Understanding Brush Lather Content

[ginhud]

Help me understand this. Seems to me a brush will only hold so much lather. If you load up and use a certain amount for pass #1 then there'd be less in the brush for #2 pass etc. Also won't the consistency of the lather be somewhat different from the brush for pass #2 and subsequent passes...unless you apply more product?

What am I hearing when someone says a brush does not hold lather for multiple passes? Brush too small or not dense enough or what? Thanks for sharing thoughts!

 

[Loric]

How much lather a brush holds (and releases) depends on a number of factors. Size, density. amount of break in, product, and lathering technique. Some smaller brushes dont seem to hold enough lather for a 4 pass shave, but I have not used one so small that it did not do at least a good job with 2, and usually close to a proper third.

A new brush will be to stiff and tight to make good lather. In a very dense brush or a very tight new brush the bristles line up very very close together. The capillary action that holds the water/lather between the bristles wont let lather build or be mixed or released properly. This is referred to as lather hogging, but is a different problem than a small brush just not having the capacity for 4 passes worth of lather. As a brush breaks in the bristles loosen up and you get a nice "bloom". With more space between the bristles and more flex in the knot, lather production and release both increase.

Boar brushes hold water inside (not as much between) the bristles, and a new boar has to break in to do this properly. New boar bristles can absorb much less water than one that has been soaked, lathered, and dried 30 or more times. So with a brand new boar they just cant hold the water for proper loading and lathering. With patience this too will pass, for most boars.

There have been posts on here about some products and some brushes just not working as well as others. This could be because of low brush backbone on hard soaps, the water retention of the brush and the need of the product, etc. etc. There is also a technique factor working here. I myself tend to use dense short brushes so I have learned lathering techniques for that kind of brush. When I use a floppy less dense brush my lather suffers. I can make good lather, but its clearly more labored.

In my experience even smaller (22mm) knots will hold plenty of lather for 3 or 4 passes, and knots size 24 or bigger hold lather for many more than that. I am sure my Chubby 3 (32MM) could lather up shaves for 3 or more faces with out a return to the soap. I'm sure others will have better insights and clarifications, but thats my 2 cents. I hope it helps.

 

[Drubbing]

Most brushes will hold enough at least enough lather for 2-3 passes.

I've not found any difference in consistency of lather between passes. If I took 15 minutes between latherings this may be a factor, but I don't. There's just less lather in there because you've used some up.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Help me understand this. Seems to me a brush will only hold so much lather. If you load up and use a certain amount for pass #1 then there'd be less in the brush for #2 pass etc. Also won't the consistency of the lather be somewhat different from the brush for pass #2 and subsequent passes...unless you apply more product?

Basically, if you start off by making 3 times as much lather as you need for the first pass, you'll have enough lather for 3 passes.

What am I hearing when someone says a brush does not hold lather for multiple passes? Brush too small or not dense enough or what? Thanks for sharing thoughts!

The brush might be too small, but generally that just means you didn't load enough soap/cream into it to begin with.

 

[Crixus]

Basically, if you start off by making 3 times as much lather as you need for the first pass, you'll have enough lather for 3 passes.

This is kind of a misnomer. It's actually extremely difficult to make just enough lather for ONE pass. Your soap/water/brush size ratio just isn't going to work out. Brush size and density will determine how much quality lather you have that is easily accessible.

 

[kingfisher]

The lather becomes a little bit less moist between passes. But then I rinse my face off after pass one and then apply the lather to a wet face, which basically restores the lather to pretty much exactly the same lubricity I had for the first pass.