Thread: OK fellas, what am I doing wrong?

My lather is dying on my face.

I make a nice lather and put it on my face using my brush. by time I get the right side shaved the lather on the left side has gone flat. Yet, the lather remaining in the bowl looks fine. I am having to re-apply to the left side and then again to my mustache and chin area to get the job done.

I'm not trying to set any land speed records but I'm not being poky either. Takes me about 7-10 minutes to shave once I applied the lather to my face. So were talking about 2-3 minutes for the lather to go flat. This can't be normal. Surely I'm doing something wrong if its going flat that fast.

You guys got any ideas or suggestions?

Ray

You either need to use more water or less water If it's drying, I would say use a little more water when making your lather...

First, what soap are you using? With some you're licked before you start and some are easier to use than others.

In general lather is a matter of the right amount of water and the proper time twirling the brush. You just have to get the combo right.

I have three soaps that I am using. I have Tobac, Proraso sensitive skin and Mama Bear's Lilac Ice. I am have the same problem with all three.

I'm pretty sure its something I am doing but I can't seem to narrow it down.

Ray

It may simply be a time issue. Lather the first half of your face, shave, then lather the other side and shave.

I've had the same problem and and thought it was the soaps fault. It happend with cella and a few others. I have a large bager hair brush that is really soft and found that I was not getting it loaded with enough soap to stat with. Now when I load my brush I kind of grab down on the base of the bristles and really spend a little time getting it loaded. Once I figured it out cella has become one of my favoite soaps along with tabac. I absolutely love those soaps.
Good luck
Glenn

Thanks for the input everyone.

That makes sense in my situation Glen. Several people have good things to say about both the tobac and Proraso that I was pretty sure it wasn't my soap. My brush is a soft badger Vestavia brush, I will try to get more soap loaded initially and see if that helps.

Ray

I think the brush can definitely make a difference. I have two that I use--one is a best badger, very soft, and the other is a pure badger, with stiffer bristles. The pure badger is much more efficient at loading up. I lather on my face. With that brush, I build a lather on my face and start shaving. With the best nbadger, though , I build a first lather and rinse it off (leaving a slick film on my face), then load up a bit more and re-lather, and that's the lather that I shave with. I got that tip from another post about prematurely drying lather somewhere in the forums here; the OP got that technique from a barber who did straight shaves using soap and a brush, rather than stuff out of the lather-heater. You might give it a shot just for comparison purposes.

I use sticks primarily and I have 3 grades of badger brushes, which are black, best, and silvertip. Face lathering is the best way to get the lather spot on I feel, and I've never had to do anything to keep the lather lush throughout my shave. Even when I use creams or when I break out the soaps that are in bowls.

Originally Posted by RayCover

My lather is dying on my face.
....snip....

You are doing nothing wrong.
Lather will dry out --

The days when it does for me I just reach
for my brush and reapply lather.

I happen to like a thin wet lather
and a thin lather will dry quickly.
The wet thin lather gives me a better
shave and rinses from the razor better.

My common routine is to shave one
pass on one side than lather both sides
again. When the second side is shaved
more lather and then a final second pass
which for me is quicker because I am
addressing scratchy patches left
where my whiskers change direction.

This is why many use a lathering bowl.
It makes it easy to make extra lather
for multiple passes and dry bits.

Building a lather takes practice.....
you can take a couple afternoons with
an inexpensive puck of shave soap or
go with the flow in the morning.

Your lather will improve as will
you shave time.... yet each time
the season changes lathering
tricks will change. Did you recently
turn on the furnace for the winter?