Thread: Anyone else that likes low cushion

Using a wetter than normal lather for straight shaving is a common recommendation to new straight shavers. I find that I often enjoy a lighter lather than most of the new base soaps for the same reasons. A lot of the enjoyment of straights for me is the honing and maintenance of a fine edge. I like a lather that lets me feel that edge a bit.

I used to whip soap in a scuttle until I had lather that had standing peaks, like meringue. As my shaving as evolved, I've gone to a "less worked" lather, sometimes (often) face-lathering. I've found that the key for me is slickness not heaviness. I can recall the barber, when I was a kid, using his thumb to smear a lot of the lather off while he stretched my sideburn and neck areas to shave them. That type of minimal thickness but great slickness is what I look for now, and what gives me the best shaves -- SR or DE.

Might be the same thing, but I have taken to using the wetted brush to sweep away a lot of lather, esp after a first pass. It seems a pile of excess does no good.
What is next to the skin is what works.

Wish I could give an answer but I never understood what cushion was relating to lather. All I know is that I like a thick lather, not as in deep, that has enough water in it to feel slick. Hope that makes sense.

Bob

Hydration provides slickness, whether the lather is thick or thin. I care more about slickness than I do cushion, but enjoy both when I can get them.

I like a little extra wet in my lather. Thickness seems like it keep the blade from getting closer to the skin. I like to take my lather to the point where its just about to be too wet and and become a drippy mess, then work it some more to build up the soap a touch more. This way its wet, slick and just on this side of dripping and running down my face. There is a fine line to getting the max water and not breaking down the soap.

Originally Posted by Haroldg48

I used to whip soap in a scuttle until I had lather that had standing peaks, like meringue. As my shaving as evolved, I've gone to a "less worked" lather, sometimes (often) face-lathering. I've found that the key for me is slickness not heaviness. I can recall the barber, when I was a kid, using his thumb to smear a lot of the lather off while he stretched my sideburn and neck areas to shave them. That type of minimal thickness but great slickness is what I look for now, and what gives me the best shaves -- SR or DE.

Though I still enjoy the benefits of a good face lather, I've gone the other way. I never really worked that hard to create a lather "that had standing peaks, like meringue," now I do. Too funny.

Of course now that I have a bit more experience, I know what soaps are more likely to give me that and seek them out.

I bowl lather 95% of the time.

I like a nice thick lather with peaks that is on the wetter side.
A big key for me is how wet my face is when I brush it on.
I'd rather it thin out while applying than in the bowl.

Like Jerry said it's a fine line....I think of it as kinda like mixing concrete.
Just a tad bit too much water and you end up with a soupy mess.

Pete <:-}

I'd only add that for me the lather is usually the key to the shave, assuming I have a SR that is well honed to a sharp, yet comfortable edge. If I rush lathering, I can tell while shaving and have sometimes started over.

Aloha!

Good thread. I went through a period this last year where I was far too busy to fuss with my normal routine of wet shaving. I had 5 minutes to shave in the morning. So I resorted to hand lathering Cremo on my face, and doing a fast two-pass shave with a DE and Feather (or Lord) Blade. My two favorite blades. On occasion, when I had a precious 15 minutes to spare, I also shaved this way with my straight razors.

What I found is that I agree with some of the comments here. It's the slickness of the skin where the razor meets the beard that counts, not whipped lather. Hand lathering Cremo put a thin slick barrier on the skin, and a small bit of lather. I think you can get a slick skin surface with a good thick lather, don't get me wrong, but I found that a quick face lathering of Cremo (very low lather) was just as effective as my decades of bowl lathering.

-Zip