Lather always dries out...Help!

**Man** · 02-09-2013, 01:47 AM

Hello, sirs!

Wasn't sure if this belongs here or in Soaps/Creams.

Of all the challenges that come with taking up traditional wetshaving, I have found building lather to be the most difficult. It always dries out on me, even when I'm using my DE, so I don't think I'm just being slow. I always lather on a wet face. I have tried a few different ways, always using the manufacturer's directions for each particular soap/cream if they exist. I have tried the way Mantic59 suggests, which is spinning a dryer brush on the soap for 3 seconds. I have tried the Leisureguy method of swirling a wet brush for 30 seconds. I've tried soaking the brush, not soaking the brush, tried the teaspoon of water on top of the puck, tried glycerin, bowl lathering, face lathering, loading upside-down... The lather always dries out.

The only thing I haven't tried yet is using distilled water, which I'm going to experiment with tomorrow.

When I loaded the brush for only 3 seconds, my lather was always thin, full of bubbles, and wouldn't "stick" to my skin. When I load for 30 seconds, I can achieve a thick, bubbleless lather, but it starts to dry quickly. If it was on the drier side, it dries quickly with cracks like when mud dries. If it was wetter, it dries a little less quickly and becomes transparent and full of bubbles. By the end of my shave, I will relather under my nose and my chin, and by the time I'm done with the chin (less than a minute), under the nose is already getting dry. This happens if I relather over the old lather OR wash off the old lather first. It's not extremely cold, hot, or humid in the room during my shave. Usually at about 74 degrees.

I'd really appreciate any ideas or tips. I hate feeling rushed during my shave, and I'd like to try everything before I resign myself to lathering one section at a time.

Thanks,

Max

**gssixgun** · 02-09-2013, 02:06 AM

Honestly not trying to sound facetious here.

Add more water

Lather is a simple equation,, Product + Water + Brush = Lather

If everything seems to be working except the lather is drying out then either your brush isn't holding enough water or you are not using enough water ...

I guess it could be the water itself, but I seriously doubt your water is harder or has more sediment then our well water does here

Lynn's newest lathering Vid is one of the easiest ways to lather, make sure you take a look at it

**carlmaloschneider** · 02-09-2013, 02:12 AM

Turn of the heater in the bathroom

**Man** · 02-09-2013, 02:20 AM

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Turn of the heater in the bathroom

Haha, thanks for the idea but I don't use a heater.

By the way, Leaves of Grass is awesome.

**Man** · 02-09-2013, 02:24 AM

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Lynn's newest lathering Vid is one of the easiest ways to lather, make sure you take a look at it

Is this the one you mean? If so, I'm pretty sure I'm using more water than he does, although I'm not loading for as long.

**honedright** · 02-09-2013, 02:40 AM

The method I use here:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ng-lather.html

works really well for me. Used it with A new puck of Williams this morning and got a great close shave. Thick lubricant lather too.

One difference I noticed from the video above is that I "load" the brush much more, for a longer period of time, before adding any water. I noticed this AM that at first a thick lather builds up. I keep working the brush into that lather and the puck until the lather is all but broken back down and loaded up into the brush. Takes a minute or two, but it's necessary. Once the lather is highly concentrated and loaded into the brush, only then do I start adding small amounts of water, and again work up a thick lather, then add more water and work up more lather. Keep going untill you get the right volume and consistency. Only add small amounts of water as you go. Only takes a minute and a half or so, but worth it.

**carlmaloschneider** · 02-09-2013, 03:09 AM

Originally Posted by Man

Haha, thanks for the idea but I don't use a heater.

By the way, Leaves of Grass is awesome.

Sorry, I'm being frivolous. Yeah, Leaves of Grass is a great work, I listen to it a lot on audio. The quote I've used works great here I think, as in communication. For me, it also speaks against discrimination. I think Walt was a great activist against discrimination, esp working against discrimination of African people and at that time, slaves. He has a great poem about a runaway slave, I can't remember the title off the top of my head. Of course he also was quite bold in regards to his work talking about sex...

So, to get back to your question. Different soaps and creams require more or less water; a lot of this is about experimentation. When I started 'proper' shaving I used creams, not soaps. I honestly feel creams are more forgiving and easier to use than soaps, at least that's been my experience. I did a lot of Überlathering when I started too. I also built the lather in the bowl, not on my face. After a few months I progressed to face lathering, and now I either face lather only or sort of use a combination of face lathering and bowl lathering.

I normally apply the lather to my face and then strop (30/70). This gives the lather time to soften the whiskers. Sometimes, once I've stropped and am ready to shave, I need to dip the tip of the brush in water and re-face lather. I also often need to re-fresh the lather on my face after shaving one side of my face; as it has dried slightly.

**Man** · 02-10-2013, 01:19 AM

Just tried the method in Lynn's video and my lather dried out on my face like powdery, cracking plaster. It seems like I used a lot less water than usual with that method. Then for my second pass, I took it to the bowl and added water until it seemed a bit more hydrated than usual. Got bubbly and dry after a minute on my face. Think it could be a bad brush? I use an EJ medium Best Badger.

**honedright** · 02-10-2013, 01:37 AM

Originally Posted by Man

Just tried the method in Lynn's video and my lather dried out on my face like powdery, cracking plaster. It seems like I used a lot less water than usual with that method. Then for my second pass, I took it to the bowl and added water until it seemed a bit more hydrated than usual. Got bubbly and dry after a minute on my face. Think it could be a bad brush? I use an EJ medium Best Badger.

Should give my method a try. Let us know how it works.

**Castel33** · 02-10-2013, 01:41 AM

What soap are you using

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