How do you superlather?

More and more on the SOTD I notice people using both a soap and a cream. I've been doing it for awhile, in fact the whole summer I would charge my brush with MB rosemary/mint and then use the gentlemens refinery cream to get a close and cooling shave (perfect for the caribbean). Since I've been back though, I've found it much more effective to rub the soap on my face (like a shave stick) and then with a dab of cream on the brush, lather directly on the face.

Anyone else do this?

I smear a bit of cream all over my beard and let it sit for a while, so that it can soften the stubble. Then I load my brush with soap and lather on my face.

Best - MM

Old Method using just my mug:

Fill mug with hot water, covering the soap while I shower. Stick the brush in there too.

After shower, dump out all but a tiny bit of the water. Start lathering the soap.. after a thin lather starts to develop, add some cream or gel.


New Method using lather bowl:

Heat bowl/brush in hot water while in shower. Also, cover soap in mug with hot water.

Dump hot water into sink, shake brush. Work some soap onto the brush from the mug. Put some cream or gel in the hot bowl.

Take the soaped-up brush to the cream that you put in the bowl and start working.. add water to get desired consistency.

This is very similar to the technique mantic used in his superlather video. He spent a little more time coating his brush with soap than I normally do..

Another method I use is mixing a cream and a gel together in the bowl. The lather came out really thick, I probably didn't add enough water.. still very nice. (Clubman cream and Barbasol gel)

-Mason

mozart said:

I smear a bit of cream all over my beard and let it sit for a while, so that it can soften the stubble. Then I load my brush with soap and lather on my face.

Best - MM

Click to expand...

I think I'll try this tomorrow.

Cream in a bowl. Work the soap with a brush and tilt the soap bowl so that the lather falls in the bowl with the cream. Then whip up the superlather in the cream bowl.

Mantic has a video on Superlather.


===Tom

SLider said:

More and more on the SOTD I notice people using both a soap and a cream. I've been doing it for awhile, in fact the whole summer I would charge my brush with MB rosemary/mint and then use the gentlemens refinery cream to get a close and cooling shave (perfect for the caribbean). Since I've been back though, I've found it much more effective to rub the soap on my face (like a shave stick) and then with a dab of cream on the brush, lather directly on the face.

Anyone else do this?

Click to expand...

I lather on my face as well. A great summer combo I found was a puck of Williams used as you describe w/ Taylor's Avocado. I've also been experimenting with a Valobra shave stick & Musgo Real...talk about slick!

I don't. Personally, I don't get the whole superlather thing. It doesn't do a thing for me.

letterk said:

I don't. Personally, I don't get the whole superlather thing. It doesn't do a thing for me.

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I think a big part of it is variety. Many of us have been doing the same routine for years and years, not even considering that we could keep more than one cream or soap in rotation (why buy a new one if your current one hasn't run out yet?).

I think the superlather thing is fun, and does give you a twist to the routine every so often. Gives you a chance to try new combinations, maybe find something that works better.

However, I don't think it's a massive improvement over cream or soap alone. If it was, men would be doing this exclusively.. and I'm sure there are a lot of guys who don't want to mix scents too.

-Mason

mozart said:

I smear a bit of cream all over my beard and let it sit for a while, so that it can soften the stubble. Then I load my brush with soap and lather on my face.

Best - MM

Click to expand...

I've done that before too, but usually I charge the brush with soap, then do a squirt of cream in my lather bowl, and whip the two together. Then I proceed to apply superlather magic to my beard area, and a wondrous outcome is the result!

MarSellus Wallace said:

Cream in a bowl. Work the soap with a brush and tilt the soap bowl so that the lather falls in the bowl with the cream. Then whip up the superlather in the cream bowl.

Click to expand...

+1 Although I did try the shaving stick + cream combo this week: rub stick on face and make lather of cream in a bowl, continue to build lather on face.

Superlather is my normal routine, the only thing I do different is have a scantily clad woman apply it to my face.

First, you step into a phonebooth.

ouch said:

First, you step into a phonebooth.

Click to expand...

Next you put on red undies?

How do I do it?

Lather Soap on face, let sit, take shower, take soaped up brush and mix with cream after shower, lather on face, shave, enjoy.

I simply load my brush with soap then scoop out an almond size amount of cream and wipe it on the end of my brush and start building lather in my bowl.


I've actually changed this up a bit when I shave my head. I'll wash my head with soap and hot water, then apply a fair amount of "Every Man Jack" brushless shave cream. It is very greasy and seems to soften the hair even further. Then I'll just build lather right on my head using a HoneyBee Spa soap. Has worked well and it pretty quick as well. (Definitely not in the superlather category by any means though)

The reason I have the "EMJ" cream is because I was at Target and just "had" to make a shaving purchase so I figured what the heck. Personally I wouldn't use it alone but as pre-shave it's ok.

I've been using my Palmolive shavestick with Palmolive menthol. Along with my Erasmic shave stick with JM Fraser's cream. Extremely satisfying results, all done lathering on the face.

masonjarjar said:

However, I don't think it's a massive improvement over cream or soap alone. If it was, men would be doing this exclusively.. and I'm sure there are a lot of guys who don't want to mix scents too.

-Mason

Click to expand...

Maybe. But at leats for newbies, a puck of Williams soap can make a huge difference when it is still hard to figure out the ratios of cream and water.

Isaias said:

Maybe. But at leats for newbies, a puck of Williams soap can make a huge difference when it is still hard to figure out the ratios of cream and water.

Click to expand...

You're right there.. it's almost fool-proof if you have a decent cream.

I really like the smell of my shaving soaps and was worried that a shaving cream added to the mix would ruin things. Then I found Kiss My Face moisture shave, fragrance free. Got it from drugtore.com. WOW what a lather!!!!

Most of the time I will do Mantic's method of loading the brush then adding a cream. This is my favorite way. Sometimes I will rub some soap or a shaving stick on my face, apply the cream to the brush, then work the lather on my face.