I was explaining to my wife the purpose of a scuttle and she says to me "Tell me when you're about to shave tonight, I have something for you to try." Curiosity peaked, I called her into the washroom as I was prepping and she left for a bit and came back with a pot full of boiled water with a bowl sitting on top with 3/4 of the bowl submerged in the boiling water. I created a lather and started to apply it to my face. It felt wonderful. Very warm and I could now understand why people bother with scuttles. However, as I was about to lather for my 3rd pass I noticed that the lather seemed almost dried out. Almost like the way lather looks when you are breaking in a brush and you check on it after 6 hours. So this all being said, did I cook the lather? This has never happened to me before and as I have no experience with scuttles, I don't know if that's normal for heated lather.
Cooking Lather?
- Thread starter Justinsane
- Start date
Yes, that can happen. When I was using a scuttle I found it best to go for warm lather, not hot lather. For me, MWF was especially prone to breaking down when heated.
Yep. That's a poor man's scuttle. I used one before I got a real one. You can do the same with a bowl in a sink full of hot water.
You have to experiment with the water temprature. Water that's too hot will break down lather (expands the distance between molecules and breaks the surface tension between water, soap and air that holds the lather together).
Water that starts off too cool will feel cool by your 3rd pass.
That's why I got a real scuttle because it retains heat longer and I don't have to start off with water that's too hot.
You have to experiment with the water temprature. Water that's too hot will break down lather (expands the distance between molecules and breaks the surface tension between water, soap and air that holds the lather together).
Water that starts off too cool will feel cool by your 3rd pass.
That's why I got a real scuttle because it retains heat longer and I don't have to start off with water that's too hot.
I keep my scuttle hot enough that parts of the lather do seem to dry up between passes, but swirling the brush around several times usually restores it to its former glory. Occasionally I might have to add some more water.
- Thread starter
- #5
I did notice that that did help. The shave I had today was surprisingly excellent as I expected with my lather acting up as it did, to walk away swearing at myself for even trying it.
Hot scuttle lather FTW 
My lather does dry out in my scuttle if I get it to hot. However, I rinse my face between passes, and the extra water on my face seems to balance out the drying effect of the scuttle.
I just posted a thread about the opposite happening to me when I face lather. With out a scuttle to dry it out, my lather tends to get to wet using this technique. Now that I think about it, it seems more logical. Thanks Justinsane for getting me to think a bit more out of the box, or scuttle in this instance.
My lather does dry out in my scuttle if I get it to hot. However, I rinse my face between passes, and the extra water on my face seems to balance out the drying effect of the scuttle.I just posted a thread about the opposite happening to me when I face lather. With out a scuttle to dry it out, my lather tends to get to wet using this technique. Now that I think about it, it seems more logical. Thanks Justinsane for getting me to think a bit more out of the box, or scuttle in this instance.
Will adding GLYCERIN help stop the surface tension between water and soap?
Similar threads
