average' lather?

Personally, I start with a damp brush that I shake out most of the water from, then I swirl the brush on the puck for 30-45 seconds, intermittently adding small amounts of water so that I can pick up that 'gooey and sticky' proto-lather; then I face-lather for 2-4 minutes, again, adding small amounts of water, intermittently until I get the desired lather.
My procedure is the same if I have to bowl-lather, except there is more effort involved for my wrist! This is why I face-lather, exclusively, and use shave-sticks so that I can spend all of my time on my face!

I can link to some Youtube videos, here, if that is allowed and if you want.

Originally Posted by celestino

Have you seen any of the YouTube videos with bowl or face-lathering? There are a plethora of them and many are demonstrating some very good lathering techniques.
This might be a redundant question as you have been doing this for quite some time, I presume, but what soap and brush are you using, as this might be contributing to your 'average' lather?

Personally, I start with a damp brush that I shake out most of the water from, then I swirl the brush on the puck for 30-45 seconds, intermittently adding small amounts of water so that I can pick up that 'gooey and sticky' proto-lather; then I face-lather for 2-4 minutes, again, adding small amounts of water, intermittently until I get the desired lather.

I can link to some Youtube videos, here, if that is allowed and if you want.

Thanks, I have seen quite a few of them years ago. I've got some high end brushes, and soaps/creams. I've suspected the water, and tried bottled. It is most likely me, and not any of the gear. Maybe I'll take another look at some of those videos. Thanks for reminding me.

I had huge lather issues long into my shaving career. I have hard water, and could not get long lasting lather. Started using bottled water and had tremendous results. Then, I got my shavemac d01. It's like it grabs on to the hard water and transforms in into instant perfect lather. I think there are many variables, but ultimately the quality of the brush makes the biggest difference, from my experience. Others may have different opinions.

having hard water (like me) can definitely effect the quality of the lather too. you need to know whatcha got and adjust the water-to-soap ratio.

i brought a soap with me on vacation once and it was a LOT easier to get a meringue-like lather going with soft water.

i either need to move or get a good water softener system installed. =]

My water has trace amounts of radium in it, I find this really brings my lather to the next level.

Because my water is temperamental, probably hard and absurdly minerally, which changes through the year. This means I have to slowly adjust how I make my lathers. Typically a luke-warm soak under the faucet, gently squeeze out some water, load and face lather. I usually lean towards a higher soap content, as adding water is just easier for me than more soap.

I primarily use MWF I put the puck in the MWF container. Fill it with hot water completely covering the puck and let it sit over night. I do this as many times as it takes to get the puck to swell up enough to keep it from spinning in the container when I load the brush.

Once it is expanded into place my procedure goes like this: I always shave in the am before work (kind of a zen thing). I submerge the brush, halfway up the handle, in a rock glass of hot water. Fill the soap container w/hot water covering the puck. Take a shower. Dump out the soap water and brush water. Refill the rock glass with hot water. I dip the brush in the hot water and wet my face first. Shake the brush once or twice. Then I load the brush w/soap. I do not rinse my face between passes and usually don't rinse the brush out between passes either. Once the brush is loaded I also do not wet my face again before lathering.

I lather right on my face and add water as needed. I have tried scuttles, lathering in my hand, lathering in the bowl, etc. I have found lathering on my face to produce the best lather possible.

If I find I need more water then I dip the brush into the hot water up to where the bristles meet the handle. At this point the brush is loaded up so the amount of water I think I need determines how long I keep the brush in the hot water. This took some time for me to figure out because I noticed the brush didn't soak up as much water when it was loaded so I had to keep it in the water longer if that makes sense. If I need a lot of water then I give the brush a few small twists while in the water.

Again, the above method is for MWF. I also use Tabac, Ogallala, TOB, Kramperts frostbite, and a few others including a few cremes. With those, including the cremes, I do not soak the soap with water. I use it "dry" and find I can still get a great "cool whip" like lather. If I decide I want to use water with the soap I drip enough water to cover just the top of the puck.

I have recently been trying the MWF procedure on a puck of Ogallala but it doesn't seem to soak up as much water as a puck of MWF.

I struggled for sometime trying to get the type of lather you are seeking. Watching youtube vids, reading posts, whatever. I feel the biggest difference for me has been lathering directly on my face. I am now using a puck of Ogallala and I don't put any water on it at all - completely dry. I always soak the brush in hot water, use hot water to wet my face first, shake the brush of excess water, then load and lather.

I use a Simpson Beaufort brush that is now about 4 years old.

The reason I use hot water is because I always remember my grandmother telling me as a child that cold water would get rid of soap suds in the sink faster than hot water (or something like that). I've used cold water in the past and sure enough I noticed that for me it didn't help create better lather.

Hope this helps.

In the beginning, I just loaded up a crazy amount of product on the brush. I like a dry brush. I do soak them for a couple of minutes, but then I squeeze them dry. Load up the brush until you have a half inch of a thick pasty proto lather. From there, go to the bowl or face, slowly adding water until you get a lather you like.