I used my Shavemac “Variable Loft Brush” (VLB) for this morning’s shave, for the first time in a long time. I forgot just how wonderfully soft and…dare I say it?…decadent it can be. Easy to use, easy to adjust, easy to clean.
I used it with a new shave soap I found the other day, from a local source: “goats milk” shaving soap (with a mild bay run scent). It was interesting: while it lathered reasonably well (thanks to dialing the VLB down pretty tightly) the lather disappeared off my face quickly, a little like earlier incarnations of Method shaving lather (which wasn’t quite as stable as what’s available now). However, it left enough behind to give me a reasonably good shave. I’ll have to investigate this local source a bit….
I’m an amateur soap maker/mad scientist. Most commercial soaps have stabilizers to keep the lather from breaking down.
Each fat used in making the soap, and the proportions thereof, contribute to the nature of the soap and its lather (remember, soap is essentially a chemical reaction between fat, a base like lye, and some water).
In a shaving soap, stable lather is a bit more important than usual (usually it’s just superfluous marketing gimmickry). There’s also the addition of clay to give the razor slip and using fats that condition the skin.
My own experiments with shaving soap have had less lather than commercial ones, even ones without added stabilizers. I assume I just haven’t hit on the right fat combinations yet. However, if I use a bit more soap that you’d use with commercial soap (as in, a bit dryer lather) then I find it stands up well and is still luxurious. Maybe give that a try, it might apply in your case too. Maybe the need for a wetter lather is a consequence of some of the additives.