What does YOUR lather look and feel like?

[Compaq]

Sirs, what does your lathery goodness look and feel like? I've heard words as, glossy, slick, thick, moist et cetera. Though this might be the perfect lather, what does "moist lather" feel like, hehe?

So if you just explained how your lather feels to the touch, I, and hopefully other n00bs, might learn a little.

Please?

 

[SpyvSpy]

It's more of a learn yourself process.

Mine- like cool whip and peaks at the top of my brush and how it feels cushiony, slick and moist.

When mixing experiment with the amount of water on the brush you can start with a little water and add more untill you feel that it's right.

 

[dpmtherrien]

Good answer above. The best way is to just make a few practice lathers. Its that easy. What you want is a nice thick lather that's slick and moist. You'll know it when you get it. Just fool around with a cheap soap until you get it. Once you do get it, you can make a good lather from any shave soap/cream. Have fun with it, you'll have it down in no time.

 

[WhosYerBob]

The lather I create is very dense, the bubbles - if they can be seen - are tiny. It feels super cushiony and slick, not airy and dry.

 

[Compaq]

In my lather I see things that reminds me of ice on the road.. It blinks, almost, like crystals. "ants with reflex vests" my driving instructor used to say Anyway, I see obscene amounts of those And it feels very thick, and it feels very nice to my skin. It's just that it looks like it dries on the skin. What does your lather look like on your skin after a minute?

 

[Grace]

Letting my lather sit on my skin for a while has been a good test. If it dries up so that I can see my skin, I didn't use enough product. If it gets sort of clumpy/gluey after only a couple minutes, then I didn't use enough water.

My lather generally looks thick, sort of like whipped cream. The texture is not nearly as foamy as whipped cream, however; very creamy and cushiony. I used to not use enough product in my lather mix, and was always confused when people referred to it as "cushioning." Now that I have my lather in order, I definitely understand what they mean by it. Also, I've found that the hand-squeeze test is very effective at telling you how good your lather is.

 

[Gugel]

I usually warm up my shaving bowl by filling it up with hot water. I put my brush in there and let it get hot too, maybe 10-15 seconds. Then I give it a few quick shakes to the brush, dump the water out of the shaving bowl and put about an almond-sized amount of Proraso shaving cream in there.

From there, I stir the shaving cream around like a madman for about 30 seconds. I usually start off with a bit less water than optimal and add a few drops as I see fit to get that perfect lather (you can always add water, but you can't remove it).

 

[Shadow-cw]

Letting my lather sit on my skin for a while has been a good test. If it dries up so that I can see my skin, I didn't use enough product. If it gets sort of clumpy/gluey after only a couple minutes, then I didn't use enough water.

My lather generally looks thick, sort of like whipped cream. The texture is not nearly as foamy as whipped cream, however; very creamy and cushiony. I used to not use enough product in my lather mix, and was always confused when people referred to it as "cushioning." Now that I have my lather in order, I definitely understand what they mean by it. Also, I've found that the hand-squeeze test is very effective at telling you how good your lather is.

Thanks for this info. I'm getting better but I have mixed a few that were alittle dry.

 

[Sullybob]

I get different lather from different soaps.
From AOS I get a dense thick lather that is almost a cream, it feels like their is an insulating layer between the individual hairs of the brush and my face.
Most of my tallow based soaps are similar to AOS but not quite as creamy. No matter what soap I am using I get small air bubbles, almost to small to see. If I have big air bubbles it means that I added too much water and the lather will be thin and runny.

 

[steelwindmachine]

sorry to dig up an old post, but I am trying to figure out the correct consistency for my lather. I'm using the Bigelow cream at the moment (have GFT Coconut soap on deck next).

When my brush is fully squeezed out and I use an almond size bit of cream, I wind up with a thick, grease-like feeling lather between the fingers. After I add maybe a dozen or so more drops of water, it starts to develop a more wet feeling on the skin with some light cushioning from the "foam". Is this the sweet spot?

 

[kingfisher]

sorry to dig up an old post, but I am trying to figure out the correct consistency for my lather. I'm using the Bigelow cream at the moment (have GFT Coconut soap on deck next).

When my brush is fully squeezed out and I use an almond size bit of cream, I wind up with a thick, grease-like feeling lather between the fingers. After I add maybe a dozen or so more drops of water, it starts to develop a more wet feeling on the skin with some light cushioning from the "foam". Is this the sweet spot?

Could be.

One way to find out would be to do a test lather where you start with the lather dry and then add water a few drops at a time and compare the feel of the lather. Continue to push the lather with more water and more water until it is worthless. You'll begin to see the point where there is slightly too much water and then add some more and look at it and feel it.

 

[Lobwedge]

I was watching a youtube clip and a suggested test for quality lather, I thought, was if you can rub your finger through your lather (on your face) and it doesn't rub off, then it's good lather. I tried it this morning and it was perfect ;-)

For me I know when I've hit the sweet spot of product and water mix. The lather explodes, it's creamy and moist and hugs the face; it's kind of hard to describe but it's the opposite of dry and runny ;-) With practice you'll discover the best mix. I generally use my soaps for a week at a time so I really get to work out how best to use each soap.

 

[El-a-Menthol]

I've found that the hand-squeeze test is very effective at telling you how good your lather is.

+1

This is a very beginner friendly test that just works. It's easy to do and understand and you'll instantly see if it has passed or not.

 

[VGA Ubersoldat]

This morning err afternoon, I used Cella for the first time. This is what my face looked like with a quick face lathering. I think I needed to add a little more water to get it a bit more foamy, which I like. I notice if I use too much water the lather turns runny and thin. I prefer thick, foamy and feels like whipped cream. Still working on getting the perfect lather for me, but I think I am on the right track.


View attachment 195828