The perfect lather

alfredus

alfredus

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I have heard from many, about problems with Mike's and similar soaps and recently a very nice person posted this fantastic video on TSN. I shared it in private with some here and got very positive feedback and I asked the original poster, if it is OK to share this video in public here and he just gave me the green light.

I believe this method works fantastic with every soap. I have successfully used it on all my Tallow friends like Mike's, Stirling, B&M and of course bald as. But I have also heard, that it works a treat with hard vegan soaps. You just have to be careful with softer formulations (for example Latha) that you don't use half a tub in one go :D :D :D

The only caveat IMO would be, with boars maybe dip the brush tips into water - as I don't think the water mixes so well with the lather in that type of hair...and of course you can also bloom if you like...enjoy!

 
A good soap and a synthetic brush. Takes under 2 minutes to get shave ready on the face.

Everything else is a ritual for the sake of stringing out shave time. Loading on the puck is a good way to waste heaps of soap. Perfect for those with mountains of the stuff. It's the only way you might use some of it up.
 
Thanks mate - shaving as an art form rather than merely a chore!
 
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Mate brush doesn't touch the puck until 1:08 and all done at 4:40. Remembering William Hone, "A good lather is half the shave", then what's three and a half minutes work?
 
@alfredus shared this video with me after a recent discussion we had on Mikes. It's done wonders for my lathers and enhanced my appreciation of badger brushes.

Why does it work for me? Perhaps I was being too stingy when loading from hard pucks. This definitely corrects that problem. Also sweeping the brush over the water a few times until the puck starts to glisten results in almost perfect water/soap ratio.

It's added a few more minutes to my routine - no big deal. Wunderbar lathers from Mikes, Mystic Water, B&M plus too many more to name.

I find it quite enjoyable but each to their own.
 
Everybody has their own ways. We find what works for us and we tend to stick to it until something changes - like a new soap or different brush. Each product has its own personality and characteristics and will need some experimentation to get the best out of it.

This is just another method you can try if you are struggling. Thanks to @alfredus for posting it up. I would tend to agree that adding water through the lathering process and working it in tends to assist the qualities of the lather. For me, I get that thick, cushiony cream and then adding water slowly slickens without turning it to suds.

I definitely get this with B&M after I load the brush, start on the face and the soap starts to suck up all available moisture into the lather as it yoghurts. Extra drops on the brush, work in. More drops on the brush, work in. Eventually you feel it 'relax' and slicken.
 
Things don't have to be as black and white as some of you guys post here. As with so many things, you can take a fundamental, underlying idea and then implement it to your own liking. You can certainly do as the video shows, but with with slightly bigger or more frequent additions of water to get down the total elapsed time. It still produces a result that's superior to the good old wham bam, thank you ma'am.

Some of you make some excellent points from where I stand :
  • The technique lifts the lather quality from many different soaps,
  • For some of us, investing an extra minute or 2 to boost the quality of the whole shave experience is an absolute bargain.
  • In this place, soap usage is a non-issue, and
  • Horses for courses - you have the freedom and the privilege of doing whatever you like
The only thing that isn't OK is to bag people for being different or adventurous....
 
Draco Noir said:
Some of you make some excellent points from where I stand :
  • The technique lifts the lather quality from many different soaps,
  • For some of us, investing an extra minute or 2 to boost the quality of the whole shave experience is an absolute bargain.
  • In this place, soap usage is a non-issue, and
  • Horses for courses - you have the freedom and the privilege of doing whatever you like
The only thing that isn't OK is to bag people for being different or adventurous....
Click to expand...
If you wanted to add to the list, brush type and size plays a function as well. A quality synthetic and a Chubby badger are different beasts with different appetites. [emoji6]
 
Drubbing said:
A good soap and a synthetic brush. Takes under 2 minutes to get shave ready on the face.

Everything else is a ritual for the sake of stringing out shave time. Loading on the puck is a good way to waste heaps of soap. Perfect for those with mountains of the stuff. It's the only way you might use some of it up.
Click to expand...

stillshunter said:
Remembering William Hone, "A good lather is half the shave"
Click to expand...

Lifes a Peach said:
Perhaps I was being too stingy when loading from hard pucks. This definitely corrects that problem.
Click to expand...

Monsta_AU said:
Everybody has their own ways.
Click to expand...

Draco Noir said:
Things don't have to be as black and white as some of you guys post here.
Click to expand...

filobiblic said:
brush type and size plays a function as well.
Click to expand...

At our get together today we discussed the pleasure we can get from the whole shaving process. Nearly everything quoted here was discussed to some extent. It does vary so much for each person. I now fall into the shave for pleasure camp so I take time at every stage whereas if I still worked 9-5 the shave possibly would be over and done much quicker. I love lathering and for me it is so much a part of the shave experience. @alfredus thanks for the video.
 
No need to thank me - the thank goes to Nathan for this fantastic video!

I have to say, that shaving is pure pleasure and mindfulness for me - I don't need to shave and certainly won't shave, if I don't have enough time....even if I had to shave every morning and would be pressed for time, at least on the weekends I would try to take more time and enjoy it to the full extent.

I also don't think the type of brush matters in the idea behind this method: use enough product and add and incorporate water slowly and in stages...

Don't you want to got for a shave straight away when you see lather like this (same person, same method):
5OYqCDz.jpg
 
Haha @alfredus, "Merkur Man" - I love it...

Whose photo is it? I don't have "Wolfman" written on the bottom plate of my Wolfie - do you? I bet it makes it shave better :rolleyes:
 
The photo is from the same guy who made the video and MerkurMan is his screen-name....

James started to do the logo on the baseplate a while ago - of course only if you want ;)
 
An interesting method and obviously it produces good results but I have to say that it seems overly wasteful to me. I generally load with a damp brush and add a few drops to the puck until I have a thick cream built up on my brush then transfer to my face and continue adding a few dribbles of water until it looks very similar to the picture above. Whatever produces the best shave is worth it in the end though so I may give this method a bit of a go before forming a solid opinion.
 
yeah i took what he did in the video but once the brush was loaded up i transfer into a ceramic bowl i keep in the bathroom and keep working little bits of water into it. but really if what your doing works for you then it's the perfect method :D
 
Absolutely! I think the philosophy is: don't be stingy with your products and work in the water slowly! How you like to do these things...YMMV
 
The wastefulness is not the problem as we've all got too much soap as it is. It's just all the mess you've got to clean up afterwards. The tin/tub gets covered, so does one hand and if you gather it up so does the other hand too. How are you going to shave with both hands covered in lather? It's like watching a naughty child playing around in the mud. Why rub way too much product all over the palm of one hand when you've got a face with beautiful stubble waiting for lather. It gets aerated and whipped into just as nice a lather. Of course what's harder to do is then scrape it all off your face and deposit it on top of your brush for some sexy picture.
 
OK, well that was fascinating to watch in full. I have to confess I looked only briefly the first time - thinking 5 minutes was about my total shave time.

Want to have a good shave tomorrow with my Saponificio Varesino so will give it a go - at least try to get closer to this!

Thanks @alfredus for the challenge and @filobiblic for the encouragement through your enthusiasm (y)
 
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