Thread: How rich should a lather be?

I start out with really rich lather for the first two passes (I do four). The last two passes I make sure that the lather is thinner because I want that edge to be able to get down past the lather.



Take Care,
Richard

Thanks Morty, The video was very informative and now that you mention it i do find that my lather dries out a bit towards the end of the 2nd pass. This could be because i lather up on my face and have way too much foam on my face for the first pass and there probably isn't enough left on the brush to keep it hydrated so it dries quickly?

I shall try using a bowl next time, does it matter what bowl i use? i noticed the bloke in the video uses that huge thing and it seems to have some levels in the bottom of it to help with the lather? i had tried using a bowl once before and the result wasn't the best. the bowl was stainless steel and may have been too slippery on the inside for the bristles to be able to work the soap into a lather?

Originally Posted by Nuntits

A lot of guys here refer to their "perfect" lather as having the consistency of cool whip or whipped cream

This video might also help understand the Cool Whip fascination.

Your lather can never be to rich or your blade to sharp. .... or was it rich and thin?? Can't remember.(:-)

you have some great advice here. If you follow it, you will benefit greatly from it. Use the forum to your benefit and ask questions as you need to

I haven't noticed any difference in razorburn based on the thickness of the lather (and just about anything will give me razorburn. I can't use electrics, i can't shave with cartridge razors with anything but the lightest of light pressures).

I generally face lather for about 25 seconds with cella or MWF (both of those give me lather in spades). I think moisture is important for lubrication, for me the lather needs to be wet enough that I notice my face is moist without having to add extra water to my face all the time, but not wet enough that it flies all over the place off the brush. Those are my two endpoints.

I don't find a better shave from lather that's whipped up over a period 3 times as long, but I do find a worse one for me if I get fascinated with the thickness of the lather and then allow it to get too dry, so that it dries quickly on the face.

I am a 2 pass daily shaver, with both passes taking less than 4 minutes including getting lather on my face (and getting the brush soaped). You'll get faster if you allow yourself to, and getting faster means having moisture left on your face and moist lather without having to play with it too much.

I don't do the hobby 20 minute shave process that some folks do, because I shave in the morning and I have to catch public trans. I don't even wash my brush (which helps make lather easy the next day), and find that not washing it keeps crap from growing in it. When I rinsed the brush every day, I had to rotate brushes because they would start to stink if they were wet without soap too many days. Leaving the soap in them prevents the growing stink.

I keep the soap and brush wet while loading the brush, even add a little water. When just loaded the brush has a thin soupy mixture filling the brush. Then I lather on wet face until thick, shiny lather with stiff peaks forms. Face gets a nice "coated" feeling and the lather is slick as can be. Plenty of lather for passes and touch ups.

Michael

Originally Posted by issimonete

there probably isn't enough left on the brush to keep it hydrated so it dries quickly?

I shall try using a bowl next time, does it matter what bowl i use?

It probably does not matter what kind of bowl you use. I know Em's Place sells brass, aluminum and stainless steel bowls specifically for building lather. I might suggest loading more soap into your brush before moving to a bowl. You could also try a ceramic bowl or a glass bowl to see if that gets you different results. Whichever kind of bowl you use, set it in your sink with hot water at the same time you place your brush there to soak so it will be warm when you start building lather.

Concerning the lather drying on your face when face lathering. There's no rule against loading a bit more soap onto your brush and dribbling a little hot water into the brush between shaving passes. I build my lather in a scuttle like Chimensch does in his video. And if I get the sense that my second or third pass lather isn't as "wet" as I need it to be, I just trickle some hot water from the tap into the end of the brush and then "face lather" as you do, rather than try to correct what's in my scuttle.

The bowl that Chimensch is using is a specialty bowl made for shaving that is called a scuttle. It has a double layer so that hot water surrounds the inner bowl, keeping your lather warm throughout the entire shave. The big round "spout" you see him dip his brush into is the opening to add hot water to the inner "reservoir" that keeps the lather in the bowl warm. There are different designs for scuttles and the one he owns has a fill port large enough to dip brushes into.

I bought my scuttle from Dirty Bird Pottery. The one I have is the "1.5" that goes for $54.00. I see Julie added a 15 min video to her Web site, showing her making a shaving scuttle in her pottery shop.

My scuttle has a spiral groove in the bowl, apparently to assist in building lather. One member here asked Julie if she would make a scuttle for him with web shaped grooves instead. He posted about it and I guess a number of other members liked it, so they asked Julie to make scuttles with webbed grooves for them, too. That's why she offers the choice on her Web site.

Do the grooves really make a difference? Probably not. Bowls sold specifically for building lather generally do not have grooves and many shavers happily use them each time they shave.

Shaving scuttles, though, are not mass produced on a factory assembly line. They are works of art, individually crafted by an artist for an end user. And just like any "functional" work of art you might purchase, you will want it for what it does for you emotionally and spiritually -- as well as what it does for you functionally.

More than you wanted to know about how rich your lather should be, eh? ;-)

Namaste,
Morty -_-

I have been using a straight for one year. The first months I was experimenting with different ways to get a perfect lather using a bowl. Now I don't bother any more. I whirl the brush in soap for a few seconds, or mash a little cream into my whiskers with my fingers, then a quick face lathering. Works plenty for me, I guess that is a matter of personal taste.


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Personally I've found that many of the soaps and creams I have, performs best for me when lathered fairly wet, I usually add a good bit of water and never really go for the super thick Santa look.
I also tend to use a fair bit of product, 8 swirls on a puck is waaaay too little for me. Minimum 3 seconds is what I do, some soaps up to a minute.
Works for me.