I have hard water yet no problems making a great lather when I shave and don't have to waste water or product using the Marco method...don't have the mess either...
How to get a Barber Shop Level Lather
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Choosing the right blade will be worse
Choosing the right blade will be worse
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That is rather interesting. I can't see much without my glasses, but I think the barbership I patronized had that exact set-up. I love the warm, almost hot lather they have.
I know that no glasses feeling. Barber hands over a mirror but no glasses - "How's it look?"
Just wait until you are on the road and have the chance to try soft water. Things will be amazing!
I face lather Arko and never had a problem with shaving quality of my lather. It doesn’t look like the advertisements, it’s a lot thinner, doesn’t fall out in fluffy chunks, and I actually get the best shaves when it’s just a little runny. I don’t care how it looks as long as it’s doing its job.
Bath soap is not formulated to retain lather.
Perhaps Barbasol?
Perhaps Barbasol?
Load a fair bit of soap and then add water just a couple of drops at a time. Fully incorporate the water before adding more.
Keep adding until you get the lather you want.
Don't rush it. Lather can look pretty good quite a long time before it is optimized.
Keep adding until you get the lather you want.
Don't rush it. Lather can look pretty good quite a long time before it is optimized.
The key for most soaps (I'll deal with the exception below) is to understand that you must give them a) some water b) some time and c) gentle scrubbing with brush hairs to dissolve. All dissolve: if they don't do this, they're useless. Once they are dissolved, you can begin working air into the mixture, while adding small gulps of water to achieve the consistency you require.
Three second spins? No go. No, your expensive soap isn't so concentrated you only need 3 seconds.
'Softening up' soaps by sprinkling water on them a few minutes prior to loading up? Unnecessary, and often detrimental.
Scraping soaps with your brush? Only advisable if your hobby is buying brushes.
It is, however, advisable to move and/or grate pucks of soap into a container with raised walls (something like this) so the proto-lather doesn't escape and can be worked towards the puck surface again.
I usually load for 25 to 30 seconds. This gives me more lather than I need, so I could probably get away with 15 to 20 seconds. But I don't need to ration my soap usage. There is a small knack to it, but after you've done this about 100 times, you'll do it with your eyes closed. Or rather: with sleep-drugged eyes.
The exception is MWF. Owing to its formulation containing lots of water sequestering compounds it needs significantly more water compared to other major brands to come together into a rich lather. I solved this by cutting my usual loading time to about 2/3rds, then adding water which would make something like, say, Tabac or PdP, 'sloppy'. Despite getting MWF to work at bloody long last thus earning me a 'Master Latherer' badge, I didn't really like shaving with it. It was artificially thick and not soap thick stuff. The MWF ended up as a pleasant violet-scented bath soap.
You do not need to learn to make lather. You need to learn what a good lather is like. Then you will be able to adjust your lather (adding water, or adding soap, or working it more) until it is good.
So what is a good lather? I’d say stable, wettish, soft droopy peaks, smooth and no air bubbles. If your razor ever clogs then your lather is too dry - that’s one giveaway.
Every soap and brush behaves differently, so there’s no formula. You just have to adjust things until you get it the way it should be. After a bit of practice it becomes second nature. You just have to know what it’s supposed to end up like.
So what is a good lather? I’d say stable, wettish, soft droopy peaks, smooth and no air bubbles. If your razor ever clogs then your lather is too dry - that’s one giveaway.
Every soap and brush behaves differently, so there’s no formula. You just have to adjust things until you get it the way it should be. After a bit of practice it becomes second nature. You just have to know what it’s supposed to end up like.
Every barber that I have used for a shave has used this to give the perfect lather. Home - https://www.latherking.com/
I am half tempted to buy one. It’s just that my wife would complain about taking up the bathroom counter space lol.
I am half tempted to buy one. It’s just that my wife would complain about taking up the bathroom counter space lol.
There are a handful of variations on how to make lather, but I'm in the lather is pretty simple stuff camp.
You need some soap. How much? Start with a bit too much and work your way back to just right for you with a little experimenting. Soap is cheap - do some practice lathers.
You can scoop out some soap and put it in a bowl or rub it on your face (people who prefer this method usually use shave sticks - soap in a cylinder to make it easier to apply to face) or use a damp brush right on top of the soap (or a wet one). It just doesn't matter, you need some soap - so get some.
