How long does it take you to whip up your lather?

How long does it take you to whip up your lather?

Since I’m on holidays, I have time to think about these paramount matters.

I use a scuttle, and usually a badger brush. Sometimes a boar.

So, I timed myself, first with cream. Did it three days in a row, without looking at my cell phone timer until I finished. The time was within 8 seconds each day. About a minute.

Then I repeated with soap. The time was within 17 seconds each day. About a minute and a quarter.

A badger brush was used in all the tests.

I thought it would take much longer with the soap, but that wasn’t the case. Of course, whipping it longer would probably produce more lather, and maybe a little better quality lather. (I’ll have to try that next)

How long does it take you?

I’m gonna start timing my lathers and keep track. Great idea!

My fastest time to get a great foamy lather was 4 seconds.
It would have been faster if I hadn't taken the time to shake the can first.
  :-)

I'll time myself tomorrow and update the post...
A Charlie said, "great idea!"
- Bax

I'm not in it for the speed, I enjoy the meditative aspects, and I enjoy a really wet well mixed lather. So I usually take several minutes to whip it up in a bowl.

I also spend a few minutes putting it on. Really working it into my skin and enjoying the brush at the same time.

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(07-11-2021, 06:17 PM)sgrdddy Wrote: I'm not in it for the speed, I enjoy the meditative aspects, and I enjoy a really wet well mixed lather. So I usually take several minutes to whip it up in a bowl.

I also spend a few minutes putting it on. Really working it into my skin and enjoying the brush at the same time.

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Ok, lather may seem ok after a few seconds, but the longer you whip it up on your face or bowl, the better it will be. It will be transformed into something MUCH better.

I timed myself today.  Soaked the boar brush for 2 minutes and then loaded my brush with TOBS sandalwood in a tub.  30 strokes in the tub loaded the brush.  I bowl-lathered, adding sprinkles of hot water as I went.  By the one minute mark, I had lather that was usable.  I kept on like Martha Stewart whipping up a meringue, just because I just didn't like it yet; it seemed too dry.  Whipped, added water, whipped, added water.  By 1:45 I had a lather that I liked, so I stopped.  
It looked like this:

I think I may have had a tad too much water, so I should have stopped 10-15 seconds sooner (without that last sprinkle of water), but the lather was really slick and worked pretty well.  I'm happy to hear critiques of my lather, since I end up with different-looking lather just about every day!  ;-)  I'm still learning.
- Bax

(07-12-2021, 06:42 AM)Bax Wrote: I timed myself today.  Soaked the boar brush for 2 minutes and then loaded my brush with TOBS sandalwood in a tub.  30 strokes in the tub loaded the brush.  I bowl-lathered, adding sprinkles of hot water as I went.  By the one minute mark, I had lather that was usable.  I kept on like Martha Stewart whipping up a meringue, just because I just didn't like it yet; it seemed too dry.  Whipped, added water, whipped, added water.  By 1:45 I had a lather that I liked, so I stopped.  
It looked like this:

I think I may have had a tad too much water, so I should have stopped 10-15 seconds sooner (without that last sprinkle of water), but the lather was really slick and worked pretty well.  I'm happy to hear critiques of my lather, since I end up with different-looking lather just about every day!  ;-)  I'm still learning.
- Bax

Bax, exactly right what you did.i reckon all who complain about poorly performing lather don't spend long enough beating the daylights out of it!

(07-12-2021, 07:22 AM)Roy Wrote:

(07-12-2021, 06:42 AM)Bax Wrote: I timed myself today.  Soaked the boar brush for 2 minutes and then loaded my brush with TOBS sandalwood in a tub.  30 strokes in the tub loaded the brush.  I bowl-lathered, adding sprinkles of hot water as I went.  By the one minute mark, I had lather that was usable.  I kept on like Martha Stewart whipping up a meringue, just because I just didn't like it yet; it seemed too dry.  Whipped, added water, whipped, added water.  By 1:45 I had a lather that I liked, so I stopped.  
It looked like this:

I think I may have had a tad too much water, so I should have stopped 10-15 seconds sooner (without that last sprinkle of water), but the lather was really slick and worked pretty well.  I'm happy to hear critiques of my lather, since I end up with different-looking lather just about every day!  ;-)  I'm still learning.
- Bax

Bax, exactly right what you did.i reckon all who complain about poorly performing lather don't spend long enough beating the daylights out of it! I mainly face lather and you can feel the lather change the longer you work it.

Building up shaving lather!
So THAT'S what they mean when they say "Work it, baby, work it!"
I'd always wondered...
  :-)
- Bax

I will ask my butler - he does all the work.
There are 2 kinds of people in this world. Those who time their lathers and those who don't.

