My lathering technique with Italian soft soaps

[williabe]

Great photographs. Had I seen these 4 months ago I'd have saved myself from a few bad learner lathers...

 

[whosaidpigeon]

Nice job Jarick. I've gone back to this method, also after reading the 3017 thread, but I'm using it for Arlington hard soap. The lather is lot slicker for me and also a lot more predictable while I'm building it.

Only downside is that it can get a little messy with face lathering.

 

[haganah]

Pardon my ignorance but are you supposed to always hand whip if you don't use a mug?

I lather in the cella red tub and then go immediately to my face.

 

[Jinx18]

Pardon my ignorance but are you supposed to always hand whip if you don't use a mug?

I lather in the cella red tub and then go immediately to my face.

Most people load the soap and go directly to their face. Some do what's called palm lathering but it's not that common. Generally it is posted though so you don't have to have your face all over the internet.

 

[Jarick]

Sorry, I clarified my post. I hand lather when practicing so I don't irritate my face, and it's easier to take pictures. You can lather on your face, hand, or bowl.

 

[haganah]

Most people load the soap and go directly to their face. Some do what's called palm lathering but it's not that common. Generally it is posted though so you don't have to have your face all over the internet.

Thanks for the clarity. It's good to know I'm not a complete rube.

 

[Azpatriot66]

4 years later on this thread and I just wanted to say grazie Marco. I have been wet shaving for 6 months and I have had Cella all this time; I saw this thread and gave i a try and it will change me forever now.

I have never made lather like that before...never even close and the shave itself was one of the slickest and smoothest I can ever remember. My Semogue 1305 now has attitude like never before and I can't wait to try this on MWF/Tabac and a host of other soaps.

Thank you Marco your gift keeps on giving throughout the years.

 

[Jarick]

One advantage to starting with a wetter brush and building a lather from soapy water instead of a paste is that the lather tends to be more completely mixed in the brush for later passes. I added less water to the initial mix and nearly had complete lather on the puck, but it was very dry by the second pass.

 

[Marco]

4 years later on this thread and I just wanted to say grazie Marco. I have been wet shaving for 6 months and I have had Cella all this time; I saw this thread and gave i a try and it will change me forever now.

I have never made lather like that before...never even close and the shave itself was one of the slickest and smoothest I can ever remember. My Semogue 1305 now has attitude like never before and I can't wait to try this on MWF/Tabac and a host of other soaps.

Thank you Marco your gift keeps on giving throughout the years.

At your disposal, Sir.

 

[Mandina]

Jarick's observation is on target. For those of us who take our time shaving, Marco's approach provides moist, rich lather for the later passes.

 

[Cosmos Mariner]

At your disposal, Sir.

Marco, you're the man [emoji106]

 

[Mr Daniel]

Hmmm, I have no trouble making a great lather but I may be doing it a little backwards. I do soak my brush however, I give it a little squeeze and ring out a good but of the water so I'm loading a damp brush, not a wet brush. It takes quite a bit of time and effort for me to build my lather. I'll try this in the morning.

 

[mkiraly]

Thank you Marco, because I adopted your method, I now face-lather with a boar brush way more often than I use my badgers with a bowl.

More will be revealed...

 

[AJ123]

This method works great with any soap. And every soap, brush, or dish that the puck is in brings a slight variation to get it right. Variations of this method are easy to experiment with and get the best performance you can imagine. I would encourage even experienced wet shavers to reread this post and gain a new nugget of insight to try. The first time I read this and tried it I didn't appreciate the role of very light swirls on top of the puck and doing vigorously but lightly 100+ times.

I doubt if there is a shaving soap out there that would fail to give up great lather if this method and variations were tried.

The one thing I have added is that I enjoy lathering on top of the puck most when the puck is in a container that is wide enough and the walls are up above the puck so you can build up some lathering in it's container. Boellis 1924 comes in an ideal container for this. Others with same effect can be purchased on sites like Wayfair or ebay -- or you can just use those plastic Tupperware type containers sold in every grocery store. I like about 4-5" wide; mash the soap down into it and gradually form a nice surface; walls at least 1/2 " above the soap level. To me the Marco method really shines when this is done. Hmmm. I'll post some pics now that I think about it.

