Thread: Making my lather takes waaaaaayyyy too long

Originally Posted by aramirez626

takes about 10-15 minutes to get a good lather. This seems too long.

Even with very hard Thames Valley tapwater it only takes about 20-30 secs to produce good lather to shave with.
It seems that many folk try to overcomplicate what is a very simple process. Simply use more or less water depending on individual preference and the type of soap.

Hello, aramirez626:

As all these gentlemen have noted, a good lather should take no more than a minute or so to produce, especially with cream.

Try this: Place the small dollop of cream in your bowl, drizzle a little warm water in the mug (about half a tea spoon) and start making your lather, varying the direction in which you swirl the brush. When all the big bubbles are gone, now begin to perfect the lather. If you feel you need more water, drizzle a little more — run your hand under the tap and drizzle the few drop into your bowl. You should be ready in a maximum of two minutes.

Finally, wet your face with warm water and begin lathering, about a minute or two maximum. Before each pass, wet your face and re-apply the lather.

Regards,

Obie

I don't think I saw the temperature of the water mentioned. I've noticed that when I use very hot water the lather will not puff up as easily, it remains foamy and the cream texture just doesn't show up. So you could try using luke warm or cold water to whip up your lather as well to see if it helps.

Originally Posted by Jes

I'm sort of in the same boat as the OP. I know we have fairly hard water here in Montréal, but A friend at work says he gets his lather up just fine, so to speak.

I have hard water myself and I've found that it takes more soap or cream. Looking at the picture, I use about 3 times more cream than you started with. When I started I tried to use the almond size dab as a guideline. My hands started to cramp from whipping so much. So my advice is to use more cream and more water. There is one more big advantage to using more cream. If you use more you get to buy more. It's a win win situation.

Originally Posted by TwistedOak

I don't think I saw the temperature of the water mentioned. I've noticed that when I use very hot water the lather will not puff up as easily, it remains foamy and the cream texture just doesn't show up. So you could try using luke warm or cold water to whip up your lather as well to see if it helps.

I actually don't agree with this.. sorry mate, but if it works for you thats what counts. Myself i like hot hot water to make lather with, the bowl has basically boiling water in it, which is then tipped out so that the bowl is heated up before lathering begins

Jes, when we say pumping, it;s like a churning motion, there's also an "explosion point" with most soaps and creams, it a point in the churning where the resistance in the lather suddenly increases and all this thick gooey lather appears. At that point i add a little more water, churn it in, then whip it quickly, just like an omlette

Originally Posted by welshwizard

It seems that many folk try to overcomplicate what is a very simple process. Simply use more or less water depending on individual preference and the type of soap.

Big +1. After enough practice and experience it no longer becomes a question of lather time or over-thinking your process; rather, you just make your lather and proceed to shave. It does happen in time.

Be well,

Ryan

Originally Posted by newb

I have hard water myself and I've found that it takes more soap or cream. Looking at the picture, I use about 3 times more cream than you started with. When I started I tried to use the almond size dab as a guideline. My hands started to cramp from whipping so much. So my advice is to use more cream and more water. There is one more big advantage to using more cream. If you use more you get to buy more. It's a win win situation.

Okay, that's good to know. I'll definitely try that, then.

Originally Posted by tekbow

Jes, when we say pumping, it;s like a churning motion, there's also an "explosion point" with most soaps and creams, it a point in the churning where the resistance in the lather suddenly increases and all this thick gooey lather appears. At that point i add a little more water, churn it in, then whip it quickly, just like an omlette

Hm. I think I've recently started pumping, then. Or something like it, what I've been doing sounds like what you're describing. I'll try this out to-morrow morning and let you know how it goes.

Originally Posted by welshwizard

Even with very hard Thames Valley tapwater it only takes about 20-30 secs to produce good lather to shave with.
It seems that many folk try to overcomplicate what is a very simple process. Simply use more or less water depending on individual preference and the type of soap.

Very very true.

First let me say, that having lots of lather is completely unnecessary. It's fun, but beyond a certain point, it serves no functional purpose. People talk about lather providing "cushion" for the blade; this is nonsense.

I've been wet shaving (wet face and soap or good creme on a brush) since I was 15 years old, which was 15 years ago, and I've been using a straight for about 3 years I think.


Here's my advice.

Option 1: Forget about big lather. You don't need it. If you're getting a close & comfortable shave, leave well enough alone.

Option 2: (if you just really feel the need to look like Santa every morning) It's the amount of water. It's always the water. Start with 1/4 the amount of water you would normally use. Try like heck to get lather. If you don't have a good lather started within 30-45 seconds, stop, and add a TINY bit of water. Repeat until all the sudden you've go tons of lather, paying close attention to the way your attempted lather looks at each point. Then, keep adding more water, a TINY bit at a time, until your lather collapses and looks lame and milky. Once again, paying close attention to the look and feel of the lather along the way. What this will do, is help you to understand what too wet and too dry really look like.

Option 3: Face lather. I lather right on my face 95% of the time. It's faster, and IMO, easier. Put your dollop of creme in a bowl. Wet your brush. Work the brush in a twisting/pumping motion in the bowl. (or over your puck of soap if you decide to go that route) No whipping. The goal is to create as little lather at this point as possible. You're trying to force the creme or soap up into the brush. This is "loading" the brush. Then swirl it over your face, as if your face was an inside-out lathering bowl. You'll know whether it's too dry or wet because it's on your face. Too wet feels, well, wet. Too dry feels sticky. If it's too wet, just load a little more creme into the brush. To dry, dip the tip of the brush into hot water. You don't need buckets of lather running down your arm. You just need thick enough lather that you can't see skin.



Regardless, the whole process, from opening your tube or tub of shave creme to setting the brush down to grab your razor shouldn't take more than 1 minute. (or two if you insist on the Santa look)

Originally Posted by tekbow

I actually don't agree with this.. sorry mate, but if it works for you thats what counts. Myself i like hot hot water to make lather with, the bowl has basically boiling water in it, which is then tipped out so that the bowl is heated up before lathering begins

Jes, when we say pumping, it;s like a churning motion, there's also an "explosion point" with most soaps and creams, it a point in the churning where the resistance in the lather suddenly increases and all this thick gooey lather appears. At that point i add a little more water, churn it in, then whip it quickly, just like an omlette

I definitely know what he means, though. I've noticed a significant change in lather consistency when my scuttle is filled with boiling water. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the piping hot feeling when I re-lather, but there is a considerable difference in lather thickness and slickness when I use boiling water in the lower chamber of my scuttle.