Lather is soap/cream + water. You've got some soap, so how much water? Well, how thin do you like your lather? Experiment a bit with a few shaves and you'll soon find out the consistency that makes you happy. The safest way to add water is a little at a time. Keep swirling the brush and adding a little water until you like the results. You can dip the tips of the brush in water, hold it under the running faucet, let some drops roll off your fingers onto the brush or in the bowl - doesn't matter. Soap + water.
I recommend a practice lather or two. If you usually face lather I'd substitute your palm. Start with the earlier mentioned soap and slowly add water. Pay attention to what the lather looks like at each stage. Keep adding water until it looks pretty darn good - this might take a while if you're adding slowly. When it looks good keep adding water and swirling. Does it look better now? It might, but soon it will start to look too thin as you keep adding water. Now you've got a pretty good idea of how much water you need. Since you've been paying attention, if the lather looks way too dry you can add a larger quantity of water - no need to spend minutes pouring over lather production.
As you shave with this fine looking lather you can continue to experiment a little. When it's going well, see how you like lather that's just a bit thinner. It will either please you more or not - easy peasy. If you've got enough lather left over to shave the rest of the street use a little less soap tomorrow. You'll eventually find your happy place.
You need some soap. How much? Start with a bit too much and work your way back to just right for you with a little experimenting. Soap is cheap - do some practice lathers.
You can scoop out some soap and put it in a bowl or rub it on your face (people who prefer this method usually use shave sticks - soap in a cylinder to make it easier to apply to face) or use a damp brush right on top of the soap (or a wet one). It just doesn't matter, you need some soap - so get some.
Lather is soap/cream + water. You've got some soap, so how much water? Well, how thin do you like your lather? Experiment a bit with a few shaves and you'll soon find out the consistency that makes you happy. The safest way to add water is a little at a time. Keep swirling the brush and adding a little water until you like the results. You can dip the tips of the brush in water, hold it under the running faucet, let some drops roll off your fingers onto the brush or in the bowl - doesn't matter. Soap + water.
I recommend a practice lather or two. If you usually face lather I'd substitute your palm. Start with the earlier mentioned soap and slowly add water. Pay attention to what the lather looks like at each stage. Keep adding water until it looks pretty darn good - this might take a while if you're adding slowly. When it looks good keep adding water and swirling. Does it look better now? It might, but soon it will start to look too thin as you keep adding water. Now you've got a pretty good idea of how much water you need. Since you've been paying attention, if the lather looks way too dry you can add a larger quantity of water - no need to spend minutes pouring over lather production.
As you shave with this fine looking lather you can continue to experiment a little. When it's going well, see how you like lather that's just a bit thinner. It will either please you more or not - easy peasy. If you've got enough lather left over to shave the rest of the street use a little less soap tomorrow. You'll eventually find your happy place.
Barber shops use lather machines, as mentioned above. They're meant to be fast and profitable. If you're not already, you'll soon be making better lather at home.
You have learned to deal with it, which can usually be done just by using more soap and working it for longer.
But to be clear, there is zero doubt that hard water hampers lather development. Calcium and magnesium in hard water bind with stearic acid to form mineral stearates.
Saponified stearic acid lathers very, very easily. Magnesium stearate and calcium stearate don't lather at all.
To be honest I've never had a problem making a lather here at home or on the road. Proraso when I started and Stirling since have been very easy to lather for me. I did have a problem with a couple Mystic Water soaps I had gotten samples of several years ago...
I don't doubt it for a second. Like I said, you can usually compensate by adding more product and working it longer.
It's also possible that your water is not as hard as you think it is. Hard water is a matter of degree. There's a big difference between 11 ppm and 400 ppm. If you're not in a constant battle with soap scum and scaling, your water isn't all that hard. Another sign is how long it takes to rinse real soap off in the shower. If it takes a few seconds, your water's not all that hard. If the soap comes off instantly, that's a sign of hard water.
People who have substantially hard water get sick of all of the problems it causes, not just when shaving, but scale in their pipes, stains in their toilets, clothes not getting clean in the washer, soap scum rapidly building up on surfaces, etc. They start looking to get water softeners. If problems like this haven't driven you to look for solutions, your water probably isn't all that hard.
What I'm 100% sure of is that the laws of chemistry don't stop at your bathroom door.
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