Sounds like a dumb question, but hear me out...
I enjoy mixing up lather and getting the cream or soap or whatever into a lovely whipped consistency with nice peaks on it etc. It takes practice and improves in time.
Then I enjoy putting it on my face nice and thick with my brush.
I read terms here like 'cushion' and it makes me wonder....
When you put a metal razor to your face with a sharp blade, it doesn't bounce over this thick cushion of lather.. the blade goes straight to the skin and cuts as you move the razor.
I don't see how the consistency of the lather has any bearing at all on how the razor travel across the face, or how the blade cuts the whiskers. The razor just acts like a snowplough and no matter how thick or awesome the lather is, it just shifts it out of the way.
So it makes me think... it is actually the properties of the product which are important, not the lather? It is the ingredients which soften the whiskers and provide the slip for the razor so it glides over the skin without irritation.
It seems to me that the act of making the perfect lather is really just a bit of fun - it makes no difference to the shave whether lather is sloppy or firm. All that matters is the lubrication of the product on the skin.
For all I know, just rubbing the product on the face between passes would be just as effective.
However, I am fairly new to this and may be missing something, I look forward to hearing from the experts.
I enjoy mixing up lather and getting the cream or soap or whatever into a lovely whipped consistency with nice peaks on it etc. It takes practice and improves in time.
Then I enjoy putting it on my face nice and thick with my brush.
I read terms here like 'cushion' and it makes me wonder....
When you put a metal razor to your face with a sharp blade, it doesn't bounce over this thick cushion of lather.. the blade goes straight to the skin and cuts as you move the razor.
I don't see how the consistency of the lather has any bearing at all on how the razor travel across the face, or how the blade cuts the whiskers. The razor just acts like a snowplough and no matter how thick or awesome the lather is, it just shifts it out of the way.
So it makes me think... it is actually the properties of the product which are important, not the lather? It is the ingredients which soften the whiskers and provide the slip for the razor so it glides over the skin without irritation.
It seems to me that the act of making the perfect lather is really just a bit of fun - it makes no difference to the shave whether lather is sloppy or firm. All that matters is the lubrication of the product on the skin.
For all I know, just rubbing the product on the face between passes would be just as effective.
However, I am fairly new to this and may be missing something, I look forward to hearing from the experts.