Do you ever practice lather?
- Thread starter Chadtheguru
- Start date
Well, after reading this. I am going to have to practice. I am getting pretty good at MWF soap, but have some work to do with my first puck of Tabac. I hadn't thought about practicing, but now I can't wait. I will try this evening. Of course my wife will think I have completely lost it....but it is for a good cause. I have produced mugs of bad lather, but ended up shaving with it....with less than desirable results. Those days are getting fewer and fewer....
I too used to practice lather quite often when I first started traditional wet shaving. Now I only practice when I get a new soap or cream that I've never used before.
Since my wife says I can't buy anymore shaving stuff due to lack of storage space, it will be a while 'til I do another practice lather.
Since my wife says I can't buy anymore shaving stuff due to lack of storage space, it will be a while 'til I do another practice lather.
I have made practice lathers with Modern Williams frequently. So far I have failed with it every time.
Some people just do not have the right touch. Maybe sending out all those negative vibes really does have an effect on the soap. Of course, YMMV.
David
Proud member of the Anti-Social Williams Group
A new soap or cream always gets one or two trial runs before I shave with it. It allows me to gauge performance in a relaxed setting. Other than that, once I got comfortable with producing quality lather from soaps, I haven't fooled around anymore. Frankly, there is no need to.
I'm trying to figure out bowl lathering (keep making it too wet for some reason!) so I've made a couple (few) test lathers.
Only when my wife is out, though!
Only when my wife is out, though!
On non-shaving days I "test" face-lathering. I tell myself it has a benefit (exfoliation, cleansing), but really I just want to smell nice things.
I am a prisoner of my nose!
I am a prisoner of my nose!
Without actually shaving, my shave and practice lathers are NEVER PERFECT
, but I'm home from work~4 PM, and my wife gets in ~745 PM, and Idele Hands are the Work of The Devil 
, why not have some fun & maybe learn something new, or try something a bit different. It's all in the quest for A CONSISTENT, COMFORTABLE, ENJOYABLE, LUXURIOUS... 
I too used to practice lather quite often when I first started traditional wet shaving. Now I only practice when I get a new soap or cream that I've never used before.
Since my wife says I can't buy anymore shaving stuff due to lack of storage space, it will be a while 'til I do another practice lather.
....BE WARNED, you may have to PRACTICE if your rotation contains too many soaps & creams.... Therefore in the GOOD BOOK of SHAVING , you are COMMANDED to BEGIN PRACTICE LATHERS to KEEP in TUNE with YOUR SOAPS, I'm sure SWMBO will understand
I started ~3 months ago, using the tutorials on B&B, they were great, but I experienced the same problem. I decided to actually time my mixing after adding water, I discovered, I was impatient, adding too much water and not enough mixing time.
The Soap tutorial has pictures of the different stages of latherbuilding, which I used as a guide, just a suggestion that worked for me, good luck and HAPPY SHAVING
EDIT: Didn't mean to HOG the Thread
That's just wrong! Funny (and true) but wrong.
I prefer to call it product testing!! I have a butter knife on hand for my creams and I use it to remove what I "Test" on my face without having to actually shave.
This method is for those that receive a product during the day after the normal shave and just can't wait
This method is for those that receive a product during the day after the normal shave and just can't wait
I had a long session of lathering yesterday with some Van der Velva. I never could get VDH to work like in all of the videos I've seen. I love mantic and all of the things he's taught me, but his brush in the 10 minute wetshave video has to be from another planet. I've tried the trusty Wilkinson brush I started with, the VDH that I've had for a while and my Vulfix. Wet or dry to start, just can't get VDH to load up.
Long story short, I found Michinganlover's video on VDH. Bless you, John. I loaded and swirled for what felt like an eternity until I had thick, soapy goodness to the base of the knot. About a minute and some water later, I had the most amazing lather I've ever seen in person. It was really a shame that I didn't need a shave just then.
Tonight's project: Face lather some VDH. Doing that pre-shower, so if it works I can just do it again, if not, I'll just bowl-lather after. I could wuss out and order some cream. (And some Proraso pre/post, an Omega 49, an alum block...man, the wife's gonna kill me.)
Long story short, I found Michinganlover's video on VDH. Bless you, John. I loaded and swirled for what felt like an eternity until I had thick, soapy goodness to the base of the knot. About a minute and some water later, I had the most amazing lather I've ever seen in person. It was really a shame that I didn't need a shave just then.
Tonight's project: Face lather some VDH. Doing that pre-shower, so if it works I can just do it again, if not, I'll just bowl-lather after. I could wuss out and order some cream. (And some Proraso pre/post, an Omega 49, an alum block...man, the wife's gonna kill me.)
If you need a few test runs do it. I do think it helps to start with a fairly dry brush and add water bit by bit til the lather is trash. You will see the lather at many different stages. That was helpful for me so that I could correct my water ratio to get what I wanted.
Like a lot of others have already said, I test lather whenever I get a new product.
Recently, I have made a few test lathers with VDH Deluxe, but when it comes time to actually shave, I end up falling back to whatever cream I am currently using.
Recently, I have made a few test lathers with VDH Deluxe, but when it comes time to actually shave, I end up falling back to whatever cream I am currently using.
Why hasn't that dawned on me? It sounds great.
I have done this also.
I'm sorta doing a variation of that right now.
I am in the "Using MWF for January" group and still trying to perfect my face lathering technique.
Yesterday I tried it with 2 different brushes, each having a different amount of pre-soaking (Totally dry vs slightly wet).
And I sill haven't got it pinned down. Maybe this will take a 4 brush test lather.
I am in the "Using MWF for January" group and still trying to perfect my face lathering technique.
Yesterday I tried it with 2 different brushes, each having a different amount of pre-soaking (Totally dry vs slightly wet).
And I sill haven't got it pinned down. Maybe this will take a 4 brush test lather.
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