Question about lather

Hey all-

So I'm into my 2nd week of daily shaves, been practicing a lot, and enjoying it, but I am having an issue.

I'm not able to get my soap really working. The lather seems thick, it has peaks and very tiny bubbles, but then when I go to apply it to my face, it's definitely more translucent, and not the opaque, thick coverage I'm seeing in all the video tutorials I've been watching.

I feel like it's probably just one thing that I'm doing wrong, any tips?

Thanks!

The first thing to try is always more product.

Maybe you need more soap loaded onto the brush, or maybe the amount of water isn't right.

I had to keep playing around with it until I got it right. I found I had to add more water than in the videos, but then again, I mostly use williams.

Yeah I'm wondering at the threshold of product I'm using.

Is there a tactile or other indicator as to when I've loaded enough?

It is very common when starting out to underestimate how much product you need.

I would try doubling or tripling the amount of product you are using (increase the loading time). Try loading until the brush creates noticeable friction on the puck. Then, slowly add water to the brush.

Alternatively, you can try Marco's method, starting with a fully soaked brush (minus a few drips of "gravity" water). Take a look at this thread to see if it helps you.

Once you are sure you have gotten enough product loaded, then you can start playing around with water ratios. Remember that thick shaving cream type lather is not the ideal - you want it to be creamy but also slick.

musicman1951 said:

The first thing to try is always more product.

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+1. Charlie, what soap are you using and how long are you loading the brush? FWIW, I use Cella, and I load the brush for a full 2 minutes before starting to build the lather. YMMV.

I've got Col Conk, Arko, and some RazoRock which should be arriving today. I've practiced with all of them. Definitely not loading the brush that long. Going to try this and report back, thanks!

Charlie97L said:

I've got Col Conk, Arko, and some RazoRock which should be arriving today. I've practiced with all of them. Definitely not loading the brush that long. Going to try this and report back, thanks!

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The Arko should work fine. I tried Col. Conk when I first got back to wet shaving and found it just took way too much effort to get a decent lather and tossed it. In hindsight, I should have kept it for a bar soap in the shower. Stick with the Arko for now and the RR when it arrives.

First of all stop looking at lather porn. When I first started I kept trying to get mine to look like that. I found when it looked good it didn't usually shave well. I personally use a very wet brush similar to Marco's method. That usually provides much better slickness. It has too much water to look fluffy, but works much better. Just keep practicing. And to make it worse every soap lathers with different amounts of water. So you have to do many trials and errors to get the lather just right. Plus a lot of soaps need to be broken in before they really perform. MWF can take of couple of weeks of use before it really takes off.

Ha. I'm not actually looking at it for that, just to try and get some technique tips. That's hilarious though!

Did a few test runs and I think it's better. We will see tomorrow!

My verdict was too little product and too little water.

SpaceCadet1 said:

Maybe you need more soap loaded onto the brush, or maybe the amount of water isn't right.

I had to keep playing around with it until I got it right. I found I had to add more water than in the videos, but then again, I mostly use williams.

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+1

Try singing the happy birthday song three times while you load your brush. Singing it out loud is of course optional

Charlie97L said:

Ha. I'm not actually looking at it for that, just to try and get some technique tips. That's hilarious though!

Did a few test runs and I think it's better. We will see tomorrow!

My verdict was too little product and too little water.

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Usually the case. If haven't already done so take a look at the wiki on lathers. Also, this post may help you.

Also, just looked up my water report and the water here is pretty hard (12-130 mg/L)... I guess that's a factor too.

Its all about experimenting. And don't worry, you're not the first to get it wrong. I lathered incorrectly (or rather less than satisfactory) for about 30 years. Take your time and reference back to the lathering Wiki often. Its the best help I ever got. Good luck.

heysi said:

Its all about experimenting. And don't worry, you're not the first to get it wrong. I lathered incorrectly (or rather less than satisfactory) for about 30 years. Take your time and reference back to the lathering Wiki often. Its the best help I ever got. Good luck.

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+1 and welcome!

Put the Arko in a vintage mug, or just some bowl if you do not yet have a mug. Lather directly on the Arko. Add a few drops of water and keep stirring. If lather accumulates, then rub the brush against the sides of the mug or bowl for a while. Otherwise, keep wetting and stirring until you have lather. If you mess everything up and the lather is too runny and thin, dump it and try again. Arko is cheap enough to do that.

Welcome and YouTube has a vast array of lathering videos you can peruse. Good luck.