- Thread starter
- #21
New Bee :: Bowl Lathering Face Lathering, Any Lathering - Help Please
- Thread starter Avi
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #22
This does look decoratively good and seemed to do the trick but I do wonder if there is something to be said for making it less airy than this? (so more slick and/or purposely under lathered?). I think that that's what I like about face lathering as it feels like I am putting a slippy ice rink on my face. This feels like lather?
If it makes your shave closer, smoother, and without irritation or nicks, that’s the right lather.
- Thread starter
- #24
Lather looks pretty good, just keep experimenting. You'll find what makes the best lather in no time.
- Thread starter
- #26
It looks good, I am not shaving well with it for some reason .. that said I just switched to evening shaving ( and I shower in the morning ) so it might just be that, or I am ( also likely ) just getting sloppy again .
Avi
I was pretty inconsistent when I first started with a brush sometimes making fantastic lather other times it would scum the razor and dry halfway through. Now with my arko I can notice a significant performance improvement over the brushless creams/gels I've tried.
When shaving without a shower a hot towel over the face always did the trick for me.
When shaving without a shower a hot towel over the face always did the trick for me.
@Avi — Has the lather-building improved to a point where you’re simultaneously protecting your skin and softening your whiskers for shaves that justify the learning process?
- Thread starter
- #29
It is funny you say that ... I can make cartoonishly good looking lather in a bowl ( well a mug ) but I don’t really enjoy shaving with it as while it looks good, it feels light, dry, and airy. I have switched back to face lathering ( twirling 15 times ) and stopping a bit earlier than air.
I do worry i am under lathering as there is a tiny amount of gunk left on the blade post shaving that I clean off the blade with hot water (definitely not an issue with bowl lathering ). That said it is super crazy slick.
I think castle Forbes may not have been the best starter unlike something a bit more basic / normal. That said, the forum has a theory of not swapping things out so I am simply sticking with 1 razor, minimal blades ( I do swap these out for fun to be honest), 1 cream until I am sure is am at some version of steady state.
regards
avi
I do worry i am under lathering as there is a tiny amount of gunk left on the blade post shaving that I clean off the blade with hot water (definitely not an issue with bowl lathering ). That said it is super crazy slick.
I think castle Forbes may not have been the best starter unlike something a bit more basic / normal. That said, the forum has a theory of not swapping things out so I am simply sticking with 1 razor, minimal blades ( I do swap these out for fun to be honest), 1 cream until I am sure is am at some version of steady state.
regards
avi
Your description of how Castle Forbes behaves in a mug sounds like how Arko behaves in my oversized cereal bowl (it’s matte gray, so it’s classy). The creams I’ve used don‘t act like soap even though they’re technically just soap with extra water.
When it’s airy/foamy, the lather needs more swirling/stirring to break the bubbles down further and allow more water into the mixture. It’s symbiotic. You need the cream to hold air so it can hold more water so the air and water can hold the cream on your skin and whiskers and the cream can be a lubricant while forcing water into your skin and whiskers with the air bubbles (the tinier the better — until it looks like there’s no more bubbles like Ace the Masta mentioned) help slow gravity from glopping lime-scented liquid gold immediately into your sink.
With your face-lathering, it sounds like you’re not reaching the over-airy stage (proto-lather? pseudo-psuds?), but still have a thick, protective layer allowing for a shave that might require more in-use rinsing of your razor, but still works and still makes your olfactory senses pine for either condensed milk or agave nectar.
While you’re still learning, would choosing a less deity-tier cream be acceptable? It doesn’t behave like Castle Forbes, but Kiss My Face Moisture Shave has some citrus scents and is often available on amazon for $7.95/11 oz bottle.
When it’s airy/foamy, the lather needs more swirling/stirring to break the bubbles down further and allow more water into the mixture. It’s symbiotic. You need the cream to hold air so it can hold more water so the air and water can hold the cream on your skin and whiskers and the cream can be a lubricant while forcing water into your skin and whiskers with the air bubbles (the tinier the better — until it looks like there’s no more bubbles like Ace the Masta mentioned) help slow gravity from glopping lime-scented liquid gold immediately into your sink.
With your face-lathering, it sounds like you’re not reaching the over-airy stage (proto-lather? pseudo-psuds?), but still have a thick, protective layer allowing for a shave that might require more in-use rinsing of your razor, but still works and still makes your olfactory senses pine for either condensed milk or agave nectar.
While you’re still learning, would choosing a less deity-tier cream be acceptable? It doesn’t behave like Castle Forbes, but Kiss My Face Moisture Shave has some citrus scents and is often available on amazon for $7.95/11 oz bottle.
