Sunday, November 28, 2010

Great Shaving Lather

I have spent quite a long time trying to perfect my recipe for great shaving soap, but even great soap can be disappointing if you're not using a good method for building shaving lather with your brush.  The following is an illustrated example of one reliable method, though it's not by any means the only one.  Since I didn't grow up shaving myself, I had to learn from somewhere.  My thanks goes to the guys over at Badger and Blade for their suggestions and shaving "how to" resources.

Loading the Brush with Soap:
Fill sink with hot water and soak brush for 3-5 minutes. This allows the bristles to retain and control the amount of water in the lather.

Place a thin layer of water on your soap and let it soak for at least a couple of minutes.

Remove brush from the hot water and squeeze bristles vigorously, wringing out most of the water. Give it a couple of good shakes as well.

Dump the thin layer of water off of soap and begin swirling your brush in a circular motion with light to medium pressure. Add some plunger motions, using the whole brush and including the sides of the brush. Continue swirling until a paste-like consistency begins to form on the top of the soap and on the brush.

Bubbles mean too much water. A large volume of lather means too much water.
Continue to swirl until a noticeable audible and tactile difference is made when the brush moves over the soap. When the paste is forming the brush is noisier and seems to drag over the soap instead of smoothly going over the top.
Take a look at your brush, do the bristles clump together? If yes, you're done. If no, continue to swirl and load.

Now you can build lather on your face (see following), in your hand, or in a separate bowl.

Face Lathering Method:
Follow all of the preceding directions for loading up your brush with soap.
Give your face a liberal splash of warm water and leave it dripping.
Take the brush to your face and swirl/scrub/paint until the lather reaches a nice, thick consistency (peaks that stand).

If lather is too thick, add water to the brush a few drops at a time by dipping only the tip of the brush into your hot water. If lather is too thin, return to the soap for 5-10 second intervals. If you need more lather at any time during the shave just work the soap with your brush again.

Here's a great video that shows this technique, along with some others, for building lather:



Happy shaving!

10 comments:

Shaving Soaps said...

Skin products for specific skin types have been available for a number of years now, and products like shaving soaps, shaving creams, and facial skin care which are formulated for men are slowly gaining popularity. However, before choosing what products to use on their faces, men should start with the basic issue, and that is to know specific skin type first.

dovo straight razor said...

Lots of Good information in your post, I favorited your blog post so I can visit again in the future, Thanks.

CovenantMan said...

Purchased a puck of the Filthy Rich, and was delighted with the smell, the feel, and the experience, but couldn't make good lather. This video fixed all that. Wonderful shave soap. Thanks.

ASBloom said...

CovenantMan: I'm glad this video was helpful! Thanks for the good feedback on the shave soap.

Double Edge razor said...

Lots of Good information in your post,
I favorited your blog post
so I can visit again in the future, Thanks.

albina N muro said...

I have spent quite a long time trying to perfect my recipe for great shaving soap, but even great soap can be disappointing if you're not using a good method for building shaving lather with your brush. There are so many great colors to choose from!

Robert said...

Want to help Rebecca Minkoff style her first runway show at Lincoln Center? Here's your chance to win the ultimate New York Fashion Week experience! mehndi designs

Anonymous said...

Purchased a puck of the Filthy Rich, and was delighted with the smell, the feel, and the experience, but couldn't make good lather. This video fixed all that. Wonderful shave soap. Thanks. mehandi designs images

Robert said...

I’m excited to uncover this page. I need to to thank you for ones time for this particularly fantastic read !! I definitely really liked every part of it and i also have you saved to fav to look at new information in your site Pakistani Suits

Unknown said...

This is a great article with some good pictures in as well. So many people have started growing beards this year, I've seen some of this stuff on beyond beards