Are Shave Sticks the best way to make lather?

[deafficianado]

I like sticks but I still like classic round pucks better. YMMV.

Believe it or not, this is actually a very short, wide shave stick...

View attachment 1803552

Yes, this. I prefer the wider circumference of pucks over sticks. I usually start off my shaves rubbing a puck of either MWF, PDP, AOS, Tabac, or some other hard puck depending on mood. There are way more choices of pucks than sticks. This ensures that there is enough product. When in doubt use more product.

 

[kingfisher]

Seems like a lot of fuss just to destroy and dry out your face. We have evolved to modern, non-lathering methods gentlemen

A good shave soap doesn't dry out the skin, if properly lathered. Soap gets a bad rap for drying skin, but that is based on commercial bath soaps, in which the glycerin is removed in order to be sold separately. Bath soaps are also designed to be cleansing.

A proper shave soap has advantages. First, not only is the glycerin not removed, but extra is often added. Second, the soaps are frequently superfatted, meaning that not all the oils are saponifled, which leaves moisturizing oils in the mix. Third, they are not designed to be cleansing; therefore, they do not strip the skin of its oils.

Feel free to use a non-lathering cream if it works for you and you like it, but I can assure you that I am not drying out my skin with the shaving soaps I am using.

 

[Lord NSIC]

A good shave soap doesn't dry out the skin, if properly lathered. Soap gets a bad rap for drying skin, but that is based on commercial bath soaps, in which the glycerin is removed in order to be sold separately. Bath soaps are also designed to be cleansing.

A proper shave soap has advantages. First, not only is the glycerin not removed, but extra is often added. Second, the soaps are frequently superfatted, meaning that not all the oils are saponifled, which leaves moisturizing oils in the mix. Third, they are not designed to be cleansing; therefore, they do not strip the skin of its oils.

Feel free to use a non-lathering cream if it works for you and you like it, but I can assure you that I am not drying out my skin with the shaving soaps I am using.

This: used Proraso green pre and soap this morning with a boar brush and my skin is very moisturized and definitely not dry/stripped -- in fact it's almost a bit oily and it's been less than 2 hours post-shave. I doubt anyone would ever consider Proraso a high-end shave soap, and I've had pretty much the same experience with even lower-end soaps like Arko stick.

 

[Luc]

IMO, a shave stick is easier to use when you are face-lathering (traveling or not). I also used pucks as shave sticks (either grated and shaped as a stick or simply wrapped in aluminum). Either way, it works. I prefer using aluminum, it's less work. I do not use my soaps as shaving sticks every time but I face lather exclusively.

YMMV!

 

[shave/brush]

I agree that shave sticks are easier to use when face-lathering than any other method.

 

[OkieStubble]

I think many who use shave sticks that think it's way too pasty or drying, may be guilty of rubbing the stick too hard or too long on their wet, rough beard? I have two gallon sized zip-lock bags. One bag is full of La Toja sticks, the other bag is full of Arko sticks. there are a few learned techniques I use from my personal experience of getting better moist lathers when doing the shave stick method.

1. Wet beard of course. (should be a gimmie)

2. Very lightly rub the shave stick over my face and neck. Very light and not too long. Most of the time, I can't even hardly see the soap applied to my dark beard and skin. If your beard is covered in a bunch of visible white soap? I can guarantee, you have probably rubbed way too much soap on your face and your lather is going to be dry & pasty and no amount of water on your brush, is going to make it better. Yes, you can add a bunch of water to your brush; and while the top surface of your face will look shiny and moist?

Underneath that, closer to your skin, it will still be dry and pasty, and about half way thru your first pass, your razor will begin dragging, proving that only the surface was moist, but underneath the surface; it still is too pasty and dry, because once your brush get full of lather, it doesn't have the ability to incorporate more water to get close to the skin without messing up the copious amounts of lather that is already in the brush?

