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Another reason to bowl lather…the ability to add GLORIOUS glycerine

Years ago, when I only face lathered, I read a post from a guy who added glycerine to his bowl lather using an eye dropper. “Interesting” I thought, but not for me; never believed I would ever go down that route.

However, these past few winters, I decided to experiment with bowl lathering in an effort to be gentler to my seasonally sensitive skin.

This past month the old glycerine thread popped back into my head. So, I got a 100 ml bottle of glycerine (about $4 or $5 Canadian) and an empty glass bottle with an eye-dropper top (about $2 Canadian, the pharmacist keeps them behind the counter) from a Walmart pharmacy. One gets 20 drops per ml, so that little bottle will yield about 2000 drops.

I tried it with all the soaps and creams I had at hand (Palmolive Classic cream, Proraso Blue, Speick cream, and a Wilkinson Sword stick(tallow) grated into a pot).

For the creams I squeeze out about 1/2” length at the bottom of the bowl, add the drops of glycerine then use a damp brush to whip up a lather. For the soap, I twirl a damp brush on the soap for about 30 seconds, add drops of glycerine to the bottom of a bowl then whip up a lather using the soap laden brush.

All the creams and soap benefited from the addition of only 3 drops of glycerine. Got better glide, cushioning and especially a better post shave face feel. The skin felt ”plumper” after the shave.

BUT, even adding only 3 drops will decrease the scent of soaps and creams. With the Speick cream it will also diminish the waxy post-shave feel from the beeswax. I wonder if the addition of glycerine would have been enough to dilute whatever the ingredient in Cella that gave me the infamous “Cella-burn”?

I can’t wait for this winter to see the difference it will make.

Thank you to the glycerine pushers, you guys were right!
 
I like adding glycerin occasionally. But only to soaps whose lather tend to dissipate quickly or if they aren't slick enough for my liking. I do prefer bowl lathering and as you suggest this is an example of how bowl lathering gives you more control over the lather consistency. I haven't noticed glycerin reducing the scent strength, though I haven't specifically looked (smelled) for that.
 
I've tried it. It won't spoil a good soap, but they should be optimal already, and not need enhancement.

I didn't notice any effect on scent, one way or the other.

If there's a soap you enjoy, but it gives you a slightly dried-up post-shave feeling, it probably will help with that.
 
Years ago, when I only face lathered, I read a post from a guy who added glycerine to his bowl lather using an eye dropper. “Interesting” I thought, but not for me; never believed I would ever go down that route.

However, these past few winters, I decided to experiment with bowl lathering in an effort to be gentler to my seasonally sensitive skin.

This past month the old glycerine thread popped back into my head. So, I got a 100 ml bottle of glycerine (about $4 or $5 Canadian) and an empty glass bottle with an eye-dropper top (about $2 Canadian, the pharmacist keeps them behind the counter) from a Walmart pharmacy. One gets 20 drops per ml, so that little bottle will yield about 2000 drops.

I tried it with all the soaps and creams I had at hand (Palmolive Classic cream, Proraso Blue, Speick cream, and a Wilkinson Sword stick(tallow) grated into a pot).

For the creams I squeeze out about 1/2” length at the bottom of the bowl, add the drops of glycerine then use a damp brush to whip up a lather. For the soap, I twirl a damp brush on the soap for about 30 seconds, add drops of glycerine to the bottom of a bowl then whip up a lather using the soap laden brush.

All the creams and soap benefited from the addition of only 3 drops of glycerine. Got better glide, cushioning and especially a better post shave face feel. The skin felt ”plumper” after the shave.

BUT, even adding only 3 drops will decrease the scent of soaps and creams. With the Speick cream it will also diminish the waxy post-shave feel from the beeswax. I wonder if the addition of glycerine would have been enough to dilute whatever the ingredient in Cella that gave me the infamous “Cella-burn”?

I can’t wait for this winter to see the difference it will make.

Thank you to the glycerine pushers, you guys were right!
If you only need three drops, seems like a face latherer could add it to a brush.
 
. . . one suggestion is after your final pass gently massage any remaining Uberlather onto your entire face and neck and let it remain there for about one minute. Your face and neck will benefit from this treatment.

Yes, and why not leave it . . . or at least some of the nourishing lather, diluted with water?

Any compelling reason not to utilize a bit of remaining lather for its emollient properties?
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
Any compelling reason not to utilize a bit of remaining lather for its emollient properties?

It is soap and leaving soap of skin is rarely recommended. It’d be all over the CeraVe and Dove commercials if it was a good idea. It wouldn’t be discouraged in Noxzema instructions, either.
 
…but they should be optimal already, and not need enhancement…
The Speick cream and Proraso Blue are very good as is, but they still gain a bit from the glycerine.

As is, the Palmolive did not perform as well as the other creams, but the addition of glycerine helped it out a lot, almost to the level of the other two.

The Wilkinson Sword grated stick is a bit drying as is, and the scent is “meh” at best. I find the glycerine helped it out a lot too.
 
As is, the Palmolive did not perform as well as the other creams, but the addition of glycerine helped it out a lot, almost to the level of the other two.

I never tried Palmolive cream, but the (now extinct) Palmolive Stick is the same. I like it for its nostalgic scent, in-shave performance is OK, and a bit of glycerine makes the post-shave less dry.
 
Perhaps just use a bar of glycerine soap as a base puck for your soap or cream in your shaving mug? Various brands are sold at grocery stores and pharmacies, and they are not expensive.
It's different. It is much better just to add glycerine. One to two drops is usually enough.

Some shaving soaps already have a lot of added glycerine, for those soaps it doesn't really seem to do anything.

Look at the ingredient lists of your soaps. If glycerine is in the top two, adding glycerine is worthless. It is the third ingredient it is also not likely to change the lather considerably. If it is down the list, a couple of drops of glycerine improves the lather significantly, in my experience.
 
Thanks for the tip!

I picked up some glycerin and added a few drops to the soap I used this morning. I also used a few drops as a pre-shave.

I like it so far...
 
Why use glycerin when you can use Astroglide like this guy 😂

I could be wrong (or maybe it is just me) as my wife reminds me. I saw a vid very briefly, then had to stop and reboot my brain...he could be "a few sandwiches short of a picnic"? BFX
400x400-astro-from-the-jetsons.png
 
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