Where are the Realistic Lather Building Tutorials?

[steelwindmachine]

Does anyone have any reference for realistic lather building videos?

When I've searched I've found lots of vendor/influencer videos about lather, but they're all producing enough lather to frost several sheet cakes and sell more soap (or cream).

So when I say, "realistic", I do mean anyone demonstrating how to build a serviceable, non-salesy, practical, material conserving lather.

 

[Cino]

 

[steelwindmachine]

@Cino - am I asking for trouble?

 

[Cino]

This has always been a difficult area for me as well, but I'll give it a try.

For most soaps, I'll dribble some water on the puck and then load with a damp, not wet, brush until the tips are matted with soap. I'll then go to a bowl and slowly add water and work up lather. Most soaps go through three stages. The first stage is a runny mess that makes you think you need more soap. Then, as you work the lather and add water, the lather becomes foamy and exhibits bubbles. There will be no sheen present at this stage. As more water is added, the bubbles become smaller and soon disappear leaving you with a shiny, denser lather. It's now ready for 3 to 4 passes on your face. With some soaps, the lather can keep taking more water and become even better. With others, much more water will return the lather to a runny state and send you back to the puck for more soap.

With some soaps, like MdC, you don't need to load until the tips look matted. The tips can look nearly empty, but there will still be more than enough to get the lather you want. That's where your personal experience with each soap comes in.

I don't face lather, so I can't help you there.

Good luck. I'm hoping I can learn something from this thread.

 

[Cino]

@Cino - am I asking for trouble?

No trouble. I'm watching too learn myself.

 

[bjm]

Have you checked the "Sticky" post for soaps in the Sticky Threads?

 

[steelwindmachine]

@bjm - the Soap Sticky stuff is helpful, but I'm specifically looking for video content.

FYI - some of the tutorial threads' photos are no longer existing.

 

[Barbarian80]

Probably the single biggest mistake I've made over the years was using way too much product. This can easily be avoided if you bowl lather but I, like most people, load with a brush from the tub. Loading with the brush introduces so many variables that you almost never have the same lather and then people complain on the forums that the soap is bad. Most of the artisan soap/croaps that I own require a 10 sec load time, light pressure with a rung out once brush. Dipping the tips of the brush in water until the soap is dialed in to my liking gives me the most consistent results without having to rely on a bowl. I also believe lather that is too thickly applied prevents a good close shave.

It does feel nice to use way more soap than you need, but it's a waste of money and it could affect the quality of your shaves.

 

[bjm]

@bjm - the Soap Sticky stuff is helpful, but I'm specifically looking for video content.

FYI - some of the tutorial threads' photos are no longer existing.

I've learned a little from videos and a lot from reading. Many, if not most, of my successes have come from the shared experiences of others followed by my own trial and error.

Full disclosure, I didn't actually follow the links; I was just trying to be helpful. Good luck with your search

 

[dotKomo]

It seems everyone has a slightly different take on this subject. I would agree that most videos tend to promote a certain look, rather than an effective lather (frosting, meringue, etc.).

For me, I prefer a thinner, runnier lather having more slickness. That's why I'm a proponent of the Marco Method.

YMMV. Others prefer a thicker lather for the cushion.

I would suggest watching a video of someone getting a straight razor shave from an Italian barber. Take notice of how much water they use while mixing up the soap into a lather (hint - it's a lot!)

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I prefer a thin, slick lather, and do not care about bubbles, or if I have to go back to the puck during the shave; as long as I can shave with it then the lather is just fine. For me, no lathering tutorial or video is necessary, I rub the stick on my damp face or load the damp brush from the puck. Then I vigorously face lather, gradually adding hydration by dipping the brush tips in water until I am ready to shave. I have never understood the appeal of thick, yogurt type lather, that looks like it belongs atop a comedy ice cream cone, and the idea of 'cushion' seems like total nonsense to me. It must work for those who do it, but it seems like a needlessly complex exercise in lather making for its own sake, rather than a simple part of the shaving process. Nothing wrong with that of course, we each do what we enjoy and what works for us - the trick is finding it

 

[chops1sc]

I am a beginner to DE shaving. This also makes me a beginner to building a lather. I, too, went though lots of videos and I stopped once I watched this one. I will warn you; this guy talks slow and he takes what seems like forever to get to the points he makes. BUT, after following his technique I have produced very good lathers with my soaps. This video shows him making super thick foam but you don't have to take it that far. Just stop when you have the consistency you want.

 

[AndyPanda]

Watching lathering videos and reading many threads in the forums had me going around in circles trying to get a decent lather. I kept being told to load more soap on my brush and thinking I needed inch thick, fluffy lather on my face. I finally found my own path that works and I don't know how I'll ever use up all the soap I've got because I just don't need very much soap to get a lather that gives me a great shave. I'm fairly new and certainly no expert - maybe one day I'll discover some fantastic benefit I'm missing because I'm not lathering like all the videos.

That said, here's what works best for me. For most of my soaps, I barely need 10 seconds of brushing the soap with the tips of a barely damp brush (disclaimer - I have great water where I live, maybe that's why I don't need to load much soap). I spray my face with a water mister and bring the loaded brush to my face and smear it on my cheeks. It's dry and pasty (like cold cream) at this point and then I either dip the tips in water (barely get the tips wet) or I mist my face from the water spray bottle and start to face lather and keep repeating the tip dip or face mist and lather several times until the consistency is right.

When it's right for me, I have a very thin layer of lather on my face - it has a glossy sheen and reminds me of Elmer's glue or runny yogurt - Not at all foamy and it rinses off the blade easily.

 

[steelwindmachine]

I read through nearly all of the B&B lather wiki articles.

Two nights ago I took more time to prep and develop a more perfected lather with my MdC and FS 28mm Purtech brush.

I loaded for 10 seconds with a damp brush and developed the lather on my face to where it became a more dense, slick, creamy consistency and held together when dollops hit the water in the sink.

My first pass was great with my Superslant L3/Rapira (2)!

Unlike my past method, for my second pass I reworked the lather to the same consistency as the first. Previously I'd just use whatever lather was left in the brush as is and not really work on it more.

A witch hazel splash revealed no warning signs. I still had mounds of lather left which informs that I could try a 5 second load and see where that gets me. This minimal loading is certainly impacted by my huge brush and that when done efficiently is why this MdC will last for years. I'm using up a MdC sample from them that is providing at least two dozen shaves.

I realize my mistake had been rushing and not putting in the time or attention to get the lather where it ought to be.

After the shave, I also spread the remaining lather in my hand and rubbed my hands together to get a mental picture of where it was slickness-wise. It was very slick even as the foam moved to the edges of my hands and in between my fingers.

Getting the lather in the right place was the key. My razor technique is fine, my brush and soaps are fine. Though I am considering a new, slightly smaller synthetic brush to load less and maybe be easier to use should I switch to a bowl.