Thread: Lather or gel

Hi everyone,

After about a year of not touching my straight because I couldn't get the hang of it and didn't have much time to work on technique (newborn takes all of it), I picked it up again last week to shave a two week old beard (toddler takes all my time). Seeing as I always shave my head and beard at the same time, I used the straight for my face and a DE for my head.

Last night, annoyed by the thought of rinsing the DE over and over to get the hair out, I decided to do it all with the straight.

Everything went well and I'm clean shaven and cut free, but I did run into one situation I thought I'd try to get your opinion on: lather sometimes falls off the razor and onto the floor. This is a problem I have both with DEs and straights and I usually avoid it by using shaving gel, which sticks better and doesn't dry out as fast, but the gel didn't seem to "gel" (pun intended) with my straight.

What do you guys use on your head? Are there gels which you like better than others?

Cheers from (still) snowy Canada!

If you're using the canned goo - that doesn't surprise me, even the gel stuff.

Hadn't use the stuff in a long time, wen I had to grab a Bic shaver and a can of Barbasol Shave foam, the chunks of foam just fell off my face like little balls of cotton - garbage.

Try getting a tub of Proraso Red, Green or White, I prefer the Red Sandalwood, Green is nice Menthol, and the White is Green Tea, all good and around $10.00 Cdn at most Shoppers Drug Marts...bet you that will make a huge difference, using real, traditional soaps is one of the most enjoyable aspects of wet shaving IMO....

Thanks for the reply Phrank,

I'd like to clarify that what falls on the floor is lather worked up from a shaving soap and not the shaving gel, which seems to stick a bit better to my head and razor, but also seems to make the straight stick to my head. Seeing as I can't keep my head above the sink while shaving it, I'd been using gel with the DE out of convenience.

I usually face lather using Mama Bear's shave sticks.

I always use a soap or cream on my head, never a gel. I find that making the lather slightly less watery helps a bit with lather dropage. Also, don't go too long between rinsing or wiping your edge off, as if it builds up too much you end up wearing stubbly lather down your neck and back (or in your ears or wherever is underneath the area you are shaving - I often try to do the entire back of my head without rinsing, and that's when I get all the stubble-lather dropping down the back of my shirt... )

James.

I haven't used a can of gel or cream in several years. I tend to use whatever I face shave with to do my head too. On days that I'm rushed to get it done I use a head blade on my head shave. Fast an easy. Not the same as a straight but still good shave. Headblade company makes a cream called head slick. It's their version of cream/gel in a squeeze bottle. It's very slick. Doesn't take much an might work better for you. I like it but still prefer brush an soap. Just rinse blade more to keep the dropsy from happening.

I shave my face daily and head once or twice a week. For head shaves, I usually do the first pass with a straight and then clean up with a DE. Less messy and faster that way, at least for me. I use traditional creams and soaps most of the time. I also use Cremo (brushless cream) on my head occasionally. It's cheap and works well but it doesn't really lather. It has more of a lotion consistency. It is super slick and I just add water to keep it slick for a second pass. For me it works well, since I usually feel with one hand (which also keeps it wet) and shave with the other. It really gunks up a razor though, so it takes a little extra cleaning if I finish with a DE.
The soaps and creams are more luxurious but Cremo gets the job done and may be worth a try. I've recommended it to a few women for leg shaving and it seems to be a bit hit with them also.

Cremo-Cream, Noxzema, Musgo pre-shave soap are all good for additional lubrication. I have noticed the Musgo does not clog my Slant though FWIW and because of the added glycerine in the mix, my lather seems to benefit which in turn seems to make for a better shave.