How do you revive your lather?

[vinyl_warrior]

My shaves tend to take a fairly long time, including all the lather building, shaving passes, and clean up.

One negative aspect of things taking time is that the quality of my lather decreases over time. When I whip up what I think is a nice lather, the first time I lather up is really nice. The second time is good. The third time is so-so, and the fourth time is kinda 'ugh.'

I think I still have a decent quantity of lather available on for my fourth pass, but the quality of it just isn't there. It seems too thin, but it's not really bubbly or anything like that. I'm not sure what I can do to revive it. More water?

I've had the same problem with Proraso cream and with a glycerine-based soap.

[Perfect_shave]

I noticed this problem as well, especially because i use a Moss scuttle(the hot bowl seems to dehydrate the lather over time) and because i'm a face latherer. You tend to generate more lather using a bowl instead of your face but even then the lather dehydrates after a long period of time. Also don't forget that your first pass has the most lather because there is friction with the longer hairs on the beard and when they are shaved off you have a smoother surface. For most of my 3rd passes, i squeeze the lather out of the brush and apply it by hand. I admit that this isn't my preferred option though. I'd like to hear more people's opinions about this too.

[elvaago]

I find that adding a few drops of water into the lathering bowl and some more whipping makes the lather nice and fresh again.

[bsc2009]

i also add a few drops of water on the brush or in the bowl and continue with some swirls in the bowl and on the face
like perfect_shave said. after your first pass the skin is already smoother than before so there won't be as much lather on your face as at the beginning
for the first pass i always apply a lot of lather on my face for the further passes a thin layer is enough because the whiskers are already very short

[Must Dash]

"How do you revive your lather?"


I tickle it with a Feather


Cheers


Jeremy

[paul870]

I find that adding a few drops of water into the lathering bowl and some more whipping makes the lather nice and fresh again.

+1

[SMOKE]

With my brush soaking in hot water while showering....I simply towel off (leaving my face wet)..apply a thin layer of proraso pre shave...give my brush a shake and add a dab of cream right on the brush. Using a swirling motion I build a nice lather right on my face. If needed, add a few more drops of water to the brush and keep swirling. I then put the brush in a hot mug of water to keep it warm....For the second, or more passes...I just shake the brush out again and start over. Proraso lathers very easy on the face and you can always add a few drop of water to the brush if needed. I follow up with a cool rinse and Proraso post shave. BBS every time!

Regards,

[netsurfr]

I find that adding a few drops of water into the lathering bowl and some more whipping makes the lather nice and fresh again.

+1 This works so well for me that I do it as a regular part of my shaving routine. I simply dribble a few drops off my fingertips into the bowl and swirl the brush a few more times and voila, lather fresh as at the beginning. The amount of water is probabaly on the order of a teaspoon. However, with some soaps, I may need a little more water to revive the lather. Just experiment a little. The added benefit is that you are putting a little more very hot water from the fawcett into the bowl and keeping your lather from becoming cool.

[chili]

I face lather and just dip my brush into some water.

[vinyl_warrior]

I don't get face lathering. I mean, understand the concept of building a lather on your face, but it seems like you would end up using way more product because each time you lather up you have to use more stuff. I know that you would use less product each time compared to building a lather in a bowl, but I feel like my ability to portion it out would fall on the side of using too much.

Using a bowl means one more dish to wash, so building it directly on the face is appealing that way!

[nitelightboy]

I don't get face lathering. I mean, understand the concept of building a lather on your face, but it seems like you would end up using way more product because each time you lather up you have to use more stuff.

If you build a good lather on your face, there's enough lather left in the brush for additional passes. I can usually get several passes worth, although I feel that I get a better lather when I make it in a bowl, which is how I usually go about it.

On Topic: I add a few drops of water. I just got a Moss Scuttle, so my lather's been drying up pretty fast. A few drops and a few swirls combined with a quick rinse of my face between passes keeps my lather up to par.

[chili]

I feel the exact opposite! I feel lathering in a bowl is wasteful and time consuming. I also learnt alot about wetshaving from the internet (b4 i knew about this site), and read a article on classicshaving which also reccommended face lathering. Oh well, to each his own

[htownmmm]

I do both face lathering with soaps and bowl lathering with creams. Either way, when I want to refresh the lather, i add some hot water to the brush by dipping or to the bowl. either way, the lather is slick and warm.


marty

[grayraven]

I do both face lathering with soaps and bowl lathering with creams. Either way, when I want to refresh the lather, i add some hot water to the brush by dipping or to the bowl. either way, the lather is slick and warm.


marty

+1 as this is the approach I have been using lately with great results.

[R-James]

More hot water and more whipping whether its on your face or in the bowl, seems to be the key for me as well

[Pacman]

I find that adding a few drops of water into the lathering bowl and some more whipping makes the lather nice and fresh again.

+1

[vinyl_warrior]

Thanks for all the replies. I had been worried that adding water when the lather starts to get depleted would end up diluting it to the point that it wouldn't be protective anymore. My fears were misplaced!