a new take on superlather

heat sink · Feb 26, 2010

I'm a big fan of mixing things together, so I'd tried some "superlathers" before knowing there was a term for it. My first idea was to load my brush with soap, and add a dot or two of cream to my bowl just before lathering. This seemed to work but was a bit variable in quality of lather, and I didn't get the performance I had hoped for.

Very recently I turned it about, realizing that cream alone gave me a super-close shave, but lacked a little bit of slickness and long-term lather stability of the soap. Yesterday's experiment:

1) soak bowl and brush in hot water
2) add ~2tsp hot water to my "frankenpuck" of VDH Deluxe / Williams
3) light squeeze, and shake brush very dry
4) dip brush into Muhle cream, and get just a bit on the tips
5) with my finger, swirl on top the "frankenpuck" and loosen the softened Williams/VDH, making a slurry. Pour about half into lather bowl, instead of hot water
6) build lather, adding more slurry as needed (or water, if slurry runs out).

This seemed to act almost as a lather enhancer - it didn't have the slickness I would get using a good soap like DR Harris, but it was pretty smooth, gave me a close shave with no irritation worth mentioning, and my skin felt GREAT following the shave. Definitely less tugging and irritation than using just the cream.

Merkur 25c w/Shark blade
DR Harris Badger brush
Muhle Aloe Vera shaving cream (tub)
Aqua Velva / Nivea Extreme Comfort ASB

JPM · Feb 26, 2010

Interesting. I'll have to give that one a try.

Jodbirch · Feb 26, 2010

Okay, this may be heresy, but recently I tried mixing some old canned Colgate Lime shaving cream in with some Kiss My Face Key Lime scented cream. It produced a really thick and Lime-ey lather that worked quite well. Does anybody else ever mix some canned goo in with their soap or creams?

funkyb · Feb 26, 2010

My latest superlather love has been C&E Sandalwood soap, with just a touch of Edwin Jagger Sandalwood cream added to the bowl. All the moistureizing goodness and scent of the C&E, plus the slickness of that EJ Cream. I love it.

pelicano · Feb 26, 2010

Favorite superlather: Omega soap+Proraso cream.
Creamy Italian minty goodness! :thumbup1:

masonjarjar · Feb 26, 2010

Frankenpuck.. I like that.

here's mine.. (don't laugh)..

St. Charles Shave Barbershop soap mixed in to VDH Deluxe.

Works great together and the combo smells kind of like.. and I'm not kidding.. Floris No. 89..

weird, huh?

dcrosso · Feb 26, 2010

For approx ten years I used Edge or Rite Aid, shaving gel along with disposable two edge razors. Two years ago I started using my fathers rubberset boar brush and his shaving mug with a combination of Dove facial soap and an aloe glycerin facial soap. I was getting good shaves, continueing to use the disposable razors. I had this Rite Aid can of shaving gel in my old travel kit. It was almost new/full (although several years old) and I put it into my spare, bathroom sink, cabinette, drawer. I was thinking someone may want to use it, if they ran out while visiting.

About a year later, last week, I was rummaging through the drawer and reconnected with the gel. (the Rite Aid gel is now about three years old) I wondered if it still had propellant in it. I was just about to shave so I tested it in my lather bowl. To my supprise gel squirted into the bowl. I was just going to rinse it out, when the thought struck me to make a super lather.

I left the gel in the bowl and proceeded to lather up my 31064 boar brush with some ARKO soap. I mixed the two. The gel changed the smell of the ARKO and seemed to make a creamier lather. I prepped my face and applied the super lather. I was shaving, using a Gillette Tech with a blue wrapper, Personna blade. I got just as good a shave as if I was using Tabac or Proraso. I am going to finish off the can. I don't think I will buy another can of gel because I have plenty of other quality soaps, but it is an interesting experiment.

Ru4scuba? · Feb 26, 2010

You know...some folks jab at the Superlather technique..but I'm a fan. I often give the Conk Amber a swirl prior to added a snurdle of my favorite cream. Amazingly slick lather with your favorite scent, moisture properties of whichever cream you are using for the day...

Sammer · Feb 26, 2010

Between passes I'll sometimes face lather with a shave stick for slickness, but I may just have to try some of these fancier concoctions at some point.

Frowzy · Feb 26, 2010

pelicano said:
Favorite superlather: Omega soap+Proraso cream.
Creamy Italian minty goodness!

Love this combo. Eventually, though, as I acquired and sold more soaps, I realized a really nice soap doesn't need to be superlathered. It will provide all the desired properties: cushion, slickness, moisturizing, etc. I've also found using only one soap at a time helps me appreciate its unique properties.

Still fun to mix it up, though (oh puns...)

