Thread: Creating the perfect lather

FWIW, I would start with a large coffee (e.g. cappuccino) mug and good, inexpensive (Nivea, some swear by Proraso) cream in the tube.

- Squeeze a dollop* of cream into the mug and start soaking the wet but not dripping brush with cream.
- If the brush doesn't take enough cream, add a small amount of water.
- The brush should absorb most of the cream but it's o.k. to have some cream left in the mug, you pick that cream up later when you dip the brush in the mug for the second and third pass.
- Add some more water to the brush and start face lathering.
- If you don't get enough lather add a small amount of water.
- Dip the brush into the mug as needed to pick up the remaining cream for subsequent passes.

The trick is to increase the amount of water by small amounts until you strike the right balance between water and cream.
This works for creams and soaps, but it is generally accepted that with creams it is easier to get it right.
And what matters here is that you become familiar with the principle, so you might as well stick to creams in the beginning.

Also water quality is often overlooked, and I just came from a part of the country where the water is extremely soft and I barely could wash the soap off my face, to a part of a country where the water is of normal hardness. The difference in lather is noticeable.
* Water quality largely dictates how much cream you need to squeeze into the mug at the start.

It's all trial and error; and remember the whole DE or straight razor wet-shaving thing is based on the assumption that you can't expect perfect results right from the start and need constant practice to reach the perfect shave.



One last comment: Someone suggested Williams soap.
Williams is a love or hate affair and IMHO it is not easy to get a good, long-lasting lather from Williams (I am sure some Williams lover will contradict me; hence the "IMHO"). Williams seems to be particular dependent on the right water/soap ratio and that is exactly where you appear to be struggling with.
If you want to taste the sweet fruit of success earlier, stick to creams like Nivea, Proraso and the like.

Some people may even suggest that for that very reason you should start with Williams. "If you can lather with Williams you can pretty much lather with anything."
If that concept was true, driving schools would all have Ferraris, wouldn't they?
"If you can drive a Ferrari, you can drive a Civic, no?"



B.

Originally Posted by beluga

Someone suggested Williams soap.
Williams is a love or hate affair and IMHO it is not easy to get a good, long-lasting lather from Williams (I am sure some Williams lover will contradict me hence the "IMHO"). Williams seems to be particular dependent on the right water/soap ratio and that is where you may still be struggling with.
If you want to taste the sweet fruit of success earlier, stick to creams like Nivea, Proraso and the like.

Yea, if you can lather Williams chances are you can lather anything. OTH as a beginner trying to lather Williams could frustrate you enough to give up too. I agree, learn to lather on a less difficult soap/cream. When you have found a technique that works for you then try the Williams challenge. Personally I don't think Williams is worth the effort of even trying to lather it.

OP, you are in Canada and some easily available soaps,creams are Proraso, and Kiss My Face at Shoppers Drug Mart, The Body Shop's Maca Root and Nivea cream at Wally World or Safeways. Any of these are easy to face lather to me is the easiest way to lather.

This fellow has a number of good vids on You Tube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4zE...AYHiXYBRrIMYJQ

Bob

In regards to water, it can help to dip the brush into a basin of water-a very brief dip mind-and proceed to load the brush with soap. Start face lathering and really work it in - if it just doesn't seem to be lathering, give the brush a tiny dip into the water and try again. Should give you an idea of how much water makes a lather that you are happy with. Go too far and the lather will get all floppy and thin - so small increases in water work well. I still lather up this way now if I buy a new soap and want to get to know how it lathers best.

Originally Posted by Datsots

This is more a tip on how to learn to make the perfect lather.

Go buy a cheap but good soap, such as arko or williams mug soap. Proceed to make a lather and after evaluating it just rinse it down the drain. Repeat several times per day until you can make lather consistently.

Jonathan

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I second what Jon just posted, Practice makes perfect..

There was a time on this forum where we used to tell newbs to buy a puck of Williams and practice making lather until that puck was gone, you should have it down by then.. If you can get Willimas to lather well everything else should be easy

Originally Posted by beluga

It's all trial and error; and remember the whole DE or straight razor wet-shaving thing is based on the assumption that you can't expect perfect results right from the start and need constant practice to reach the perfect shave.



One last comment: Someone suggested Williams soap.
Williams is a love or hate affair and IMHO it is not easy to get a good, long-lasting lather from Williams (I am sure some Williams lover will contradict me; hence the "IMHO"). Williams seems to be particular dependent on the right water/soap ratio and that is exactly where you appear to be struggling with.
If you want to taste the sweet fruit of success earlier, stick to creams like Nivea, Proraso and the like.

Some people may even suggest that for that very reason you should start with Williams. "If you can lather with Williams you can pretty much lather with anything."
If that concept was true, driving schools would all have Ferraris, wouldn't they?
"If you can drive a Ferrari, you can drive a Civic, no?"

B.

Me thinks you made some erroneous assumptions...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Me thinks you made some erroneous assumptions...

Really?

If you should choose to believe that in the beginning it's NOT all trial and error; and remember the whole DE or straight razor wet-shaving thing is based on the assumption that you CAN expect perfect results right from the start and DON'T need constant practice to reach the perfect shave, then that's certainly fine by me.

For my part, I still do believe that getting the perfect shave is a gradual learning process, where people improve their skills and technique over time and with practice.




"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."

Originally Posted by beluga

Really?



For my part, I still do believe that getting the perfect shave is a gradual learning process, where people improve their skills and technique over time and with practice.

Yes,,, Really, as I believe the same thing..

"For my part, I still do believe that getting the perfect shave is a gradual learning process, where people improve their skills and technique over time and with practice."


Which is why using a cheap $1 puck of soap that is extremely hard to lather is good practice,, ie: when you learn that you can lather Williams, everything else becomes easy by comparison..

Practice makes perfect


ps: Arko in comparison to Williams is easy IME

Originally Posted by gssixgun

ps: Arko in comparison to Williams is easy IME

Yes, it is and a miles better soap too for me anyway.

Bob

Soap, schmope, cream, schmeem, if it gets to the point of needing psychological help because you've stressed out from trying to get the perfect lather relax and sneak out that can of Barbasol you've hidden away in case of emergencies. It may not clear your face but it will give your mind a days rest to think about it all. Then you can try the Zen of Lathering again.

Genlemen,

In the end, whether practicing specifically on Williams or on other soaps over time, the variation in process still leads to satisfactory results: time and practice will improve your lathering.

I make uber lather when I am in karratha (really hard water - the ground is basically iron ore), in Perth I don't, I have found omega to be a really good and inexpensive croap (hard cream/soft soap) so find myself using it quite a bit on its own, i have various other soaps but that and the MDC I was given really get used the most, the other stuff I have ends up grated into my big bowl of assorted soaps and used as an uber base. I would replace the omega when it runs out, but probably not the MDC.
As has been said it's all about ratios.