Well this might be a dumb question, but what exactly are people referring to when they talk about the cushion of the later? I have read here at B&B that creams usually have a better cushion, while soaps are more slick. Slick is easy to understand, but I am just not sure what quality cushion offers to the shave. If someone can explain this, that would be great.
What exactly is lather cushion?
- Thread starter Paddy Pucks
- Start date
Honestly, I don't think there is a such a thing, myself. Others will differ, I can assure you 
. In my experience, lather is there to hydrate the hair and lubricate the skin so there is less damage when passing the blade over it. The lather gets wiped off by the blade that's right at skin level, so I don't see any kind of cushioning effect being relevant to shaving. My .02 .
. In my experience, lather is there to hydrate the hair and lubricate the skin so there is less damage when passing the blade over it. The lather gets wiped off by the blade that's right at skin level, so I don't see any kind of cushioning effect being relevant to shaving. My .02 .
IMO the cushion of the lather is the protection it offers between the razor and blade and your skin. It acts sort of like a barrier between the two.
A myth. Honestly, if there was such a thing, it would cushion your beard and prevent a close shave. The main purpose of lather is to hold water against your beard and prevent the hairs from drying out. A secondary purpose is to provide some lubrication so that the razor moves smoothly over your skin.
Funny, I was told the opposite - creams are more slippery and glide better, while soaps - especially tallow ones - have more cushioning.
Of the creams I've tested, Trumpers, Crabtree& Evelyn, Art of Shaving and Erasmic creams are very slippery and glide very easily - better than any soap I've tried - whereas other creams like Dr.Lewinns, Arko Regular and local one called "Shave" aren't as slippery.
I've never fathomed cushioning in relation to soaps, be they tallow or vegetable, though others will swear that it exists for them. However, I have fathomed it when I used pre-shave oils with the less slippery creams. Without the oil, I had lots of nasty nicks. With the oil, even though the blade dragged more and seemed rougher, I had zero nicks with those same creams. Plainly, the oil had cushioned something. I imagine that tallow soaps have a similar but smaller effect than the oil (since tallow is lard).
Regards,
Renato
Of the creams I've tested, Trumpers, Crabtree& Evelyn, Art of Shaving and Erasmic creams are very slippery and glide very easily - better than any soap I've tried - whereas other creams like Dr.Lewinns, Arko Regular and local one called "Shave" aren't as slippery.
I've never fathomed cushioning in relation to soaps, be they tallow or vegetable, though others will swear that it exists for them. However, I have fathomed it when I used pre-shave oils with the less slippery creams. Without the oil, I had lots of nasty nicks. With the oil, even though the blade dragged more and seemed rougher, I had zero nicks with those same creams. Plainly, the oil had cushioned something. I imagine that tallow soaps have a similar but smaller effect than the oil (since tallow is lard).
Regards,
Renato
- Thread starter
- #6
Thank you for the replys! That seems to make sense. I used TOBS cream this morning and I thought that the shave was better and less irritating that my shaves with MWF over the weekend.
To me, cushion has to do with how dense and thick the lather is. It keeps the blade at the surface of your skin, cutting only the hair, and not actually digging into your skin and drawing blood.
