Diagnose my lather disorder...

[loganpyle]

Hey guys. I've been DE shaving for about two months now. I think one of the biggest challenges for me is building a great lather. I've had some really good ones, but on the whole I think I could use some help. I'm 99% sure it's technique, as I've tried multiple products (Conk, TOBS, Williams, Tabac). I bought the Tabac because of its stellar reviews about the ease of lathering it. A friend says his looks like Cool Whip when he's done with it. Mine — not so much. I'm using Tabac soap with an Omega boar. My lather usually ends up looking dry and porous (so add more water right?!) or bubbly. I'll usually end up with a large quantity of lather, but not of high quality. It almost seems too aerated and not very dense. I've used the tutorials to no avail. Also, I'm not 100%, but I think that the water at our apartment complex is a bit on the hard side.

I don't know how to rotate these, but hopefully they may be of some help. This was last night:

[NexlevMM]

I would practice on the Conks, in my experience if you can get a good lather with that then everything else is easy. But try whatever you have.

My small tidbit of direction would be to Cram the brush with product and swirl like the dickens.
Or try this
And this worked for me.
this worked too.


Overall, it just takes practice dude. Once you get the swing of things and read a few tutorials, you'll be drowning in the loads of thick awesome lather you created, and you'll love it!

[Mandina]

What kind of brush do you use? Any idea if your water is relatively hard or soft? And do you face lather, or not? In any case, a common recommendation is to use more product--maybe much more than, as you'll find out, is actually needed, and then reduce the amount as you start to produce the kind of lather you prefer. Another common recommendation is to experiment with lather making during non-shave times. And still another is to stick with one soap until you pretty consistently get it right, and then move onto another. Further, keep in mind that Cool Whip-style lather is typically not required for a good shave; many of us prefer a thinner, denser lather (but, as always, it's a matter of your personal preference). One more thing: You'll find B&B threads/tutorials that exemplify the two main approaches--starting each attempt with either a relatively dry brush (squeezed and shaken) or a very wet brush (with no more than a gravity drip or with just 1, 2, or 3 downward pumps). There, of course, are in-between approaches, depending on your conditions and whims. It's really fun to explore all of this!

[Hiisi]

Looks like too much water to me. I'm quite new to this stuff my self thought, but i've managed recently to get constant good lathers on first try. Just adding a few drops of water at a time works well for me.
I found Jim's guide to be excellent: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...-soap-Tutorial
Saved me a ton of time to start succeeding with the lather. Oh yea, what i personally found out awhile ago was that the trick is to not swirl the brush with too big of a motions if you're bowl lathering. I'm not sure how this applies to face lathering since i've yet to switch to it completly, but i guess i'll have to work it throught when that time comes!

[redrako]

Looks like too much water to me. I'm quite new to this stuff my self thought, but i've managed recently to get constant good lathers on first try. Just adding a few drops of water at a time works well for me.
I found Jim's guide to be excellent: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...-soap-Tutorial
Saved me a ton of time to start succeeding with the lather. Oh yea, what i personally found out awhile ago was that the trick is to not swirl the brush with too big of a motions if you're bowl lathering. I'm not sure how this applies to face lathering since i've yet to switch to it completly, but i guess i'll have to work it throught when that time comes!

+1

I have moderately hard water and it's certainly very possible to build nice lather.

Almost all lather problems are due to too much water or too much soap (not enough water). The add water slowly approach works great. Start with a fairly dry brush (a few shakes after the brush soak), load the brush longer than you have been so that you have a nice proto-lather and add water a few drops at a time.

I found palm lathering to be very helpful when I first started. Even though it's awkward, you get real time feedback as far as slipperiness and density goes.

I generally don't build the big overflowing bowls of lather, but look for a yogurt (thicker than cool whip) feel. I"m also looking for some sheen or gloss.

[smalltank]

less water and more swirling should fix this..

[Big_OC]

brucered has some good how to videos on Youtube. You should check those out. The one thing I picked up there that helped my lathering is to work the brush around all sides of the bowl. That made a big difference.

[celestino]

Looks like too much water to me. I'm quite new to this stuff my self thought, but i've managed recently to get constant good lathers on first try. Just adding a few drops of water at a time works well for me.
I found Jim's guide to be excellent: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...-soap-Tutorial
Saved me a ton of time to start succeeding with the lather. Oh yea, what i personally found out awhile ago was that the trick is to not swirl the brush with too big of a motions if you're bowl lathering. I'm not sure how this applies to face lathering since i've yet to switch to it completly, but i guess i'll have to work it throught when that time comes!

