Cushion - Benefit or BS???

Do you think that cushion benefits the shave result at all?

  • Yes

    Votes: 6 66.7%

  • No

    Votes: 1 11.1%

  • Don't care (for the balcony)

    Votes: 2 22.2%
  • Total voters
    9
Korbz

Korbz

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Location
Brisbane
Caveat - this is not a balcony sanctioned, balcony friendly thread.

Secondly, thanks to @Sxot for asking a thought provoking question.

The questions asked, does cushion actually provide any benefit at all to the shave? And how does one define cushion (quantifiable characteristics)?

After much contemplation, I would answer yes to the first, depending on your skin. Now, here's how I got the answer, and the answer to the second.

Theory
When the question was first asked, I initially thought about the standard billowy, meringue response. However, I had a problem with that, as I aspire to @alfredus and merkurman lathers that have a more yoghurty texture. Why? I associate them with slickness, which is my primary characteristic in the priority tree. Then I thought of the exceptions to the rule, like Catie's Bubbles, where it doesn't really have any residual slickness but still gives me great results. If there were a formula (for performance only), I was putting this remainder (balancing number) into cushion.

Great Performing Soap = Slickness/residual glide * X factor

So when I was getting great results, that I could not attribute to the slickness, I was putting it down to cushion/protection. That still didn't explain why though. How was cushion able to deliver a benefit to the shave outcome?

My skin is quite prone to ingrowns and irritation. Quite often, if I go too close one day, I will inevitably find that I
get nicks a couple days later. This is where I think that cushion helps the outcome. With a thinner lather, there is less to prevent the blade from taking the top off the bump. However, if you have a lather that has quite a lot of dense body to it, I think it may act like a pseudo barrier to the blade helping to prevent the nick.

Excuse the rough diagram (orange is meant to be skin with a bump, and blue the lather)
cushion.jpg


Now there are other factors that I associate with Cushion as a quality, such as the ability to absorb water whilst remaining at a peak level of slickness, longevity of the lather (doesn't dissipate during shave), and general density.

Keen to hear other people's thoughts on this. When I started to rationalise it, I initially thought it may be a bit of a wanky quality, not really delivering any real benefit. However, I think I've convinced myself there may be more to it.
 
Great thought process @Korbz (y)

TBH sometimes the scientist in me becomes lazy and I never bothered to think about it like that. I am not sure if your conclusion/thought process is correct - all I can say is: without cushion/protection there can't be a great shave (of course the same goes for slickness) for me.

So I leave it to others to research the whole matter and in the meantime I will stick to my soaps that provide fantastic slickness AND cushion :D
 
Thats interesting - nice diagram @Korbz

I understand how glide/slickness would help the razor head and blade "slide" over the skin and reduce friction.
I am less convinced about the "cushion" factor - it might all look meringue and fluffy on your face but when it comes down to the actual microscopic edge of the blade on your face I don't think there is a "cushion" - if there was, wouldn't this mean some soaps would mean you couldn't get as close a shave as with others as the cushion was preventing the blade from cutting as close (as per your diagram).

I have no idea - I know some soaps have more glide and a nicer scent - these are the ones I go for!!
There might be also be a "placebo effect" where you get a fantastic lather that explodes out of the bowl and convince yourself there's more "cushion"?
Keen to hear what others think...
 
If the above were true wouldn't there be soap around the bumps after the pass?
 
I’ve always placed “slickness” above “cushion” myself, IMHO. That being said, when you see a soap like Williams Mug Soap, cushion does matter.
 
Rami said:
If the above were true wouldn't there be soap around the bumps after the pass?
Click to expand...

I thought about that, but we would be talking fractions of a mm, so not going to leave anything substantial. The other thing that entered the thought process, why would it skip over a bumb but not a hair? Not sure... I'm just trying to rationalise the x factor with a random idea, and hoping others may have some input :)
 
alfredus said:
Great thought process @Korbz (y)

TBH sometimes the scientist in me becomes lazy and I never bothered to think about it like that. I am not sure if your conclusion/thought process is correct - all I can say is: without cushion/protection there can't be a great shave (of course the same goes for slickness) for me.