 

[Royalpar1]

Lately I’ve seen that some B&B members are having issues regarding “how to create a good lather” with Italian soft soaps. And I have personally received several PM’s regarding this subject, with many asking me what kind of lathering technique I actually use. Here is a simple tutorial for new wet shavers or for those who just are unable to get satisfying results with soft soaps.

1. Italian soft soaps like brushes with soft tips and great backbone. You can use a quality boar or badger brush of your choice with the above specs. I prefer boars, as in the old Italian barbershop tradition.

2. Run your brush under hot water (or simply soak it) for at least 30 seconds.

3. Turn your brush upside-down WITHOUT shaking it. Allow only the gravity water to fall down and move your brush carefully, since it has to be kept full of water.

4. Start making swirls on the surface of the soap. You have to proceed slowly, without pressure on the brush. Remember that it’s very wet.

5. Heavily load your brush for about 45/60 seconds making around 100/120 swirls. Please keep in mind that the loading time and number of swirls also depend on how big your brush is and how much water it can retain.

6. Move the brush onto your face and face lather. Again, be careful, you’ll have a LOT of lather to handle.

7. While face lathering add, slowly and progressively, a few drops of water per time to your brush. Or, alternatively, lightly wet the tips of the brush. I personally prefer to add drops of water to the brush because I have a better control of the soap/water ratio.

8. You bring the lather to the right consistency.

*** The main concept to always keep in mind is simple: a lot of water + a lot of swirls + a lot of soap = a lot of great, thick, slick and effective lather. ***

I learned this technique from an old Italian Master Barber with over 40 years of experience and I’ve been using it with great results for almost 16 years.

P.S. This lathering technique works very well even with hard, triple milled soaps. Exactly as described above, with the sole exception that I soften the surface of hard soaps with a dozen drops of water before starting to make swirls.

I find this way has too much water, holding in my Manchurian, I give it 3-4 shakes and a gentle squeeze, I can obtain yogurt from my Xpec, ABC, AdP as well as my hard soaps which i bloom whilst in the shower. If i left the water in my Chubby 2 , my lather would be way too foamy and not yogurty. IMHO YMMV and i am a noob

 

[J743]

I find this way has too much water, holding in my Manchurian, I give it 3-4 shakes and a gentle squeeze, I can obtain yogurt from my Xpec, ABC, AdP as well as my hard soaps which i bloom whilst in the shower. If i left the water in my Chubby 2 , my lather would be way too foamy and not yogurty. IMHO YMMV and i am a noob

Royal -- you simply need more swirls. The point is to coagulate as much suds as the brush can hold. The chubby 2 can hold a LOT of water. Either you shake some water out to adjust for less swirls, or make more swirls.

I don't shake any water out. I insist on my brush absolutely soaked in hot water.


I use as much water as possible from the get-go. I let the sudsy water fall into the sink (plugged up) and KEEP loading. Then I'll begin lathering in the corner of my sink, incorporating the watery-suds-pool until I have enough lather, literally, for about 7 passes

 

[horvy]

I can say that after finding this thread, my shaves have gotten substantially better. Did this with Boellis Panama 1924, which was OUTSTANDING...Tried it on my Cade, and it was fantastic! I'll be starting my Cella journey tonight with it and expect similar results Thank you Marco for detailing this, I couldn't have found a better way to go about starting to dial in a lather.

 

[Royalpar1]

Ok, back to the drawing board, a swirling i shall go !

 

[Vicv]

I tried this this morning. A couple things. Don't use a high quality badger brush. Way to much water. I couldn't actually get the brush to load because it just sat on top of the pool of water in my proraso tub. After I shook out my brush I continued and got a very good lather and I learned something. I have been using proraso too thick and got a better shave this time with it a bit thinner and had enough for 4 passes.

 

[Rory1262]

I tried this method for the first time today. I used a horsehair brush (the Vie-Long Pony).
I was definitely pleased with the lather -- but the lather from this method is so abundant that a short-handled brush like the Pony gets engulfed. Something with a longer handle would probably have been better suited.