Thoughts on lather...

[smrex13]

Hi everyone,

I have been giving in to my SSAD now that I have tamed my RAD (thanks EJ 89L!). I have noticed an interesting phenomenon with regard to lather. Obviously, some soaps lather much more easily than others; however, there seems to be little (or no?) correlation between the quality of the lather and the closeness of the shave for me. Some soaps give me mounds of thick lather that last 4-5 passes but I get a mediocre shave while others give me a much thinner, dryer lather but I get amazing shaves. The reviews have separate categories for "lather" and "efficacy" and I have certainly found them to be independent of each other.

Has anyone else had this experience?

Scott

 

[JPDyson]

Yeah, I've had soaps where the lather didn't seem to ever look quite right, but it was very effective, and soaps where I thought I made picture-perfect lather that wasn't any good for shaving. For soaps, Col. Conk's is always a reference for me in terms of the appearance of the lather matching the efficacy. ToBS is my reference cream in the same way. Obviously there are better soaps and creams out there, but those give me results I can predict visually.

 

[beginish]

Yes, I've found that some soaps, like MWF, that don't necessarily give billowy bowls of lather are nonetheless slick as all get out, and I get outstanding shaves from them.

 

[matato]

Absolutely! There was another informative discussion on this matter elsewhere on B&B but I can't find it. If I remember correctly, what matters most in terms of getting an outstanding shave is how well your face is moisturized and how well it's lubricated. This allows the skin to move out of the way of the blade so it can do it's work on the hair. This is how you can shave with something like ShaveSecret, which has no lather whatsoever. It's also why Method shaving focuses so much on holding water onto your face and less on making lather. I think the lather just makes it more fun, and provides a visual cue as to where you've already shaved.