So I leave it to others to research the whole matter and in the meantime I will stick to my soaps that provide fantastic slickness AND cushion :D
Click to expand...

How do you define cushion? What criteria do you use to analyse it's presence or lack of?
 
Snooze said:
Thats interesting - nice diagram @Korbz

I understand how glide/slickness would help the razor head and blade "slide" over the skin and reduce friction.
I am less convinced about the "cushion" factor - it might all look meringue and fluffy on your face but when it comes down to the actual microscopic edge of the blade on your face I don't think there is a "cushion" - if there was, wouldn't this mean some soaps would mean you couldn't get as close a shave as with others as the cushion was preventing the blade from cutting as close (as per your diagram).

I have no idea - I know some soaps have more glide and a nicer scent - these are the ones I go for!!
There might be also be a "placebo effect" where you get a fantastic lather that explodes out of the bowl and convince yourself there's more "cushion"?
Keen to hear what others think...
Click to expand...

Since I am mechanically minded - I will use an automotive analogy;

Motor oil does it's job by coating the metal surfaces and actually preventing them from contacting each other. There is an actual oil film between the metal parts, a cushion if you will. It's mere microns thick, maybe fractions of microns but it is there. Same applies between a razor and the skin. The glide is soap that is left on the skin and is a barrier between the skin and the blade. Perhaps it's thickness could be thought of as cushion, the combination of the two (glide and cushion) = performance or protection.

The question then becomes; Is the thickness and quality (durability) of this barrier (cushion if you will) between the blade and skin variable? Is it dependant on the soap ingredients, lather qualities (density & viscosity), water inclusion etc.

I would whole heartedly say a soap with low cushion, would give a microscopically closer shave, but also suggest it would also give a more harsh or aggressive one.
 
For me the most important aspect is slickness with a straight. From my perspective cushion [whatever that really is] has little bearing on a straight shave. Loose slickness with a straight and the blade will bed in or skip and both of those can portent a nick or cut. Because of the cap on a DE or SE force may be used to overcome a lack of slickness but with a higher chance of cuts and in-growns. With a DE or SE the cap is a much larger surface area and can possible mask the lack of slip at the blade bevel. I think this is probably the cause of much burn and irritation, I think slickness is equally important with all razors to get a smooth shave, it is however dramatically apparent if lacking with a straight as the blade bevel is the actual control point of the shave.

Possibly slickness may come down to the pH range of the soap. The higher the pH - maybe - a slicker soap. While cushion may be due to the stearic acid content from the palm, tallow or kokum butter used as well as the actual pure stearic acid added in the soap.
I have noticed that if I wash my skin too clean before a shave with a bar soap compared to just hot towels and preshave oil my shave is much grabbier. A preshave oil, just a few drops on a damp face for a minute or so before applying the lather makes a big difference with a straight.Personally I'm after a reasonably thin but wet/slick lather.
 
By that logic @Korbz , the lather would also cushion the whiskers to some extent. Your shaving would look a bit like a skier going down the Moguls at the winter Olympics. :)
More likely you subconsciously lighten the stroke in areas you know are bumpy.
 
@bald as what's your top slick soap? I may give it a shot
 
Interesting discussion.
I like the analogy by @Sxot and that's the way I think of "cushion". The other word interchanged with cushion is "protection". (Which is just as banal as the aggressive/harsh/efficient interchange...)

I find that when you rub lather between your finger and thumb, the slipperiness is glide but the sponginess (the layer between the finger and thumb) is cushion. I'd argue that both are present with every soap to greater or lessor degrees. I also think that not only dependent on your razor type, but your personal preference is whether you notice or like that "protective" cushion.
 
Yep, they're the result driven by tangible, quantifiable properties. Just looking to articulate what they are.
 
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bald as said:
I shares when I shares :) If you come to one of our met ups and give me warning I will see if I have any to share :)
Click to expand...

Maybe another time then. Very hard for me to make it to SA these days.
 
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