What makes lather slick?

[Parjay]

One of the craziest YMMV things that I see on B&B is whether extra water makes lather more slick. Over the last few years I have always found that with my setup/water/preferences, I like to add just enough water to bring my lather together. When I add more, the slickness just keeps going down. That being said, some folks here at B&B that I really trust find that extra water makes their lather slicker than snot.

I know that at the very least, there has to be a point of no return, or water alone would yield the slickest shaves.

I kept the poll vanilla, but I would love to hear what you think. Do you think that your water is hard or soft? I have a feeling that might change things. I have pretty hard water, is that why I don't like extra water in my lather? What say you, B&B!?

 

[rockclimber]

Soaps high in stearic and tallow like more water in my house, veggie soaps are much more picky. I voted more water and I have hard water.

 

[dangerousdon]

I'm with you Parjay...I like to bring my soap/cream just to lather. Any more water and I start to loose properties of a great lather. The water in and around the Baton Rouge, LA is considered some of the softest in the country...according to whom? I have no idea.

 

[Parjay]

Soaps high in stearic and tallow like more water in my house, veggie soaps are much more picky. I voted more water and I have hard water.

I've always wondered if my lather preferences lead me toward certain soaps and away from others. Many of the "best" soaps just don't hack it for me.

 

[Smattayu]

I've found that it varies somewhat from soap to soap. If I'm using something like Haslinger, it usually soaks up all the water I can throw at it and stay really slick. But I pulled out RazoRock Mudder Focker the other day, and once I loaded the crap out of my Omega 49 it took very little water to make the lather perfect.

 

[Cash_Stronomer]

I don't for sure if it's because I have very, very hard water, but the wetter the better.

 

[redslayer8585]

Some of my soaps really like the aqua such as tabac and arko but I have a few that like just enough such as I coloniali. I've noticed with I coloniali, when I add too much, it starts to break down a little. Like the OP said, this subject is highly YMMV territory.

 

[BigJ]

Definitely 'cheating' these days because I am spending 2016 with Haslinger's, one of the thirstiest soaps around!

 

[tromboneliness]

RJ, I find that it's the type of lather you make, not the amount of water it takes to make that lather, that counts.

With well over 50 soaps and creams in the "rotation," I find in every case that a gloppy, yogurty lather brings out all the slickness a given product has to offer. I also find that when you make a lather like this the inherent differences in slickness between products gets very much smaller.

How much you add depends a lot on how much water you bring to the soap with your brush when loading, which will vary among boar, badger, and synthetic brushes, as well as how much you shake out of it before you begin. The point is not how much water you put in later, but what the lather is like when you're done.

You also need to take the time to incorporate that water thoroughly. This time is longer than many gents think. But so worth it.

Oftentimes, when newer gents uses a product that gives a bounteous, fluffy lather almost instantly (TOBS and Tabac come to mind) they don't realize they could actually make it significantly better with a little more time and water. I think that's why you hear the recommendation "use more water" around here so often.

 

[redslayer8585]

RJ, I find that it's the type of lather you make, not the amount of water it takes to make that lather, that counts.

With well over 50 soaps and creams in the "rotation," I find in every case that a gloppy, yogurty lather brings out all the slickness a given product has to offer. I also find that when you make a lather like this the inherent differences in slickness between products gets very much smaller.

How much you add depends a lot on how much water you bring to the soap with your brush when loading, which will vary among boar, badger, and synthetic brushes, as well as how much you shake out of it before you begin. The point is not how much water you put in later, but what the lather is like when you're done.

You also need to take the time to incorporate that water thoroughly. This time is longer than many gents think. But so worth it.

Oftentimes, when newer gents uses a product that gives a bounteous, fluffy lather almost instantly (TOBS and Tabac come to mind) they don't realize they could actually make it significantly better with a little more time and water. I think that's why you hear the recommendation "use more water" around here so often.

+1
Pretty much spelled it out perfectly. I've found that the more time I spend on the lather, the better it is but it is all dependent on how much water you start with. I guess all that matters in the end is how good it shaves.

 

[gitira6]

RJ, I find that it's the type of lather you make, not the amount of water it takes to make that lather, that counts.

With well over 50 soaps and creams in the "rotation," I find in every case that a gloppy, yogurty lather brings out all the slickness a given product has to offer. I also find that when you make a lather like this the inherent differences in slickness between products gets very much smaller.



How much you add depends a lot on how much water you bring to the soap with your brush when loading, which will vary among boar, badger, and synthetic brushes, as well as how much you shake out of it before you begin. The point is not how much water you put in later, but what the lather is like when you're done.

