Thread: Foam consistency...when is it right?

I'm new to wet shaving (less than 10 shaves) but I'm still having the concern that my foam is not of the consistency of yogurt. It's foamy, and lathers, but it's more foamy than having a thick consistently and is light in spots when applied (I can still see my skin through the foam). So, I think I'm going about this improperly, especially since my foam rises up and clings to the lip of my cup.


My question is how much soap do you use? How long should you swirl the brush in the cup? Is a yogurt consistency a must? How much is a dollop of shave cream (or the right amount) to put in the bowl from a tin? How do use an arko stick? Also if the shave is a cream, do you need a brush and should it be of yogurt consistency after being whipped?

Really can someone walk me through how to literally take the product out of the tin, place it in the cup (how much and how) and how log should you swish the brush and what should the consistency be. I'm truly concerned, so if anybody can help with a creating shaving foam properly tutorial (its ok to talk to me like a five year old because I need to learn proper techniques before I get further along and ingrain so bad habits).

Thanks in advance.

Hapless in Houston

Try YouTube and type the keywords "shaving for beginners" or "shave with brush".

These videos will walk you through nicely.
Lynn Abrams (Straight Razor Designs) has done an entire series of videos that you may find very useful.

These videos may help you come to grips with the concept much easier than trying to express it in words.


B.


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Tom,
I think you have got this. Now comes the part whereas you have to create this type of lather every time. When I first started (not that long ago) someone told me about water. Water (soft and hard) makes a difference. In San Antonio, we have consistent hard water. A trick to overcome that was a little dab of Cremo original shave cream. You can get it at HEB. Comes in a tube. Use that, a little cake soap, 3 drops of glycerin, and some water, you'll get tons of rich luxurious lather just like you have in your vessel every time.

A shaving brush can be thought of as a face whisk. You're job is to whisk, or beat air into a foam to the point it thickens considerably. When I realized this I had enough shiny, unbreakdown-able, THICK Mitchell's Wool Fat lather, enough for 5 passes. And I face lather exclusively. I never need to add water to my lather during a shave. Also, I don't load too too much, never "like you hate it." My lather is so thick I could drop a quarter on it and it would stay mostly put. Now that's lather.

Lather is made in two steps:

1. Creating the Foam.
2. Whipping Air into it.

I start with a WET BRUSH. Wetter than most people care for. I never shake the brush, not once. I love long big boar brushes, they can whip up lather IMO better than a Simpson's. That's just me though.

I will simply load the brush letting foam spill over the side, pick it up with the brush, and keep going until the bubbles are small and uniform. this is a LOT of foam on the brush.

I do a painting stroke on one side of my face to "dump" the foam on my cheek, then begin with whatever's left to build the lather on the other side of the face. When it's thick and ready, I "pick up" the foam on the other side of the face. Sounds complicated -- it's rather seamless and never messy. By the time I'm done.... if I put pictures up you would've sworn I used glycerin or shaving cream or extra loading time. Those products work to tho, and they definitely have there place.

I used to be a chef, so it might not make sense reading it. I guess the best metaphor--thick of whipped cream, except you're starting halfway thick and the whole process takes about 3 minutes to Uber-Lather quality, 5 passes at the ready.

I respect everyone on this forum. Personally, I can't stand bowl lathering.The dry loading technique is also pretty bad, for ME. Ymmv. I like thick, but I like it with tons of glide too. Some soaps have ingridients that lend themselves more to certain qualities, kind of like hones-- with enough practice you'll knock it out of the park everytime.

I use MWF exclusively now.

Originally Posted by Johntoad57

Tom,
I think you have got this. Now comes the part whereas you have to create this type of lather every time. When I first started (not that long ago) someone told me about water. Water (soft and hard) makes a difference. In San Antonio, we have consistent hard water. A trick to overcome that was a little dab of Cremo original shave cream. You can get it at HEB. Comes in a tube. Use that, a little cake soap, 3 drops of glycerin, and some water, you'll get tons of rich luxurious lather just like you have in your vessel every time.

You can do that, but. Have found that if I get a soap that doesn't need a "crutch" and stands alone that I get a great soap no matter what water I have. Don't get me wrong I did this at one time too. Mixing and adding ingredients to get that perfect lather every time. But I learned to skip it and just go with soaps that perform without help, makes things simple and bulletproof. Tc

If you have an Arko stick, try face lathering. Wet the stick and rub on your beard. Work it into a lather on your face. Too thin rub a bit more soap on, too thick dab a bit of water on with your brush. With soap and cream, not too much water and add a small amount at a time till you get desired consistency.

Originally Posted by Grazor

If you have an Arko stick, try face lathering. Wet the stick and rub on your beard. Work it into a lather on your face. Too thin rub a bit more soap on, too thick dab a bit of water on with your brush. With soap and cream, not too much water and add a small amount at a time till you get desired consistency.

Thank you for the instructions, I was doing it all wrong-all wrong. Much appreciated.

You will find yourself going through a series of lather iterations.

I certainly have, from building super thick, “Uber Lather” in scuttles to get er done face, lather. It is all preference.

The bottom line is getting moisture on your beard and face and adding a bit of lubrication. Water is the essential element of a good lather, more or less water will make or break a lather.

I too, typically face lather, build it to a quick proper consistency by adding water to the brush.

The other variable is soap or cream, there are so many great soaps and creams on the market, you really have to try some of the top tiers, to get a full appreciation of what is available.

Yes, some are pricy, but trust me on this, the good ones are worth it. If you want to dip you toe in top tier soaps, you can’t go wrong starting with MDC, it will open a whole other world of shaving for you.

Get a good brush, experiment, and enjoy.

Here is a great thread on the better soaps… First tier soaps and creams.

Agree with the above, and to be clear, if using a soap or cream (other than a stick), the preferred method is to load the brush from the puck or jar of cream until the tips have product on them, and then whip well in a separate mug or bowl (or on your face) adding a little water at a time to the brush tiips if the lather seems dry. It sometimes, depending on the "product", takes time to get a good lather built. Lynn, Gssixgun and others all have videos on the site or on Youtube that demonstrate the technique of lathering. I suggest watching them, since a "moving picture" is worth 100,000 words.

Depending to the soap or cream and the brush you have the lather can be drastically different and the time to produce it can vary tremendously. You need to experiment with a particular product and decide how much water you need on the particular brush and how much twirling you need to do to create the lather and another variable is the quality of your water and the temperature of the water.

The is no exact formula we can give you which is universal and will produce the best lather in the world.

Some products will never give a great lather and some do it almost by themselves. Then there is what your idea of a good lather is.