Is "slick" better than "thick and rich?"

[K.T.]

A question for you gents who have tried lathering your creams and just slathering it on. Which do you prefer, the slick glide of a brushless cream, or a thick, foamy cushion of lather?

I'm not sure, myself, but I'm leaning towards slickness. I'm experimenting with brushless creams, and I think the slickness is serving me better than whipped up lather.

For some reason, my lather, which is well hydrated and of good consistency, doesn't give me the slick glide that I expected from a cream. It's cushiony, alright, but doesn't make a very slippery surface for the razor. By contrast, slathering on the cream is giving me a much better glide, and consequently less irritation and burn.

Isn't the purpose of whipped cream is to form a cushioning layer for the single DE blade edge? When the razor is pulled across the face, the cushion of foam keeps the blade from taking too deep a layer off the surface of the skin. I guess it's fine as long as there's always a layer of foam there. But during buffing and touchup, one has to go over an area several times, however lightly, without fully re-lathering. YMMV, of course, but I find that this reduces the effect of the lather and leads to irritation. (Isn't this also the rationale behind preshave oils? That the oil provides a base of slickness and glide while the top cream layer provides cushioning?)

On the other hand, a light touch with the razor on a thin layer of super slick brushless cream seems to work better for me. I simply get less irritation. I do have to rehydrate with some water to reactivate the slickness, but as long as I have some cream on my face, I seem to get good results.

The products I'm using aren't super deluxe. They're good performing standards, though, like Proraso and KMF. Going brushless, I've used KMF, but prefer Headslick. Used brushless, it's my current go to. FWIW, I find that products that can be used both brushless and whipped are nowhere as slick when they're whipped.

What do you think about slickness vs. cushioning?

K.T.

 

[Fairlight]

I think you need both, and there's a balance. I think lubrication is the more important though, as it helps reduce the blade's propensity to scrape off your skin cells. Cushion helps a little to hold up the hairs, but OTOH the fluffy white lather is a very important part of the experience for me even if it doesn't strictly matter as much as slickness in terms of irritation or closeness.

 

[dod.e.ratherwell]

I don't mind either but I prefer a soap that gives me both slickness and cushion. Tabac and DH Harris Lavender (Stick) seem to do the trick. A really good combo is load the brush with Tabac then bowl lather with KMF lavender the combo is thick and slick (although not brushless). I find this combo works really well, after each pass rinse your face and re-lather, you can feel this "slickness" when you get to the buffing stage!

 

[DFrancis]

A good balance is always best, i feel I can get the best of both out of prorasso, 3Ts creams and KMF.

 

[BCP]

I'm a guy who loves a good thick, rich, cushion. Slick is ok, but cushioning is awesome for me.

 

[colacowboy]

I vote for slick being the most important for comfort. Thick and rich are nice too. I've yet to find the perfect cream...will have to keep trying.

 

[walds11]

I am a diehard C.O. Bigelow Premium shave cream fan. It's my favorite cream in terms of scent...love the fresh barbershop scent and the cooling feeling. I find it very thick, rich and cushioning, but not super slick. KMF on the other hand is super slick. You can feel how slick it is just by rubbing it between your fingers. Maybe too slick? A slick cream helps the razor glide over the sensitive areas like under my chin. Bigelow is almost the perfect cream, but it just needs a little more slickness. So, I guess the answer is a good balance, somewhere in between, and maybe a little more on the slick side. Confused?

 

[cvac]

I never thought the two were mutually exclusive. If you can't get a nice balance of cushion and slickness when lathering with a brush, you are probably doing it wrong and need to practice getting the water to product ratio right.

Once you get that down, if you want to add additional slickness to your shaves, try massaging pure jojoba oil into your beard before applying lather to your face.

 

[Loner16]

I like both...

That said, I'd take slick over thick.

 

[DougK]

I generally whip up my creams or soaps so that the lather is on the slick side.

 

[xivex]

I like both, but if forced to choose, I'd choose slick.