- Thread starter
- #31
Exactly.. for our area is that Gillette Pure shave is available for $8 bucks at CVS and I think $5 at Walmart. Its clearly pretty soft just looking at it and people seem to love it. That said its clear you can't really go through one of these things in 2 weeks or anything, they last forever. The positive side about face lathering is you can just keep dribbling water on the brush (as they do in those videos) until the stickiness/soap/croap turns into lather.
By stuff "left over on the blade", hot water does wash it away just under the tap so its not like pure cr/soap or anything but rather its easier to clean inside a razor by taking it apart (Maybe?)
btw I've realized I now don't really like after shave balm. I used to love after shave balm. I think the reason for that is I used to have far more razor burn back in the day (of fusion 5's). Now after shave balm feels like a crappy face moisturizer so its easier just to skip the first step and just a proper face moisturizer/sunscreen etc.
Regards
Avi
I’ve heard mixed reviews, but can’t tell which negative ones are because it didn’t work for the reviewer’s skin or pre-existing methods or because Gillette now makes commercials that suggest attacking condor nests with a slingshot might be bad.
If you want to try a new cream or soap and have no room in your bathroom for it, that forever seems longer
That’s a good point. Hoping I might get a nifty synthetic soon to join in on that fun. My ‘best badger’ brush gets me raw before I’m anywhere near ready. If not, lathering in the wide cereal bowl makes every shave a treat.
Disassembling, blasting under hot water, patting dry on terrycloth, and reassembling for the next shave is a required ritual in hard water land. So is scraping calcite from the toilet, but it’s not shaving related …
To be honest the real reason I have not been "practicing" ( @Ace the Masta ) is the answer to the invariable (wife) "whattf are you doing in the bathroom for 30 minutes" being "practicing beating my lather" just isn't really one of those conversations I wanted to get into
Offer to shave her legs for her. I found that to be an excellent way to get SWMBO to understand the importance of good lather! Plus, she said it was spa-like sensual, an added benefit
.I used a DE for the wife; nicks would definitely spoil the effort.
While your AS-D2 is more than up for that side quest, RenoRichard has designed razors that also advance the craft. Some people use his artwork to shave their face, too.
- Thread starter
- #35
Offer to shave her legs for her. I found that to be an excellent way to get SWMBO to understand the importance of good lather! Plus, she said it was spa-like sensual, an added benefit
I used a DE for the wife; nicks would definitely spoil the effort.
Knowing me I envision the .. whoops [nick] smack on the head as being the most likely outcome of that activity
He comes off really well / professionally as well (one can't help but like someone who has the abject professional honesty to say "please do not buy an expensive razor (like ours) until you get a handle on things" [ on one of those threads].
regards
Avi
Oh yeah, Shane; the guy making the razor RenoRichard designed; comes across very professional and thoughtful. His company’s “Vector” razor appeals greatly to me, but it’s for experienced peeps. I’m just 6 months in today.
For Castle Forbes Lime, I just soak my brush, lift it out of the mug, let it gravity drip off, then two flicks of the wrist, then swirl my brush in the tub a bit to get some lather started, then I face lather. Adding a bit of water to my brush if it’s too thick.
I probably use way more than a snurdle, almond, teaspoon or whatnot, but I get a great shave and look like a movie star!
That’s worth the price of using a bit more cream to me!
I probably use way more than a snurdle, almond, teaspoon or whatnot, but I get a great shave and look like a movie star!
That’s worth the price of using a bit more cream to me!
Didn't read all the responses so maybe you heard all of this
No need to lather aggresively, light pressure on brush will do it.
If you have foamy lather it means your ratio of water and product is off (you need less water or more product, your choice). Also with agressive lathering you introduce air in lather and get it foamy.
I always start my lathers on the dry side and add water by drops. Easier to put it in than to take it out
And there is no unit of how much product to use. Use as much as you need to shave. You will get the hang of it. And no fear of adding more product in midlle of a shave and making more lather
No need to lather aggresively, light pressure on brush will do it.
If you have foamy lather it means your ratio of water and product is off (you need less water or more product, your choice). Also with agressive lathering you introduce air in lather and get it foamy.
I always start my lathers on the dry side and add water by drops. Easier to put it in than to take it out
And there is no unit of how much product to use. Use as much as you need to shave. You will get the hang of it. And no fear of adding more product in midlle of a shave and making more lather
Just got a hyooj synthetic brush for Daddoo Day and my face lather went from “good with soap” to “unbelievably responsive with soap.” Will try a more pedestrian shaving cream tonight and report back.
The answer is No. I can bowl lather KMF or disappoint myself.
Similar threads
