lather breaking down?

Discussion in 'Shave School' started by coche1, May 6, 2012.

  1. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    I've had the same problem a couple of times now and I'm not sure what is causing it. I've built up a good., thick lather only to have it break down and disappear on me. It just kind of turns into little Tony bubbles that 'Pope's away to nothingness. I've had this happen with a couple different products now and can't figure out what causes it as I feel like I'm doing things the same way when it doesn't happen as when it does. Am I making the lather too wet causing to get thin and break down? Pumping too much? What could be the deal here?
     
  2. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

    Another enemy of lather is heat. If you have too much heat, the lather breaks down as well.

    Are you using a scuttle or a mug and what brush and product are you using to make your lather?
     
  3. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    I'll wait to hear your answers before giving my thoughts. Gary has asked some good questions.
     
  4. Zilla

    Zilla Well-Known Member

    :signs011: soam of my soaps jusy do not like to lather in my scuttle. It was just trial and error to see with me.
     
  5. lradke

    lradke and doggone it, people like me

    Is it breaking down on your face or in your mug/scuttle?
     
  6. Zilla

    Zilla Well-Known Member

    Mine, that I notice are breaking down in the scuttle. It is happening to my soaps not so much to my creams
     
  7. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    I'm using a mug, the same EJ Pure Badger hair brush that I've been using since I started wet shaving, and it has happened with a couple of different products. And I've also used the products without any problems at all before as well with the same setup. The most recent culprit was TSD soap, but I do not believe it is the product.
     
  8. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    Both, but I'd say primarily in my mug. Wen I go to my face with the 2nd or 3rd pass it goes on very thin and continues to break down on my face, but it really starts breaking down in my mug.
     
  9. Williams Warrior

    Williams Warrior Well-Known Member

    To me it sounds like your water content is being a hit or miss. To little water and the lather will look impressive but it's mostly air and will fall flat within minutes when you stop whipping it. My suggestion is to add water little by little until it has a reflective sheen to it, then you know your golden.
     
    Slipperyjoe likes this.
  10. oscar11

    oscar11 Well-Known Member

    What soap?
     
  11. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    I really don't think that is it. I've worked with lather that is a touch too dry, and I don't think that is the problem I'm having. When I've tried to add water when having this problem it just makes the lather disappear even more quickly and it doesn't come back. I go from having plenty of lather for 4 or 5 passes after the 1st pass to the point where when I try to lather for the 2nd pass there's hardly anything there and the only solution is to add more product.
     
  12. Williams Warrior

    Williams Warrior Well-Known Member

    I'm stumped now.
     
  13. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    You and me both.
     
  14. Slipperyjoe

    Slipperyjoe Rusty Metal Tetanus

    Two possible things to try. You may not be stirring long enough and may need to stir for quite a while longer to properly build up lather consistency.. maybe even an extra minute. You might want to also try a thing called face lathering at this point just to see what happens. If it doesn't work for you you can always go back to the bowl. I find FL adds a significant measure of control over the lathering process. What we do is after a good soak, take out the brush and allow all the water to drain naturally without shaking it at all. Load up the brush swirling as usual for about 45 seconds. Start to apply the lather. You'll notice it's runny etc..just start rotating with gentle pressure on the face and the lather will firm up right away. Work it all in, smooth out by painting..wait 2 or 3 minutes and go to it. The FL process might allow you more control and help keep a better consistency and maybe solve the problem.. At this point it could be worth a try and like I said you could always go back to the bowl...
     
  15. tomnat

    tomnat accepting applications

    Good idea!
     
  16. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    Thanks for the ideas! I have done face lathering, primarily when using my Arko shave stick while travelling. I am thinking my problem might be temperature-related, although I could also be rushing things a bit and not working the lather quite enough as well. I usually let my brush soak in my bowl of hot water, which sits in the sink full of hot water while I shower. When I am ready to start lathering, I dump the bowl of water out in the adjacent sink (our bathroom is set up with a his and hers configuration), gently shake/drip the excess water from my brush, add product to the bowl and go to town. Sometimes, I will drain the sink and re-fill it with hot water, especially lately. While I make my first pass I will put the bowl with the brush inside back into the sink full of hot water to keep my lather warm. I'm thinking that re-filling the sink with hot water might be over-warming the bowl and causing the lather to break down. Does this sound reasonable?

    Like I said, I may also be short-changing the time spent building the lather a bit as well...
     
  17. Slipperyjoe

    Slipperyjoe Rusty Metal Tetanus

    Ya .. you do need to watch that temperature. Too hot lather will either break down or dry out. I was experimenting with time duration of lather building and deliberately over did it. In the end my lather was so thick and stable there was still some left over in the bowl the next day!..though you may not want to shave with that..lol. Ya it's tricky, the lather can fool you.. it may look perfectly ready but is not stable.. so adjust your temperature and lengthen your mixing time and see what happens...
     
    wlmcad likes this.
  18. SharpSpine

    SharpSpine Well-Known Member

    First thing that comes to my mind that hasn't been said yet is that your brush may need a cleaning.
     
    Slipperyjoe likes this.
  19. Slipperyjoe

    Slipperyjoe Rusty Metal Tetanus

    Good point...
     
  20. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    Would that cause the lather to break down while it is sitting in the bowl? Or are you thinking that the brush isn't whipping the lather up properly because it needs to be cleaned, causing the lather to break down?
     

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