3. How do we fix this? for starters, once my beard is wet I don't wet the stick also, I leave the stick itself dry. Why? Well, there are many old school instructions on vintage sticks which say to do this. The reasons are, it helps to not over apply too much soap. it also, stops the complaints about the foil on the sticks like Arko, getting too wet and taking too long to dry out.
I rub my wet beard and face, ever so lightly with a dry stick of Arko. Arko is already a very explosive lathering soap as it is? Especially with a wet synthetic? It doesn't take a thick, white layer of soap on the beard, in order to explode with lather?

4. So go easy on the soap stick, ever so lightly rubbing a dry stick on your face. Trust me, your brush and face will still explode in lather from the water in your brush; and it will also be easier to reach that soap that's closer to your skin in order to incorporate more water and lift that dry soap up off your skin. Now, your moist lather won't just be on the top surface while pasty & dry underneath, but it will be a moist lather all the way down to your skin and you will be able to notice during your shave when it doesn't feel like it's drying out half way thru your shave anymore.

5. When I'm done lightly applying the stick? I turn it upside down and sit it on a soap dish on it's top instead of it's bottom. since the stick was used dry, turning it upside down, it prevents any water I had on my hand from dripping down the stick into the part where the foil is torn and exposes the soap stick. By the time I have done my two pass modified shave? The tip of that stick is already bone dry with the rest of the stick. By the time I rinse my face, dry off and splash on aftershave, that stick is ready to be put back in the empty prescription bottle that I have a couple of holes drilled into it for air and then put away.

It's a good thing to hone the minutia details of your shaving tactics whenever and wherever you can. One single small detail that you can change during your prep or shave, isn't really going to improve your shave or speed up the time for an enjoyable shave. But if you observe? Find? Discover? Change up, modify and improve a dozen different small details in your prep and shave?

I guarantee, the total shave itself improves and the time and speed in which it takes for a quality, enjoyable shave will also improve

 

[shave/brush]

What I do when using a shave stick is, wet my face, rub a thin layer of soap on my face. Then I take my fairly wet brush and start to make lather. Even though I'm using a fairly wet brush, it is still a little too pasty for me. So I put just a few drops of water into my brush and work the soap again. It always comes out nice then. I do not wet the soap stick prior to the shave.

 

[md1234]

What I do when using a shave stick is, wet my face, rub a thin layer of soap on my face. Then I take my fairly wet brush and start to make lather. Even though I'm using a fairly wet brush, it is still a little too pasty for me. So I put just a few drops of water into my brush and work the soap again. It always comes out nice then. I do not wet the soap stick prior to the shave.

+1 this is the way I use shaving sticks as well.

 

[Trollky]

Seems like a lot of fuss just to destroy and dry out your face. We have evolved to modern, non-lathering methods gentlemen

If that were true this forum would be very different...

 

[blade08]

A good shave soap doesn't dry out the skin, if properly lathered.

True.

 

[blade08]

I doubt anyone would ever consider Proraso a high-end shave soap

Not in price, but most definitely in quality. I'd call it a good quality, reliable working man's soap. It's a bit like a quality Japanese quartz watch that will work for decades without fanfare.

 

[Lord NSIC]

Not in price, but most definitely in quality. I'd call it a good quality, reliable working man's soap.

I have Proraso Green and Red that I love because it's just so foolproof, reliable, easy and inexpensive. Most of my soaps fall into the under $15 range (a lot of vintage pucks of Old Spice, Colgate and Palmolive) with the only outlier being a tub of MdC Agrumes purchased in Paris (I've blocked out the price). The MdC is nice, but I'll reach for the Proraso and Colgate before the MdC. My soaps are like my beer: cheap and predictable and at the risk of starting a firestorm, I'd choose a Miller High Life over anything else.

 

[Quaznoid]

No

 

[geneaut]

It is 'a' way to make lather. For some people it may very well be the best.

I try not to focus on 'best' when it comes to wet-shaving. I try to use everything and enjoy it all.