The trivial answer is "Lather is important to protect your skin." Why? Lather is simply chemicals and air, the proteins or other molecules cause the material to contain air for an extended time. I would appreciate if anyone could explain it. Get as geeky as you want, we can understand or look up the references.
Without lather of some sort, you would end up with major irritation, nicks, and or cuts. Like @gzp said it is part of skin prep, and it is an important part. You wouldn't just apply lather to a dry face. That would not be sufficient. You need to clean and wet the face before lathering. It all works together to protect your skin while you get a great shave.
Lubrication. It's a layer of soap and air that I he razor rides on. Without it the unlubricated razor digs in.
Lather is the barrier between your skin and the edge of your razor. Lubrication, cushion, glide. Without the protection of lather the friction created shaving irritates your skin. When I hone a razor or knife I test early keenness on arm air. The itch and irritation on the skin is evident on my arm within 10 minutes. With water only on my arm this irritation is reduced. Lather lubricates your skin creating cushion and glide for a razors edge to scrape along your face and hopefully the slickness to avoid catching and cutting your skin.
as what has been mentioned, the lather is a way to hold the water on your face for lubrication when shaving. it also contains moisturizers (glycerin, shea butter, coconut oil, etc.) that help with glide and provide a protective layer between the blade and the skin.
As said above, After cleansing and generously hydrating the beard, lathering keeps the beard hydrated, raises the whiskers, and gives ease for the razor to cut easily (slick). Personally, I don't think canned soap is a good example of lather.
My crude comparison is a tile saw. Without the continually running water over the blade, it will overheat and destroy the blade itself and possibly the tile. Without the cushion, glide and protection of a quality lather, the direct contact of the blade to the skin would be untenable. In addition, the infiltration of the lather between each individual hair, stands the hair up and prepares it for decapitation. A quality lather provides the environment for a quality shave.
I bet he would too. Op I'd watch mantic59 vids on YouTube as he gives wonderful explanations. In a nutshell it protects ur skin from the blade. It helps lift the whiskers for ease of cutting. It creates a barrier that's slick and cushioned to help prevent nicks and irritation. The lather doesn't have to b super fluffy just dense and slick.
For me lather is important because it feels great as I swirl it in my cup and on my face and it's one of the truly best parts of the shaving experience.
When I first got interested in "traditional" shaving and was looking for any info related to shaving. I read an article on line somewhere, sorry I don't remember where. It stated that the only lubricant you need for shaving is water. The problem with water is that it doesn't want to stay on your face. That's where the lather comes in. The article stated that the reason for using lather was to hold water against the surface of your face, without needing to constantly reapply. I tend to believe this because for many years now my final/touchup pass has been with nothing but water. I get consistently close DFS+ or better shaves and zero irritation.
You can use plain oil instead of lather. The important thing for me is lubrication. As oil is soap-free, it can be better for your skin and causes no irritation. As a plus, you don't need to reapply oil between passes. I only use oil and am happy with it.
Yeah, I sometimes just use Pure Hemp Oil...The lubrication is so good I get double the lifetime out some of my blades.....I now always add a Healthy Tea Spoon full of Moroccan Argan Oil to my Lathered Soap/Cream and its great for lubrication and also great for the skin.... Billy
Yes. Lubrication, cushion and glide. The best lathers contain all three elements and when they are all in play it makes for a smooth clean shave that allows the blade to cut the hairs and not the skin!
I'll agree to lubrosity, and keeping the moisture in place. It also lets you see exactly where you have shaved! ;-) But I have yet to meet a lather that will actually change the direction of one to two day stubble. Standing the hairs up just ain't gonna happen for me, ymmv. I'd imagine any lather capable of such would clog the razor so quick it would render shaving impossible?
Lubrication is the main thing. There is also the fact that the average man's facial hair dry is as hard to slice as copper wire of the same gage. Water, lather and oil all soak into the hair itself and make it softer and easier to cut, making for a better shave and longer lasting blades.