You also need to take the time to incorporate that water thoroughly. This time is longer than many gents think. But so worth it.

Oftentimes, when newer gents uses a product that gives a bounteous, fluffy lather almost instantly (TOBS and Tabac come to mind) they don't realize they could actually make it significantly better with a little more time and water. I think that's why you hear the recommendation "use more water" around here so often.

Buddy Rich didn't take any s#$t from anybody.

 

[Tommy Tutone]

SE MICHigan here. Water is hard. Main thing I find is I just need to take more time to get the slickness and 'sheen' I never achieved as a newer wet-shaver. More product, more water, more time whipping things up.. Then I try the 'fingerprint test' - lather should be so slick you can't feel your 1st and 2nd/3rd fingertips when rubbed together and the razor should almost be sliding out of your hand as you shave... Have shaved with subpar lathers but it's never as good as the gloppy, shiny, yogurty, slick lathers... I know this subject is not a new one, but enjoy the OP's posts as a rule, and by the way, [MENTION=67261]Parjay[/MENTION], which soaps aren't 'hacking it' for you??

 

[Parjay]

SE MICHigan here. Water is hard. Main thing I find is I just need to take more time to get the slickness and 'sheen' I never achieved as a newer wet-shaver. More product, more water, more time whipping things up.. Then I try the 'fingerprint test' - lather should be so slick you can't feel your 1st and 2nd/3rd fingertips when rubbed together and the razor should almost be sliding out of your hand as you shave... Have shaved with subpar lathers but it's never as good as the gloppy, shiny, yogurty, slick lathers... I know this subject is not a new one, but enjoy the OP's posts as a rule, and by the way, [MENTION=67261]Parjay[/MENTION], which soaps aren't 'hacking it' for you??

MdC and DR Harris are both soaps that don't hack it for me. I can lather them both, but I don't like the shaves I get with them.

 

[Parjay]

RJ, I find that it's the type of lather you make, not the amount of water it takes to make that lather, that counts.

With well over 50 soaps and creams in the "rotation," I find in every case that a gloppy, yogurty lather brings out all the slickness a given product has to offer. I also find that when you make a lather like this the inherent differences in slickness between products gets very much smaller.

How much you add depends a lot on how much water you bring to the soap with your brush when loading, which will vary among boar, badger, and synthetic brushes, as well as how much you shake out of it before you begin. The point is not how much water you put in later, but what the lather is like when you're done.

You also need to take the time to incorporate that water thoroughly. This time is longer than many gents think. But so worth it.

Oftentimes, when newer gents uses a product that gives a bounteous, fluffy lather almost instantly (TOBS and Tabac come to mind) they don't realize they could actually make it significantly better with a little more time and water. I think that's why you hear the recommendation "use more water" around here so often.

Those fluffy products are the ones I avoid. I prefer products that never gain volume, I find them the slickest.

 

[TexLaw]

My water is soft, and I find that I usually do well by adding a little more. At least, that was the case when I started out. These days, I've pretty well got the hang of how much water I need to start with. Of course, there is a point where more water makes for worse lather.

It's all a matter of which product I'm lathering, as well. Some are thirstier than others.

With regard to fluffy or not, I suppose that does have some significance, but not so much in my shave den. DRH creams, Trumper's creams, and MWF all fluff up a good deal, but they also perform wonderfully on my face. I haven't used Cella in a while, but I recall it doing the same.

 

[Catalinbread]

Those fluffy products are the ones I avoid. I prefer products that never gain volume, I find them the slickest.

I've only used a couple soaps and I get the fluffiness pretty quick after loading very wet brush for a minute and face lathering. I add small amounts of water as I'm working it which seems to help the slickness. I voted more water with hard water.

 

[phillylion]

I think you hit a sweet spot, with just enough water. If you add more water without more product, you'll have too much bubbles and it'll run. If you add too much product without adding more water, it'll be too dry. You have to get the sweet spot, regardless of whether you have hard or soft water.

 

[Catalinbread]

I think you hit a sweet spot, with just enough water. If you add more water without more product, you'll have too much bubbles and it'll run. If you add too much product without adding more water, it'll be too dry. You have to get the sweet spot, regardless of whether you have hard or soft water.

+1, better explanation than mine.

 

[MedicDave]

I have to agree with the "gloppy, yogurty" philosophy on lather. My best shaves seem to be when I have to clean up a big glop of lather off the bathroom floor.