Thread: Dry Lather

Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

Lathering properly is something that must be learned more than it can be taught because over time it just takes practice to find out what kind of brush, soap, cream, etc. is your favorite and make it work for you. My favorite combo may be different than yours.

Not to mention the type of water you have can have a profound effect on lather.

First - kudos for paying attention to your lather. Dry lather is a set-up for a nick. While it can be solved by shaving speed, my fast/rushed shaves have never been the ones I enjoyed much. While an avg for me is about 15-20 min, the ones I like are the shaves I take my time at - which means I have to re-wet or re-lather sections. When is it too dry? When running water won't easily rinse the lather from the blade. And painting water over dry lather won't do it. The water/wet lather has to be at the skin level. So I'll dip the tip of the brush and re-lather a dry section and continue a relaxed, enjoyable shave.

Originally Posted by pfries

Not to mention the type of water you have can have a profound effect on lather.

The hardness or softness of the water is a biggie.

When I was a kid living in Southern California the water was hard and my folks maintained a water softener. They would buy big bags of salt and fill this tank monthly. I liked the water hard because when I rinsed the soap off in the shower the slickness was definitely gone. I didn't like it soft because I never had that complete assurance that it had completely rinsed off.

Now I live in South Louisiana where the water is naturally soft. The slickness I didn't like while showering in hard water is what I need to protect my face during shaving.

If I still have trouble lathering or have to work too hard to achieve a good lather I can do one of the following:

1. Add a few drops of glycerin to the shave soap before lathering.
2. Grate the soap with a cheese grater, put in a sauce pan, add water, and boil. I squirt some glycerin in the mix. Stir. When it cools off to the extent you can touch the soap, pour it into a mug or shaving bowl. Your soap will work like a premium shave soap. (Hint: if you have a pure essential oil, you can add a few drops and change the scent. If you want to duplicate the Williams Mug Soap smell, add some citronella essential oil.)

One thing beginners need to discover is that "latherin" takes practice. The
good news is that unlike shaving you can practice "Latherin" all day if you want.

If you try shaving all afternoon you will end up with hamburger for a face. Latherin
on the other hand will only result in wrinkled fingers.

Try too little water, too much water. Try more soap, less soap. Try more
brush less brush. Try adding water all at once try adding water dribble by dribble.
Wash it down the drain and start over... Hot cold.. Lather on the puck, in a lathering bowl,
on your hand...

I think it was Glenn that reminded me of this way back when... and I often remark that
a $1.75 puck of Williams and a $8 boar brush will teach you a lot by the time you are half
way through the puck of soap. If you learn to lather with Williams the expensive shave soaps
will prove child's play. You will also have inexpensive lather should the budget be tight some day.
A good trick is a tiny pea size bit of Proraso cream on Williams soap... the combo lathers
quick and easy.

My favorite latherin trick is to use one of the old school egg timers in the shave den. Flip it and
take the full three or four min that it takes for the sand to run out building your lather.
Give or take, If I soak my face and whiskers much longer my skin does not like it
and less and my whiskers do not get softened... Time seems to be different when shaving,
too easy to rush, too easy to take an hour...

Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

The hardness or softness of the water is a biggie.

When I was a kid living in Southern California the water was hard and my folks maintained a water softener. They would buy big bags of salt and fill this tank monthly. I liked the water hard because when I rinsed the soap off in the shower the slickness was definitely gone. I didn't like it soft because I never had that complete assurance that it had completely rinsed off.

Now I live in South Louisiana where the water is naturally soft. The slickness I didn't like while showering in hard water is what I need to protect my face during shaving.

If I still have trouble lathering orhave to work too hard to achieve a good lather I can do one of the following:

1. Add a few drops of glycerin to the shave soap before lathering.
2. Grate the soap with a cheese grater, put in a sauce pan, add water, and boil. I squirt some glycerin in the mix. Stir. When it cools off to the extent you can touch the soap, pour it into a mug or shaving bowl. Your soap will work like a premium shave soap. (Hint: if you have a pure essential oil, you can add a few drops and change the scent. If you want to duplicate the Williams Mug Soap smell, add some citronella essential oil.)

yeah i agree, due to the high mineral content of the water get on camp I use a kettle to boil bottled water for shaving, and a nice cup of tea. :-)

Agreed with the need to practice lathering principle. Every time I get a new soap and/or a new brush I know I need to practice with it. For example, I have a Vie Long brush that was not working well with Castle Forbes. Today, I think I nailed a good technique for producing a quick lather with it, which Castle Forbes should do.

Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

1. Add a few drops of glycerin to the shave soap before lathering.
2. Grate the soap with a cheese grater, put in a sauce pan, add water, and boil. I squirt some glycerin in the mix. Stir. When it cools off to the extent you can touch the soap, pour it into a mug or shaving bowl. Your soap will work like a premium shave soap. (Hint: if you have a pure essential oil, you can add a few drops and change the scent. If you want to duplicate the Williams Mug Soap smell, add some citronella essential oil.)

I kind of want to do this just for fun lol
I don't know why I haven't looked into making my own soap before...I'm a Palahniuk fan too!

Originally Posted by kwlfca

I'm a Palahniuk fan too!

What is that? :-)

Originally Posted by edhewitt

What is that? :-)

The author of the book Fight Club