Youtube shaving video.

[Sushi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKg5r_JkgQA&feature=related

I stumbled on this how-to-wet shave video and was confused about the guy's lather. I'm new to wet shaving, but his lather seems very light and I would say dry. How come this barber's lather is so different from what I see in lathering tutorials and mantic's videos?

 

[damooshki]

I've never used a brushless cream before but that is what it looks like to me. I have also seen a video of a barber giving a guy a straight razor shave with a shavette, using Baxter's of California (brushless cream), applied with a top quality silver tip brush. That seems strange to me. But I guess, different strokes for different folks.

 

[JPDyson]

His technique and advice has been criticized plenty here; way too much pressure, evident irritation, etc. I personally think his lather is poor - probably doesn't slip nor protect very well, and his advice about paint-brush strokes only is utter rubbish. If your brush is going to shed, it'll do so whether painting or scrubbing.

 

[michiganlover]

His technique and advice has been criticized plenty here; way too much pressure, evident irritation, etc. I personally think his lather is poor - probably doesn't slip nor protect very well, and his advice about paint-brush strokes only is utter rubbish. If your brush is going to shed, it'll do so whether painting or scrubbing.

+1

I think quite a bit of his advice is bunk. Just because he is a barber with customers who pay him to give them shaves doesn't mean he has any idea what he is talking about (the board has endless stories of barbers who gave them pitiful shaves).

We have heard stories of guys using their favorite brush for 10+ years. Doesn't seem that doing circular motions with the brush is reducing it's lifespan does it? That advice is utter hogwash, with no basis in reality.

I also fully agree that his lather is 100% worthless. He also re-shaves areas that have no lather remaining; usually a recipe for irritation.

In addition, he talks about pores opening, and closing, you would think a supposed expert on men's grooming would know that pores don't open, or close.

 

[Big.Dave]

Ok The Chap you are talking about is the owner of the Gentlemans shop in Hungerford England. Now I cannot comment on what his wet shaves are like at the moment but I will give you an opinion later on when I have a chance to get down there and have one and that will be compared against many straight shaves in Turkey so the bar is high.

The question I put to you is this would you as a business owner post a vid on Youtube of you giving your self a crap shave? my argument is with shaving there is more then one way to get a good shave and there is plenty of eveidence on this forum that whats good for one person is terrible for another.

 

[Hansel]

All of the brushes I have had (Three!) seem to have gone through a shedding period where they lost 1-3 bristles (That I noticed) per shave.

After that, no matter how much time I spend roughly face lathering, I noticed that bristles stopped falling out almost entirely.

 

[ddaley212]

dont follow this guys vid it may work for him but it seem likes mantics way is wayyyyyy better

 

[Drubbing]

The question I put to you is this would you as a business owner post a vid on Youtube of you giving your self a crap shave? my argument is with shaving there is more then one way to get a good shave and there is plenty of eveidence on this forum that whats good for one person is terrible for another.

It works for him, and that's the thing he fails to acknowledge. The problem I have with it is the namby pambying of the tools, and the use of "always" and "never".

The vid is principally there to advertise his business and products.

 

[HIT]

Hey sorry all you Brits but the Americans do it better

Mantic rules!!!!

 

[miamimoe]

Lather is way too thin; he shaves way too quick; he shaves areas over without lather again and again. No thanks, I am sticking with Mantic, the guru!

 

[Big.Dave]

It works for him, and that's the thing he fails to acknowledge. The problem I have with it is the namby pambying of the tools,

The vid is principally there to advertise his business and products.

Namby pambying of tools That tickled me all I can say is you pay your hard earned money for the kit you might as well look after it.

Yes the vid is there to promote his business you would do the same.
I have been to visit the shop a few times its be open there for over 20 years which for its location is very good not much foot fall past the door, But he does a good trade on the barbers side of the shop if he was crap at what he does there is no way they would still be in business although with the web sales will even things out for its bad location.

I think with this vid YMMV applies.

 

[Big.Dave]

Lather is way too thin; he shaves way too quick; he shaves areas over without lather again and again. No thanks, I am sticking with Mantic, the guru!

Well for the lather this is a part of England where the water is very hard so what he is making is about average for that area. I used some proraso today and thats what it came out like had a very good bbs, but my trumpers lime will explode in to a thick foam so YMMV. As for the speed of his shave the bloke is a pro running his own barbers shop for more than 20 years if I had a secretary that had been working for 20 years and could not type fast you might think they're not up to the job, it's just one of those things the more you do it the faster you become.

I like Mantics videos but he is not the only person out there offering infomation on shaving I'm not keen on trying J-hooking or blade buffing but does that mean I should write him off.....no.

