Thread: Coconut uberlather, Part II

Maybe I'm being a bit obsessive about this, but I just couldn't resist experimenting
further with lathering in raw coconut.

I'm convinced that the coconut enhances lather made from shaving soap, so I
decided to try the same experiment using shaving cream. I chose Al's Calypso
for the trial.

As with the soap trial, I used a very small amount of cream, lukewarm water,
and a badger brush. You can see from the photos that the result was very
good indeed.

Al's shaving creams normally produce excellent lather, and the addition of the
coconut certainly had no adverse effect. The lather was abundant and rich,
and coconut did seem to add a bit of "slipperyness" to the lather. The shave
was smooth and comfortable. Post-shave, my skin felt very smooth and soft,
the same as it did when using soap with the coconut.

Onimaru suggested that I try simply adding "straight" coconut oil to soap or
cream, and I tried that...with 2 different brands of coconut oil. That trial
was a complete failure: it killed the lather completely, and I was unable to
whip up any thing more than a thick paste.

Conclusions: I have no idea why raw coconut works and pure coconut oil
doesn't.

Incidently, I have used the same coconut for 3 days now, and keeping it
wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator does seem to preserve it nicely.
We'll see if it lasts a full week.

Cool experiment! Plus the chilled coconut must cool the lather and make it feel really nice on the skin.

Also, now I want to eat coconut.

Actually, I let the coconut come back to room temperature, just gave it a rinse with
luke-warm water, then proceeded to build lather.

Silly question maybe but how much oil did you try ? I'm thinking 3-5 drops would be ample .

I keep thinking Gilligan's Island when I see your pics

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Silly question maybe but how much oil did you try ? I'm thinking 3-5 drops would be ample .

I keep thinking Gilligan's Island when I see your pics

Maybe it was too much oil. I'll try again with a measured 2-3 drops.

Gilligan's island? No...just a fairly remote part of a 3rd world country.
But...We do have internet, cellphones, a bank, little shops...the basic
essentials of life.

And a virtually limitless supply of coconuts!

I don't think any oil really comes out of the coconut when you lather. More likely the coconut milk has more of an effect. Just a guess.

[QUOTE=PaulKidd;792467] No...just a fairly remote part of a 3rd world country.
But...We do have internet, cellphones, a bank, little shops...the basic
essentials of life.
QUOTE]

Huh, sounds just like North Idaho


Loving the "shave shell"

In a totally unscientific experiment today I decided to use coconut oil as a pre-shave oil. I was using some generic oil, the label had long since been discarded, and prorazo shave soap. The lather lasted far better and was much creamier. I could still feel the oil on my face after rinsing between first and second pass. The lather was a little thin by the third pass, but was far better than it would have been with the shave soap on its own.

As for the shave, it was fantastic. But this could have something to do with using a freshly honed Bengall razor that had been stropped a few hundred times in anticipation of today's shave.