Thread: Best lather ever (IMHO)!!!

Originally Posted by ofelas

Have you tried Mitchell's Wool Fat shaving soap?
It's made with lanolin, and is a superbly moisturizing soap.

In an earlier post, someone (possibly you?) mentioned the mwf and I thought they were talking about a pure lanolin product. I did not realize at the time that it was a shave soap (yes, I'm a noob). Now that I have learned the error of my ways, I am excited to try it out. I can't find a decent source anywhere locally. Online I see many different sizes available. I want to get the 100g or larger bar, but don't know how to "melt" it down to fit in my bowl without having water get under it. Can you offer some advice? I will, of course, add extra lanolin to it, 'cuz that's how I roll.
I think I read that you can grate it on a cheese grater and then hot-water bath it to finish the process. Is this correct? Can I just microwave the whole kit n kaboodle?
Also, I currently lather in the same bowl that my soap is in and was wondering if there were any thoughts on this technique. Should I procure another bowl for the express purpose of building the lather, or is the one-bowl technique perfectly acceptable?
Muchas Gracias senors. (y senoritas)

Originally Posted by ofelas

Have you tried Mitchell's Wool Fat shaving soap?
It's made with lanolin, and is a superbly moisturizing soap.

An old term used for lanolin in the pharmaceutial and cosmetic industry is wool fat, they are one and the same.

Pure lanolin, ie anhydrous lanolin is very thick, much thicker than axel grease, really not the easiest stuff to work with. Heating helps tremendously.

I got some of the MWF after hearing so much about it. I used the cheese grader and grated it all up and then packed it down real good in a mug and I really like it. After I lathered with it the first time I packed it a little mlore and that sealed the top up. I think I read that microwave is a little dangerous to do because its posible to ruin your soap if your not carefull so I went the grader method.
Glenn

Originally Posted by deighaingeal

Coconut oil is commonly used in shave soaps to stabilize the lather. Some people find it irritating on their skin.

Coconut oil is added for a bubbly lather. The type of lather it produces is that of the typical bath soap (i.e not stable). If you find coconut oil to irritate your skin, it should not do so in a soap because the oil has been saponified. Unless the soaper superfats with coconut oil, there is none remaining in the final product. The coconut oil has been changed to a salt via a chemical reaction with lye.

Originally Posted by SkinnyChef

Also, I currently lather in the same bowl that my soap is in and was wondering if there were any thoughts on this technique. Should I procure another bowl for the express purpose of building the lather, or is the one-bowl technique perfectly acceptable?
Muchas Gracias senors. (y senoritas)

For me, the mug/bowl which holds the soap is pretty much just for that: loading the brush. Once I load the brush, I lather in my off hand. I don't have a bowl or scuttle (yet). If you load your brush and then swirl and push on your palm, you'll find you go from froth to real lather in a few seconds. Froth will be watery, and lather will be like meringue. If you want, you can get a second bowl just for it, but you could try palm lathering first. You could also face lather, using the same brush technique on your face instead of your palm, but I find the palm technique easier.

Either way, try it out and stick with what you get the best results with.

I did a test run by heating up my wife's Lansinoh lanolin and putting a dollop of that in my scuttle followed by some Castle and Forbes lime cream. it lathered up fantastically! Made my face super slick and soft with ZERO razor burn. Everything came off in that was supposed to on the directional passes. 1st, 2nd, 3rd and I was done. Probably took 10 minutes off the whole process. The lanolin addition will be a permanent fixture from now on my ritual. I highly recommend it.

-Alex

Originally Posted by AlexRankin

I did a test run by heating up my wife's Lansinoh lanolin and putting a dollop of that in my scuttle followed by some Castle and Forbes lime cream. it lathered up fantastically! Made my face super slick and soft with ZERO razor burn. Everything came off in that was supposed to on the directional passes. 1st, 2nd, 3rd and I was done. Probably took 10 minutes off the whole process. The lanolin addition will be a permanent fixture from now on my ritual. I highly recommend it.

-Alex

I'm glad that you like. I love experimenting with different things and I thought someone would like this one. Getting ready to purchase some MWF and add the Lansinoh to that as well. Should be ultra-awesome. I will keep you posted.

Joe

Yep, lanolin is good stuff! Give Mitchells Wool Fat a try as well, thats a great soap.