How To Lather Shaving Soap
(Scroll down to see the video)
The quality of your lather can be the difference between a mediocre (or worse) shaving experience versus a great, (can't wait to tell the world!) shave.
A few things have a direct bearing on the outcome of your efforts.
- Razor & Blade
- Technique
- Soap & Lather
For the purposes of this discussion, let's assume you already have soap, brush, and razor at hand.
My personal preferred technique is to soak my synthetic shaving brush in warm water for a few moments while I load a razor blade in my safety razor. You may prefer to use a disposable, cartridge or straight razor. It is a matter of personal preference.
If you have purchased one of our shaving soaps you have no doubt received the "For best results" insert that is included. I will expand on that here:
Wet your shaving brush thoroughly. Soaking in warm water for a few minutes will ensure maximum water saturation. The amount of time soaking is determined by the material of your brush; A synthetic brush requires no soak, just wet thoroughly. A badger, boar or horsehair brush will need at least a few minutes to become saturated. A common practice is to soak animal hair brushes while showering.
Pro tip: You do not want your brush to be dripping wet when you begin loading soap.
Use a swirling motion for several seconds (slowly count to 20 or higher), to load soap from the container into your brush. Loading more soap than you need is not a problem. Not loading enough soap, will make creating a satisfactory lather difficult. Load time can be influenced by the amount of residual water and softness of the soap you are using. You want your loaded brush to look very paste-like.
Wet the area to be shaved. Most people shave either in the shower or immediately after. Your stubble should still have some residual water saturation. Wetting ensures that your hair is at maximum saturation, excess water will be taken up by the soap as you lather.
Vigorously work the loaded shaving brush into your wet skin. Use a scrubbing motion to work the paste lather into your skin in all areas to be shaved.
Add small amounts of warm water to your brush as needed to create a slick, protective layer. A few drips and drabs of water added to your brush will help loosen up the soap on your skin. Once you have worked the additional water into the lather, switch from scrubbing to painting the lather on, smoothing it out and making sure you have good coverage. Look for the lather to have a near yogurt-like consistency.
Reapply for additional passes. If you find that the remaining soap on your brush is not enough to provide a good lather, simply load more soap and continue.
Below is a Tips and Tricks Face Lathering video that was created by Jason Rudman aka "Ruds" covering lathering techniques. (Posted with permission).