James099 · Feb 26, 2010

I always mix Kiss my face Cool Mint Cream with Proraso Aloe and Green Tea Soap ; the lather is amazing and the scent is incredible! :biggrin1:

. IMO of course.

masonjarjar · Feb 27, 2010

dcrosso said:
For approx ten years I used Edge or Rite Aid, shaving gel along with disposable two edge razors. Two years ago I started using my fathers rubberset boar brush and his shaving mug with a combination of Dove facial soap and an aloe glycerin facial soap. I was getting good shaves, continueing to use the disposable razors. I had this Rite Aid can of shaving gel in my old travel kit. It was almost new/full (although several years old) and I put it into my spare, bathroom sink, cabinette, drawer. I was thinking someone may want to use it, if they ran out while visiting.

About a year later, last week, I was rummaging through the drawer and reconnected with the gel. (the Rite Aid gel is now about three years old) I wondered if it still had propellant in it. I was just about to shave so I tested it in my lather bowl. To my supprise gel squirted into the bowl. I was just going to rinse it out, when the thought struck me to make a super lather.

I left the gel in the bowl and proceeded to lather up my 31064 boar brush with some ARKO soap. I mixed the two. The gel changed the smell of the ARKO and seemed to make a creamier lather. I prepped my face and applied the super lather. I was shaving, using a Gillette Tech with a blue wrapper, Personna blade. I got just as good a shave as if I was using Tabac or Proraso. I am going to finish off the can. I don't think I will buy another can of gel because I have plenty of other quality soaps, but it is an interesting experiment.

I used Edge gel + Williams soap for years before I found this place.

DESkydiver · Feb 27, 2010

I never even thought about mixing different soaps for lather until I saw the method shaving videos. Since then I have tried a few mixes myself over the last couple of months, but I still like to use just one soap or cream for a week then rotate.

After so many (30+) years of shaving with brush and soap, not until coming here as a guest have I become aware of the immense variety available. The idea of mixing a superlather sounds like it can be as unique as the number of individuals testing it out. This also provides for everyone the ability to mix their own 'home brew' that offers them that 'just right' comfort and aroma to fit their own needs.

For now, Ill occasionally try mixing from various soaps and creams once I have discovered the different characteristics that those various soaps and creams offer. It may take a while, but who knows, I may become a huge advocate of mixing a superlather.

heat sink · Mar 1, 2010

I tried this again with great results. Not the slickest of shaves, but no pulling/tugging and very smooth skin, even on areas that I missed a bit of stubble.

I then tried to incorporate the slurry into a DR Harris Soap brushload. Results were not great. I'm thinking that Williams/VDH just "goes better" with the Muhle cream as the main lather source. For my other soaps (including DR Harris and Cade), I think I'll stick to adding just a small bit of cream to add just a bit of extra cushion and protection.

kingfisher · Mar 1, 2010

masonjarjar said:
Frankenpuck.. I like that.

here's mine.. (don't laugh)..

St. Charles Shave Barbershop soap mixed in to VDH Deluxe.

Works great together and the combo smells kind of like.. and I'm not kidding.. Floris No. 89..

weird, huh?

Did you mill the soaps together?

Or do you lather one and then move the brush to the other?

Just curious.

I'm a huge fan of SCS soaps and can't imagine what the VDH could bring to the party other than a bit of scent.

ProphetNoir · Mar 1, 2010

I have been mixing AOS unscented soap with alternating scents of Nancy Boy cream for about two months now as I am near the bottom of two tubs of NB. I load my brush with the soap and face lather to begin Kyle's prep, then I resoak and reshake the brush and reload it with soap before adding a fingerful of cream to the breach of my brush. Lather is built in a bowl and the brush goes into my scuttle. Kyle's prep is then completed and my shave is on.
Good fun this shaving, eh?

heat sink · Mar 2, 2010

kingfisher said:
Did you mill the soaps together? Or do you lather one and then move the brush to the other? Just curious.

What I did was melt a puck of VDH deluxe into a ramekin. Then I waited for it to cool a bit and placed the Williams puck in the center of the ramekin, just slightly above the level of VDH, and then let the VDH solidify.
This I did when I determined that Williams by itself wasn't very long-lasting or protective, but yielded a ton of lather.

masonjarjar · Mar 2, 2010

kingfisher said:
Did you mill the soaps together?

Or do you lather one and then move the brush to the other?

Just curious.

I'm a huge fan of SCS soaps and can't imagine what the VDH could bring to the party other than a bit of scent.

Ok, the SCS was down to a fairly small amount in the bottom of my mug. I melted the VDH, poured it on top, then mixed them together.. so, the SCS is sort of marbled with the VDH.. and the performance of the two together is more like VDH than SCS, since the SCS isn't in the majority ratio.. but it definitely morphed the scent somewhat..

Which SCS soaps have you tried? So far I've tried Barber shop and Parma Violet, I like both of them, I just think that they leave a little bit to be desired in the lubrication department (the lather leans to the "fluffy" side as opposed to "slick")..

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a new take on superlather

heat sink

JPM

Jodbirch

funkyb

pelicano

masonjarjar

dcrosso

Ru4scuba?

Sammer

Frowzy

James099

masonjarjar

DESkydiver

heat sink

kingfisher

ProphetNoir

heat sink

masonjarjar

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