+1

[loganpyle]

You've all given excellent advice/wisdom. I'm going to just start practicing and trying out what you guys are saying with my umpteen dozen pucks of Conks. Okay, not really. But enough to play with (my local cigar/tobacco/man shop carries EVERYTHING Col. Conk-related).

[loganpyle]

What kind of brush do you use? Any idea if your water is relatively hard or soft? And do you face lather, or not?

I don't know if this was rhetorical, but I use a Col. Conk 1001 badger and an Omega 48 boar, and I bowl lather. I'm too much of a neat-freak (/control freak) to face or palm lather.

[Predict]

Tabac is a great lathering soap. But it's hard so soak the puck for a minute or two to soften the surface before loading. Then load until you have a creamy pre lather on the puck. That's how you know your done loading. Werks fer me. Ymmv

[Doppelgaenger]

I use Proraso and I've found the key to getting a really awesome lather is to add glycerin to it. If I add 3 drops of glycerin, I get a decent lather, if I add 4 I get awesome lather. I haven't tried 5 drops yet. And with other soaps and water hardnesses... here goes my first time saying it.... YMMV

The other thing that helped me was to stop caring if the foam up towards the top of the bowl gets on the handle of the brush and my fingers like I did when I started shaving. You're about to wash your hands anyway, whip it till it hits the brush and then just keep going.

[Whilliam]

I would practice on the Conks, in my experience if you can get a good lather with that then everything else is easy. But try whatever you have.

My small tidbit of direction would be to Cram the brush with product and swirl like the dickens.
Or try this
And this worked for me.
this worked too.


Overall, it just takes practice dude. Once you get the swing of things and read a few tutorials, you'll be drowning in the loads of thick awesome lather you created, and you'll love it!

+1

Welcome, learn and enjoy!

[Threeme2189]

Maybe you are whipping your lather too vigorously, and adding too much air into the mix?
Try whipping it in the beginning until it gets aerated with those big bubbles, and after that swirl and mix it more gently so the bubbles get smaller and smaller.

If the lather doesn't have enough glide and just turns into water when you rub it between your fingers add more product.

[Catalin]

Looks like too much water to me. I'm quite new to this stuff my self thought, but i've managed recently to get constant good lathers on first try. Just adding a few drops of water at a time works well for me.
I found Jim's guide to be excellent: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...-soap-Tutorial
Saved me a ton of time to start succeeding with the lather. Oh yea, what i personally found out awhile ago was that the trick is to not swirl the brush with too big of a motions if you're bowl lathering. I'm not sure how this applies to face lathering since i've yet to switch to it completly, but i guess i'll have to work it throught when that time comes!

+1. It could also be air, if you whip it too vigourously. But I think it's too much water/too little soap.

[Vlad]

More and more and more product. Check out the tutorials in my sig. Try to add as little water as possible until you have a brush heavy with soap, just dying to become lather. Then add a little bit of water, just enough to get things going. And then get more soap! Lots of soap!

[Champion of Capua]

Shake your brush out pretty good and load your brush longer, then slowly drip a few dops in your bowl and whip. Do that a few times until you like the consistency.
You can also add a little cream to your bowl if you want to thicken it up some. There is no reason to start over, just add cream until you like the consistency. If I don't like the lather I made from a soap, I never start over, I just add a little Body Shop Maca Root to it. After that I usually have enough lather to shave a horse.

[Neognosis]

How is the shave? If you are getting a decent shave and your skin is not irritated, don't worry about playing with your lather and getting it camera ready. IMHO.

[Pkrankow]

I like a wetter lather myself. If you cannot brush off the lather with the lather filled brush, the lather is good. Cool whip is too heavy of lather to protect well, in my opinion. YMMV of course.

Use more product. Load for at least twice as long and you have been. Use bottled or distilled water if you question your water hardness.

[kingfisher]

Maybe you are whipping your lather too vigorously, and adding too much air into the mix?
.......

+1,000,000.

Your lather is too watery but it's also way too airy. I think people whip their lather like they're beating eggs for an omelet or trying to bring cream to firm peaks. That is NOT the way to make a shaving lather, IMO.

Start with a brush that is shaken twice or so and squeezed out. Load with soap until there is a nice protolather going (this may take awhile; you have to be patient).

Move the brush to the bowl and swirl CALMLY. Add water one or two drops at a time, and incorporate the water fully before adding more (everytime you add a drop of two of water, more small bubbles will form; move the brush around until the bubbles are no longer visible before you add more water).
Continue doing this until you have the perfect lather. It works every time and with every latherable product.

IMO, lather doesn't have to be WHIPPED at all. It is formed by brush action/soap/water, but no whipping is necessary. Think of it as STIRRING instead of whipping and see what happens.