From time to time I'll invite a customer or artisan to be our guest blogger. If you'd like to participate, please contact me and we can go from there. Today you'll meet Richard. Richard took up wet shaving 14 years ago and embraced the art of shaving. His techniques for getting the perfect lather impressed me and I invited him to be featured in our blog.
Lather
By Richard Ristock
Building lather in a bowl...
I'm a guy that finds making a beautiful lather in a bowl before shaving is the most relaxing part of my shave! I always start by scooping a measured ¼ teaspoon of soap and then I smear it all over the bottom and add 1 tablespoon of hot water. I then let it sit for about 30 seconds and let the soap soften with the hot water. Next I take a brush with a synthetic knot, my preference is a 26mm or 28mm G5C but to each his own! I then take my brush and dip it in hot water once and then give it a good shake to get the excess out. Then I simply start swirling my brush in my bowl and working the soap into a lather. There will be many bubbles when you first start swirling but keep working it until all the small bubbles have disappeared and if you need to add more water as you go, only add a few drops at a time until the lather is shiny and creamy just like yogurt. This is how I make my lathers no matter what soap I am using or brush but one thing is I always use a synthetic brush. Enjoy building your lather before a shave and I promise you will enjoy your shave that much more knowing you have some top notch lather created by you!
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