How to get the best lather for a great shave

When it comes to creating a great lather, you have two options – shaving soaps or shave creams. Shaving soaps (see our options as well as more options from our friend’s over at Mt. Royal soaps) tend to be a bit slicker and generally last longer than shaving creams. 

We recommend hard shaving soaps in a puck. Make sure you check the ingredients to make sure it is all natural, vegan, and proudly made in the usa.  These soaps are better for both your skin and the environment.  It is worth paying the extra dollar or two for something that will make both your skin and your conscience feel great.

To whip up a shave soap – start with a slightly damp but not dripping wet shave brush (our brushes use the best synthetic badger hair with sustainable woods).    Then rub the brush in a circular motion over the soap to charge it. Keep whipping in a circular motion. You want something that looks soft and creamy on the top of the hard soap coming off onto the brush. Stop before you get to a thick paste or foamy bubbles.

The tips of the shaving brush should clump together when they are properly loaded with the creamy soap. At this point you will want to transfer the creamy top to your hand or bowl. You DON’T want to create the final lather on top of the soap. This will decrease the life of your soap and leave you with a mess to clear up at the end of your shaving routine.

In your bowl or brush take the whipped soap and slowly add dribbles of water and swirl with the brush until you get a lather that is dense and heavy with few or no visible bubbles. Large bubbles indicate too much water or water added too quickly.  If this happens, whip it some more until it looks like the head of your Guinness beer or the foam top of your latte.

With a bit of practice this shouldn’t take more than a minute or two. Whipping up a great shave lather is important for all shaving systems, but especially if you use a double edge blade.