Thread: The Perfect Lather

I wasn't sure where to post this so hopefully this fits in alright. I think I've just perfected my lather routine which I wanted to share with others here, in the hope that others will benefit and that it may even be improved.

The recipe stems from an old post on the B&B forum.

1. Fill sink with very hot water (my hot tap does the job fine) and a few drops of EO (if you want a little luxury).
2. Submerge shaving brush and a clean (soapless) mug in the hot water. Leave these for at least 5 minutes.
3. I found a shaving soap gives better results than cream. I should also mention that results are better with soft water: swirl 1tsp of hot water over the surface of the shaving soap, and then allow to drain off and leave for at least 1 min.
4. Drain out the sink and replenish the hot water, empty the mug and sit it in the hot water.
5. Ensure there is no standing water on the surface of the soap.
6. Shake out all the water from the brush. It should be almost completely dry.
7. Load the shaving brush DRY. You should just see a slight patina of soap coating the bristles but certainly no lather.
8. Add 4 tsp of skin food to your shaving mug and start building lather. If you haven't got any skin food, you can use glycerine. Continue to build the lather with water until the consistency is right.
9. That's it - enjoy the finest lather you've ever experienced. If you keep the mug submerged in the hot water for a second pass, it might be worth adding a little more water as the foam will dry quite fast with all that heat around.

4 tsp of skin food seems like a lot to me.

It is! And you'd be surprised at how little soap is used too! YMMV but it seems to work for me, leaving me with a very light, slick lather.

I'll give it a try. Thanks.

Don't have any skin food to try, but when I experimented with adding more than a few drops of glycerin it gave me some crazy irritation.

I wouldn't use that much pure glycerine. Just a few drops.

3-5 drops of glycerin is amazing for whipping up lather. I use it every single time I shave and it just makes the razor's edge glaze over your skin without catching and forming burn as much as it would otherwise.

I'm gonna have to ask -- what is skin food?

ssfone, have a look at

Geo F Trumper - Skin Food - Extract of Limes Skin Food travel bottle 100ml

it's got the texture of glycerine. I find it's far better pre than post-shave!

Personally, I use the skin food in place of an aftershave and it works great for me. Really reduces any burn or irritation there might be.