Thread: Lather experiment.

I've been using my Frank Shaving finest badger brush off of ebay for a few weeks now, and just like you said I do in fact feel like a regular pro at making lather now. I also just got in a tub of CarrieM's lime shaving cream and am extremely impressed with the lather and increased cushion. I've even started the lather with a few swirls on the VDH and then added the cream, which produced very very comfortable and delicious smelling lather as well.
I've got a few samples from mama bear's as well that I can't wait to try. I've got the lemon ice sample that I think might make a very good smelling lather with CarrieM's lime cream. It will be almost like a tingly lemon-lime. I'll call it.... Sprite lather!

Peace,
Conor

I haven't tried CarrieM's soaps yet, but I can attest to the awesomeness of Mama Bears soaps. I just got in a tub of Lime Ice this week and its amazing. I feel like I'm skiing down a glacier in Tahiti while surrounded by an endless supply of wenches armed with mojitos and fresh seafood. Also, her customer service is awesome. I had a slight problem with the shave stick I ordered of another scent and she already shipped a replacement.

I'm really excited to try them. I got ye olde barbershoppe, awakenings, mandarin ice, lemon ice, Energy, Polynesian Red, and she sent me a free sample of phoenix rising. They got here extremely fast.

Conor,
My take is that lather is a combination of 3 ingredients, not 2; (1) Soap, (2) water and (3) air. Unlike the palm of your hand or your face (whose surface is filled with whiskers), the bowl does not change its shape during the lathering and therefore requires a bit more churning to get the lather going. The faster you get air into this mix, the faster you make lather.

Each technique (palm, face, bowl) requires its own ratio of the 3 ingredients and you need to experiment to find out what works.

+1 on Mama Bear and CarrieM

Originally Posted by con16721

Any ideas on where I might find one of those?

Conor,
I have a Dirty Bird Scuttle with grooves/ridges inside and it really helps with whipping the air into the soap/water. Julie can customize the scuttle for you too. Another option is to pick up Japanese rice bowls with ridges in them. They are equally fantastic.