Heres a link to a page with instructions on a four pass shave following them got me my first ever bbs http://www.timothyedwards.co.uk/four-pass-shave.asp

The fourth pass is against the grain some peoples say don't do that,
here they say you can.

 

[Bloomey]

Hey sorry all you Brits but the Americans do it better

Mantic rules!!!!

Mantic is the god of shaving, even though this guy is a fellow brit he is talking some utter poo in some instances.

 

[Ignatius]

Well for the lather this is a part of England where the water is very hard so what he is making is about average for that area.

His 'lather' looks so bad because he doesn't actually use any water. He just applies dry cream to his face with a brush. Lots of guys here use hard water with good results. The poor lather in the video is due to bad technique I'm afraid.

 

[Silverstar]

It's really strange. The lather is really too dry and he uses too much pressure. But his barbershop exists for more than two decades. Unbelievable.

 

[DE Shaver]

I've alway felt this gentlemen's lather was somewhat light and inadequate. I have very hard water in my area and I'm still able to generate a nice lather. However, I do use paint brush strokes to even out the lather but that's after I apply it to my face.

 

[Drubbing]

Namby pambying of tools That tickled me all I can say is you pay your hard earned money for the kit you might as well look after it.

I don't set fire to my brush nightly, Dave. Or boil it in oil.

But it's a brush, it was built for a specific purpose, and that how I use it.

Yes, YMMV as far as the vid goes. But he uses his training and profession as an excuse to provide concrete do's and don'ts. And you can't.

But there are far worse instructional vids out there.

 

[michiganlover]

His 'lather' looks so bad because he doesn't actually use any water. He just applies dry cream to his face with a brush. Lots of guys here use hard water with good results. The poor lather in the video is due to bad technique I'm afraid.

+1

Bad lather = bad technique. My area has supposed hard water, and I still am able to whip up a wonderful cushioning lather.

The argument that he has been in business for 20 years, so he must know what he is doing is a very weak one at best.

As P.T. Barnum said, there is a sucker born every minute.

Also consider, for someone accustomed to ripping their face up with a Mach 3 on a daily basis, even a mediocre wet shave would seem spectacular.

 

[DunEdinRanger]

I've never used a brushless cream before but that is what it looks like to me. I have also seen a video of a barber giving a guy a straight razor shave with a shavette, using Baxter's of California (brushless cream), applied with a top quality silver tip brush. That seems strange to me. But I guess, different strokes for different folks.

I think he was using Castle Forbes.

 

[english_barber]

Hello,

My short film on shaving is a direct attack on those dreadfull Gillette " a best a man can get" adverts where a male model shaves his BB smooth face haphazerdly with his fusion and spray on foam.

The Gillette adverts do not reflect real life and is one end of the spectrum, with shaving forums being way off at the other end of shaving routines.

In the real world there are countless men who's only exposure to wet shaving advice is through tv adverts and my film is designed to help, not lecture. Without shaving forums and you tube how many of you were ever shown how to lather your face with a shaving brush? The film came about after years of delighting customers by showing them how to use a shaving brush and persauding them to ditch cans of goo for a more traditional method.

The film is an advert for wetshaving & my shop so therefore is limited to 6 minutes, which is about as long as any advert can get whilst still keeping an audience of average viewers. My morning routine takes a lot longer and is not edited like this film and our Barber Shop shaves take at least 45 minutes.

Everybody's face is unique, what works on me will not work on you. Pores do open and close, or all Barbers are idiots for wasting time using hot and cold towels! The film is designed to ignite enquiring minds, buy some traditional kit and give it a go, not for lecturing shaving hobbyists!

I'm also trying to convey the frugality of using traditional products to potential customers as they are used to spending £1.50 a week on goo not £15.00 three times a year on a pot of GFT! As a retailer & manufacturer I'd love you all to look like a rabid dog, go on use loads of shaving cream and rinse it away afterwards so that you quickly need to buy some more.

Last week I presented our Coates project to the Tesco supermarket chain and was told that "nobody wants to use a shaving brush". I'm trying to change this and appeal to those outside shaving forums and visitors to my shop where shaving is still a chore and an undiscovered pleasure. If my film helps them but upsets you, so be it.

As for The Gentleman's Shop, now established for 22 years this October. It keeps 6 barbers busy and has a thriving retail shop and website which sells many other things than shaving equipment to members of shaving forums. This has enabled us to buy property valued at over £1.5 million and more recently the Coates company. Not bad for a shop in a "secondary" location one hour from London on the train and the main road route to the West Country.

All the best, Robert