(07-12-2021, 07:48 AM)jackgoldman123 Wrote: I will ask my butler - he does all the work.
There are 2 kinds of people in this world. Those who time their lathers and those who don't.

I’ve vaguely done that in the past with approximations, but nothing too specific. I thought I would today - I was meaning to check the time today, but was having too much fun face lathering to bother with the clock. Maybe tomorrow. Or not.

If Jack's lookin' for a new butler, Charlie, don't apply... you're faaaar to laissez faire!
   :-P
- Bax

(07-11-2021, 10:44 PM)Roy Wrote:

(07-11-2021, 06:17 PM)sgrdddy Wrote: I'm not in it for the speed, I enjoy the meditative aspects, and I enjoy a really wet well mixed lather. So I usually take several minutes to whip it up in a bowl.

I also spend a few minutes putting it on. Really working it into my skin and enjoying the brush at the same time.

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Ok, lather may seem ok after a few seconds, but the longer you whip it up on your face or bowl, the better it will be. It will be transformed into something MUCH better.

Yep. I agree!

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(07-12-2021, 10:45 AM)Bax Wrote: If Jack's lookin' for a new butler, Charlie, don't apply... you're faaaar to laissez faire!
   :-P
- Bax

Bax, I spent 42 years taking care of faire. Now it’s my mission to be laissez.

And here I thought I had cornered the market on being lassiez... too lassiez to even GO to the faire!
:-)
Bax

(07-12-2021, 10:45 AM)Bax Wrote: If Jack's lookin' for a new butler, Charlie, don't apply... you're faaaar to laissez faire!
   :-P
- Bax

Maybe I'm watching too many Downton Abbey reruns!

2-3 minutes lathering on the face

It took 4 minutes today.  I got distracted looking out the window.  Maybe I'd have been done sooner, but wasn't really watching what I was doing at the time.  I used Proraso in the white tube.  I think I used waay too much water (again) but it worked great even if it didn't look so good.  I could have added more product, but I already had tons more lather than I'd need, so I just used it.  I can practice more tomorrow.
  :-)
- Bax



Wednesday:  

Proraso with Aloe and Vitamin E.  Semogue boar brush, Rockwell 6S (#4) razor, Viking's Blade stainless blade, Cella aftershave splash.  I worked up the lather in 3min 35 seconds and had plenty for a 3-pass shave.  The brush still had enough for a couple more passes if I'd wanted.  Cut my finger loading the blade (1st time ever!).  Wife:  what's that band-aid on your finger for?  Me:  I was cut by a Viking's Sword! (It sounded more manly than "I wasn't paying attention and made a boo-boo.").  Got a nice BBS today, though!   :-)

1:45 - TOBS in a tub
4:00 - Proraso white
3:35 - Proraso black

I'd say I can generate decent lather in about 2 minutes from a tub, and about 4 minutes from a tube. 
I suspect it's because I tend to load a brush better from a tub.
- Bax

Final timing adventure:  2 minutes and 11 seconds.  I had a "usable" lather around a minute, but it didn't make me happy.  At 2:11 I had a nice rich lather that worked very well.  Looks like I can whip up TOBS in a tub in about half the time it takes me to whip up Proraso from a tube.  I had some Viking Revolution hard soap that took forever to whip into a lather, but it made tons... orth the effort).   I suspect the time it takes to make a good lather depends on the type of cream/soap, the type/length/loft of the brush, size/type of your bowl, and (most important of all) what YOU think is a "good" lather.  So I don't reckon timing lather-whippin' means much to anybody but the person making the lather.  Even then, there are so many variables that it'll vary from day to day anyway (for me, at least).

This was "Fat Boy Friday." (Every day of the week has a dedicated razor... tomorrow is Slim Saturday, then Super-Speed Sunday... you get the idea.)  I used a Viking's Blade, 3rd shave on that particular blade.  Got a great shave, but every time I use my '60 Fat Boy, I'm reminded how tall that cap is -- and how hard it is to get that Fat Boy up under my nose!   It's no wonder the Tech was so popular for so long!  My geometry and the Fat Boy's geometry just don't match, I guess. The Fat Boy and Slim both seem to be more difficult to use than the Tech or the Super-Speeds.  Maybe it's just me.
  ;-)
- Bax

P.S.  That Semogue boar brush is quickly becoming my favorite.  It feels stiffer and seems easier to whip up lather with it than either of my badgers.  Even if it DOES have one hair that always sticks out funny (poking out on the right in pic above).

So, I've increased my time.  Did a little experimenting this week, and I find that increasing the production time in the scuttle to about 2 minutes or a bit longer makes better lather.  Now, that's with soap.  Haven't tried it with cream yet.