 

[Confilo]

Anything too slick and you can slit your throat while shaving

 

[Smoothfacedprince]

Too slick and you risk the blade scraping off too much of your face and not enough slick and you end up skipping the blade everywhere. I think that a proper lather has elements of both.
-Grant

 

[drifwood]

I like the slick of Cremo, but as a str8 shaver noob, it dries out too fast for me. I like things wet and quite slick - there is no slick without wet, IMO. Oil feels more sticky than slicky on my skin.

So, to get something that gives me enough slip, and stays hydrated, I've gone the uberlather route.

Now, this is a confession I have not revealed before, but I have used a pre-lather application of KY Jelly on a well wetted face before laying on the uberlather. A gel facewash works pretty well too.

I hope that I can dial back to something simpler as my skills improve, but that layer of wet "personal lubricant" wrapped in moist lather gives me good slip, and lasts a long time. KY by itself is too sticky, but applied to a wet face, it works very well.

Yes, I've basically experimented with everything in the bathroom and kitchen in search of the perfect lather

Cheers,
Ian

 

[cheerwind]

I find that my lather starts out more balanced towards cushion on the first pass, but as I do my 2nd to sometimes 4th pass, the extra moisture from rinsing my face between passes tends to re-balance my lather more towards slickness. This has worked out fine as I barely have any irritating shaves, and when I do it's just me being lazy with technique.

I prefer the feel of cushion, but as I'm making the final passes I find the slickness to be more useful.

I've found that Cremo is excellent for slickness if that's what you're looking for.

 

[KingOfBreifne]

As others said, it's ideal to have both slickness AND thickness / cushion.

However, I find the slickness to be a bit more important, if I had to choose.

 

[pauls51]

Im in the same boat.. If I had to chose it would be slickness. I want the razor to glide over my face cutting my stubble!

 

[FL shaver]

Slick. I only do one shave a week or more with my brushless creams, but I love the irritation free close shave I get. It gives me a break from the soaps I use. I'll break out the brushless after a day when I get too much sun, too. The moisturizers are welcome then.

Keep some of both on hand!

 

[msikk]

A question for you gents who have tried lathering your creams and just slathering it on. Which do you prefer, the slick glide of a brushless cream, or a thick, foamy cushion of lather?

I'm not sure, myself, but I'm leaning towards slickness. I'm experimenting with brushless creams, and I think the slickness is serving me better than whipped up lather.

For some reason, my lather, which is well hydrated and of good consistency, doesn't give me the slick glide that I expected from a cream. It's cushiony, alright, but doesn't make a very slippery surface for the razor. By contrast, slathering on the cream is giving me a much better glide, and consequently less irritation and burn.

Isn't the purpose of whipped cream is to form a cushioning layer for the single DE blade edge? When the razor is pulled across the face, the cushion of foam keeps the blade from taking too deep a layer off the surface of the skin. I guess it's fine as long as there's always a layer of foam there. But during buffing and touchup, one has to go over an area several times, however lightly, without fully re-lathering. YMMV, of course, but I find that this reduces the effect of the lather and leads to irritation. (Isn't this also the rationale behind preshave oils? That the oil provides a base of slickness and glide while the top cream layer provides cushioning?)

On the other hand, a light touch with the razor on a thin layer of super slick brushless cream seems to work better for me. I simply get less irritation. I do have to rehydrate with some water to reactivate the slickness, but as long as I have some cream on my face, I seem to get good results.

The products I'm using aren't super deluxe. They're good performing standards, though, like Proraso and KMF. Going brushless, I've used KMF, but prefer Headslick. Used brushless, it's my current go to. FWIW, I find that products that can be used both brushless and whipped are nowhere as slick when they're whipped.

What do you think about slickness vs. cushioning?

K.T.

I totally agree with you KT. I'm going to try some brushless creams just slathered on.

Thanks!

 

[Go West Young Man]

I think the fact that you refer to your lather as "foam" is an indication that you're overwhipping it and maybe need to work on the product/water ratio. I aim for more of a yogurt than a whipped cream consistency.