Different soaps, different best lather consistencies

[Robshaves]

Not sure if this is obvious to most but I recently put what I thought was to much water into a haslinger schafmilch lather. It definitely became less thick than my general lathers but provided better protection, less resistance to razor etc. It had worked fine as a thicker foam multiple times but performed better for me slightly thinner i.e. more hydrated.

I applied the same principle to a Razorock soap (Ze Pippeno) and noticed its performance suffered significantly past peak thickness.

I started out trying to make the peakiest foam possible from all soaps but now it seems that might need re-examining. I have a few other soaps to test this out on and am guessing the MWF will perhaps mimic the haslinger.

Is this in keeping with others experiences?

 

[djh]

Shoot for the consistency of yoghurt rather than whipped cream. Lather will hold more water than you think.

 

[Robshaves]

Cheers for the response. The yoghurt texture is definately the way forward for the Haslinger. Have you experience soaps where the whipped cream texture provided better protection than the yoghurt testure or is it likely I overshot on the Razorock lather?

 

[Shiloh]

I face lather, and I generally start with a thick pasty (sort of sticky, actually...) lather, working it vigorously into the whiskers (providing some exfoliation also, probably).

Then I add water a few drops at a time until "thick" becomes "slick." I can feel the lather "break" at that point...and I'm good to go. (NOTE: this varies from soap to soap, and even from day to day for the same soap...just a matter of "feel.")

I don't pay much attention to the appearance of the lather, as the performance is most important to me. That said, the lather generally looks shiny, and the "yogurt" look is definitely appropriate.

 

[BigJ]

Good observations! The common problem folks have with Haslinger's is that they don't add enough water. Some soaps need a ton while others don't need much.

 

[nav]

I agree with the OP.

I listened to the advice of getting lather peaks but realised i need to add a lot more water to achieve the ultimate cushion and protection.

In fact, leaving a lather thick never equates to more cushion... It becomes very uncomfortable as i can feel the blade tugging.

Adding a lot more water, where it's stable, creamy but thin and very slick. This lather gives the closest shave and i can't even tell there's a blade in the razor.

My blades also last longer using this type of lather. Although i don't bother to push it beyond 5 shaves just because the longevity of the BBS declines.

I push every soap to this limit and they all hold lots more water than i could have imagined! It's just a matter of working out roughly how far a particular soap can be pushed with trial and error.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

@Robshaves: As others have said, the optimum amount of water varies for each soap. You might be interested in my long-term experimentation to quantify this stuff, finding the optimum lather (total mass and water-to-soap/cream ratio) for different soaps and creams. Here is my most recent post on that with the latest optimum lather table:

Optimum Lather Table Addition: LNHC (Lisa's) Soap

Additions are coming slowly but surely, but each time, I explain how performance changes with water-to-soap/cream ratio. Soaps really are different!

 

[Robshaves]

@ShavingByTheNumbers: What an awesome reference you are developing. At some stage I will buy one of the soaps you have looked at and do my own "blind test" and then see if I end up at a similar ratio. Thank you so much for the link, it is a very interesting read.

 

[ShavingByTheNumbers]

@ShavingByTheNumbers: What an awesome reference you are developing. At some stage I will buy one of the soaps you have looked at and do my own "blind test" and then see if I end up at a similar ratio. Thank you so much for the link, it is a very interesting read.

You're welcome. I'm glad that you like it. I'll be updating the table soon with L&L Grooming.