In Praise of Über-Lather

[N2theBreech]

I forgot how luxurious über-lather can be. It had been almost a year since I used it last, then I used it today and it was absolute luxury. The lather was rich, thick, and slick! I think my combo had something to do with it. I used Mitchell's Wool Fat, Proraso Red, and of course, glycerin. So, I had lanolin, shea butter, and glycerin all working together. There was plenty left over, so I rubbed that into the upper half of my face to spread the wealth.

If you haven't used it, it is well worth a try. ACKVIL, from this forum, popularized it (he may have developed it, also). It's simple to make. You use a soap, cream, and a few drops of glycerine all together when you build your lather. Its the addition of glycerine that makes the difference between a super-lather and über-lather. You can either build it in a bowl or face lather it.

• To build it in a bowl, load your brush with soap, add some cream to the bowl, and squirt few drops of glycerin into the mix. Then build your lather in the bowl and shave as usual.
• There are couple of ways to face lather it:
  • Load your brush with soap. Turn it bristles-up and add a "half dollop" of cream to the top. Then add a few drops of glycerine on top of the cream and face lather it. This is the method I use.
  • I've never tried this, but I'm sure it would work. Once again, load you're brush with soap, then set it aside. Squeeze about half the cream you would usually use onto your hands and spread it on your face. Then add a few drops of glycerin to the bristles and face lather.
• Shave as usual.

I also used AoS pre-shave oil today, so my skin must think I've changed my ways and started going to spas, or something.

It's a real wintertime treat.

 

[rosskostron]

where do you buy glycerine?

 

[Toothpick]

where do you buy glycerine?

big box retailers such as walmart, target sell it in small glass bottles. maybe around $4.00. i'm sure you can find it at a drug store though. Not sure where you live to suggest a place

What's the difference between uber-lather and superlather? i see these two terms around here often.

 

[brucered]

when i first stated wet shaving and didn't know a quality product from a junk one, i'd add glycerin and mix products to get a slicker lather.

as good as the they were, i know find them too much work. someone else recently posted "If a product is not good enough to stand on it's own, it's not worth using". and i agree.

nothing against uberlaterers and superlatherers, I just don't see the need to know. it could be my products, my water or a combination, but all my current software performs and smells great on it's own.

when i did do it, it was with store bought glycerin and whatever soap/creams i was using. bowl lathered, then drop a few squirts in and lather. when i wanted to get fancy, i'd use a few drops of GFT Skin Food Lime to give it the glycerin effect as well as some Lime scent.

 

[accunlmtd]

Hobby oriented stores like Hobby-Lobby or Michaels, have glycerin in their soap making section. You will also find the different essential oils and fragrances.

 

[celestino]

Enjoy the uber-lather.

 

[N2theBreech]

big box retailers such as walmart, target sell it in small glass bottles. maybe around $4.00. i'm sure you can find it at a drug store though. Not sure where you live to suggest a place

What's the difference between uber-lather and superlather? i see these two terms around here often.

Super-lather is made by combining a soap and a cream to make one lather. It becomes super-lather when you add glycerin to the mix.

I think glycerin is good stuff, especially in the wintertime. If I feel like my skin is getting dry, I'll wet my face and hands, then rub in a small amount glycerine before I go to bed.

when i first stated wet shaving and didn't know a quality product from a junk one, i'd add glycerin and mix products to get a slicker lather.

as good as the they were, i know find them too much work. someone else recently posted "If a product is not good enough to stand on it's own, it's not worth using". and i agree.

nothing against uberlaterers and superlatherers, I just don't see the need to know. it could be my products, my water or a combination, but all my current software performs and smells great on it's own.

when i did do it, it was with store bought glycerin and whatever soap/creams i was using. bowl lathered, then drop a few squirts in and lather. when i wanted to get fancy, i'd use a few drops of GFT Skin Food Lime to give it the glycerin effect as well as some Lime scent.

I used super- or über-lather when I first started, too. In my case, it was primarily to compensate for my lather-building skills in extremely hard water. At that time, the only cream I had was Kiss My Face, so I added that to Tabac, the soap I learned on. After a while i stopped using it, then after we got a water softener, I nearly forgot about it.

Yesterday, I wondered what the result would be like with MWF and Proraso Red. It wasn't so much that neither would stand on their own, I mean, we're talking MWF and Proraso Sandalwood here! One has lanolin, the other shea butter, and the combination was definitely synergistic. In this case, 1+1+1 didn't equal 3 or 4, I'd put it up around 5 or 6. I could feel the difference in my skin all day.

i won't use it every day because it does add time, but when I feel like a luxury shave, I've got a brand new lather without having to go out and buy anything.

 

[Slyko]

Now I'm a regular Uber-lather user. Agree that it is the best of the best of the best!

I keep trying 1 product to measure up. NOTHING can. So I stopped beating myself up about it. I stopped chasing the problem with $$$$. It doesn't exist.

Sure there are some good soaps & creams out there. I've been lucky enough to follow some great advise & suggestions here on B&B.

But don't take my word for it, try it yourself.................. & I'll challenge you even further................ try adding some moisturizer (Aloe Vera) to it.

I've found it's even fun! Variety is the spice of life!

 

[Toothpick]

Super-lather is made by combining a soap and a cream to make one lather. It becomes super-lather when you add glycerin to the mix.

I think glycerin is good stuff, especially in the wintertime. If I feel like my skin is getting dry, I'll wet my face and hands, then rub in a small amount glycerine before I go to bed.

great! thanks. so my Bigelow cream and 10 drops of Shave Secret wasn't uber-lather but it was some darn good lather.

 

[chris.hale]

I don't bother often, but my favourite uber lather combo is Proraso green, QCS Vostok and glycerin. It's a mug of face-chilling goodness!

By the way, glycerin is also often in supermarkets with the cake making stuff.

 

[Mad Man]

Proraso Green cream, soap & glycerin was my first and really only regular attempt at "over-clocking" my lather. Later I found that a more tailored brush selection, focused technique & a move to face-lathering exclusively has negated me indulging in "prefixed" lathers.

 

[deruitem]

I have not tried it in sometime. When I first started DE shaving I used this to compinsate for my lathering technique. Now that I get great lather without it I have not tried it for a year or so. Maybe I should revisit it.