I’ve been following @sgrdddy@sub.wetshaving.social’s slurry lather videos with interest. The slurry lather he makes is very reminiscent of my early one-pass shave lathers many years ago. It also reminds me of the one-pass shaves I used to do with bar soap, though bar soap lather needs to be applied in the area you intend to shave immediately because a full-face bar soap lather dries too quickly.
The point of this comment is to show that someone who is moderately competent at face lathering (me) doesn’t necessarily suffer from the problems that sgrdddy suggests exist with face lathering. I think my normal shaving pace is pretty time-efficient, and I generally have more than enough lather for 3 passes.
My discussion is intended as a contrast to slurry lathering which is a method that I think is completely valid. I think the slurry lather method is quicker, but does not provide as much enjoyment of the quality of the soap base (skin food, etc.), nor the scent. Obviously IMHO.
I timed my shave today. My brush loading time was 10 seconds. I loaded directly from the puck with a damp, not wet, brush.
After loading, I put down the brush, and took lather paste (aka protolather) from the puck and built my pre-shave. For this, I smear lather paste on face, add water with my hands and work this mixture into the beard. I add water until this pre-shave mixture is a very wet, very slick emulsion.
With the loaded brush I built a thick lather by splaying the brush and scrubbing the face, and adding water by dipping brush tips into a mug of water. I work at this until the lather is almost to the hydration I want, then I paint in water; again by dipping brush tips not dropping water into the brush. Total time into the shave was a little over 2 minutes after lather for the first pass was complete. (It takes much longer for me to describe this.)
The first pass was completed in after 7 minutes had passed.
I used the same lathering procedure for the second pass, starting with what remained in the brush. No tub loading. The entire 2-pass shave was complete, including aftershave and EdP in 14 minutes and about 30 seconds (rounding down).
Here’s the brush. It’s a little hard to tell from the pic, but there’s easily enough lather for a third pass and perhaps a fourth still available.
I’m not certain if this discussion is worthwhile. Feel free to ignore it.
I added another photo to the blade edge album today.
I like reading about lather techniques. I enjoy bowl lathering and face lathering both, but I face lather 99% of the time.
I sorta stumbled into my own “slurry lather” theory with regards to Williams Mug Soap. Maybe my brain stole the idea from @sgrdddy@sub.wetshaving.social , but I’m of the opinion that Williams (the discontinued modern version, at least), works best if you load a damp-to-wet brush and apply it to your face. Don’t lather it, add water, work it… just put it on and go. This may require a quick reload between each pass, but it’s a very fast way to do it. Much like this infamous video!
I watched the video and that’s almost exactly how I lathered when I started shaving in the '60s. Wet the brush, swizzle it around in the soap, apply, then shave (1-pass). I only did this until I killed the soap which was not new when I got it. I then “advanced” to canned goo only to return to this style of shaving in 2021.
For fans of artisan soaps it might be a little cringy to watch, but there’s a certain utilitarian appeal to being able to shave like that. It probably works with most soaps, but I still enjoy the lathering process.
August 8, 2023
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
Kismet Blade - Losing My Edge
#Monthofweckoning
I’ve been following @sgrdddy@sub.wetshaving.social’s slurry lather videos with interest. The slurry lather he makes is very reminiscent of my early one-pass shave lathers many years ago. It also reminds me of the one-pass shaves I used to do with bar soap, though bar soap lather needs to be applied in the area you intend to shave immediately because a full-face bar soap lather dries too quickly.
The point of this comment is to show that someone who is moderately competent at face lathering (me) doesn’t necessarily suffer from the problems that sgrdddy suggests exist with face lathering. I think my normal shaving pace is pretty time-efficient, and I generally have more than enough lather for 3 passes.
My discussion is intended as a contrast to slurry lathering which is a method that I think is completely valid. I think the slurry lather method is quicker, but does not provide as much enjoyment of the quality of the soap base (skin food, etc.), nor the scent. Obviously IMHO.
I timed my shave today. My brush loading time was 10 seconds. I loaded directly from the puck with a damp, not wet, brush.
After loading, I put down the brush, and took lather paste (aka protolather) from the puck and built my pre-shave. For this, I smear lather paste on face, add water with my hands and work this mixture into the beard. I add water until this pre-shave mixture is a very wet, very slick emulsion.
With the loaded brush I built a thick lather by splaying the brush and scrubbing the face, and adding water by dipping brush tips into a mug of water. I work at this until the lather is almost to the hydration I want, then I paint in water; again by dipping brush tips not dropping water into the brush. Total time into the shave was a little over 2 minutes after lather for the first pass was complete. (It takes much longer for me to describe this.)
The first pass was completed in after 7 minutes had passed.
I used the same lathering procedure for the second pass, starting with what remained in the brush. No tub loading. The entire 2-pass shave was complete, including aftershave and EdP in 14 minutes and about 30 seconds (rounding down).
Here’s the brush. It’s a little hard to tell from the pic, but there’s easily enough lather for a third pass and perhaps a fourth still available.
I’m not certain if this discussion is worthwhile. Feel free to ignore it.
I added another photo to the blade edge album today.
I like reading about lather techniques. I enjoy bowl lathering and face lathering both, but I face lather 99% of the time.
I sorta stumbled into my own “slurry lather” theory with regards to Williams Mug Soap. Maybe my brain stole the idea from @sgrdddy@sub.wetshaving.social , but I’m of the opinion that Williams (the discontinued modern version, at least), works best if you load a damp-to-wet brush and apply it to your face. Don’t lather it, add water, work it… just put it on and go. This may require a quick reload between each pass, but it’s a very fast way to do it. Much like this infamous video!
I watched the video and that’s almost exactly how I lathered when I started shaving in the '60s. Wet the brush, swizzle it around in the soap, apply, then shave (1-pass). I only did this until I killed the soap which was not new when I got it. I then “advanced” to canned goo only to return to this style of shaving in 2021.
For fans of artisan soaps it might be a little cringy to watch, but there’s a certain utilitarian appeal to being able to shave like that. It probably works with most soaps, but I still enjoy the lathering process.
Agree completely!
I think I tried Williams with a slurry last year. I think it worked well. I’m not surprised that you were able to make it work for you!
I had forgotten about this video. 😅
You’re welcome.