Spring-Themed Shaving Science: a Failed First Attempt to Investigate the Water:Soap Ratio in a Shaving Lather
First published: 04 July 2023
Abstract
There has been considerable discussion on r/Wetshaving of the importance of using sufficient water when building a lather for shaving. Here, I made an attempt to examine if my usual judgement by feel actually gets close to what may be the optimal ratio for today's soap.
Discussion
Today's challenge is "science." Now, science, of course, is not measurement, no matter how precise. Science is a process where you test a hypothesis through experimentation and prouduce evidence to support or contradict it. I am aware people colloquially use "science" to describe any kind of research whatsoever, but today I will not condone it. If there is no experiment, it cannot possibly be science. If there is an experiment, then it might be science, even if you're not measuring precisely.
Therefore I think "shave like it's a science experiment" should mean experimenting with your shave to test a hypothesis, regardless of the precision of your measurements. When considering what hypothesis I might test within a single shave, I believe my options are limited. Most would be best tested via many shaves. Not only do multiple trials allow the identification outlier data, but also reducing variables to a single independent variable: even within a single shave, each pass will be different, and different parts of my face are different.
Also, of course precision in measurement is helpful, even crucial, depending on what you're testing. I'm not arguing it has no place in science, merely that it is not a sine qua non.
I settled on the question of whether I am still not adding enough water to make an optimal lather, despite all the discussion in this forum on the topic over the last few years.
- Brush: Omega 20102
- Razor: Gillette NEW long comb
- Blade: Topaz Platinum (64)
- Lather: Talent Soap Factory - Save the Earth
- Post shave: Murphy & McNeil - Ogham Stone
- Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - 42
Methodology
Normally, when shaving I never measure the soap or water precisely, I judge the ratio by feel: id est, does the lather "feel" wet enough as I work the lather on my face? As I conceived of the experiment immediately before the shave, and am concluding it just after, there was insufficient time to determine a baseline measurement of soap & water.
I shall instead pick an arbitrary amount of soap to start with (0.8 g) which I expect to be sufficient for the shave. I'll then gradually add water a few grams at a time and work it in, judging first by appearance in the bowl, and then by working the lather on my face, adding more water until I "feel" it is ready. This should mimic my normal routine well enough to start at the same baseline.
I'll then complete the first pass and note in qualitative judgement how the shave feels. I'll then add more water to the lather remaining in the bowl, lather my face again, and complete the second pass, noting any qualitative differences in how the shave feels. This process shall be repeated for the third pass, although if the lather feels far too wet in the second pass, I may decide to add more soap in addition to, or instead of, water, for the third.
Results
For the initial preparation, I found with 0.8g soap, approximately 19.3g of water approached what I consider a "normal" feel appropriate for shaving. This gives my first pass a water:soap ratio of about 24. I had soaked the brush well before the shave, and made sure to squeeze out as much water as I could: I wanted the bristles fully soaked so that they would not absorb any water from the lather, but I also did not want to throw off my water measurements by letting an unknown amount remain in the brush.
The first pass felt good, while it was a little tuggy, that is to be expected when using a blade which has been used for sixty three prior shaves. The "drippiness" of the lather may also be relevant: the lather gathered around the razor's head while shaving, and would drip off only when a large amount had gathered (enough to fully obscure the base plate). However gently shaking the razor will also cause most of the lather to drop off.
Before the second pass, I decided to add about 10% more water: I added 3.0g to the bowl. And only after doing so, realized my mistake: I failed to weigh out how much lather I had built, nor how much remained. Therefore I no longer know the ratio, because I no longer know how much soap or water remains of what I had initially added. If I had removed one third of the lather for the first pass, the water:soap ratio might now be approximately 29. But this was not measured.
Still, I shall press onward. The second pass lather is noticeably wetter than I usually shave with. However it is not wholly unfamiliar; since my usual process is not precise, I will sometimes add enough water to reach approximately this same point, I think. While shaving the lather will easily drip off the razor head without accumulating much. The feel of the shave is still quite normal however. It is less tuggy than the first pass, but that is to be expected as the stubble is shorter by this point.
Before the third pass I added yet more water, 0.9g, to make the lather wetter still. Indeed, as I lather my face again, it is now dripping down off my face and neck where I spread it by gravity alone. Again, if I suppose half the remaining lather was used, the water:soap ratio might now be about 33. Also, while I thought it would be sufficient, 0.8g was too little soap for this shave. I had sufficient lather for the third pass, but only by scooping every last bit out of the bowl. Thus my estimate of one-third of the total being used for each pass.
During the shave, I again perceieve no significant difference from what I would normally expect. This pass feels slightly rougher, but that is to be expected in a pass against the grain.
Conclusion
The methodological failure to measure the amount of lather built, or how much was used in each pass, invalidate any guesses at the ratio when adding more water after the first pass.
Still, within the bounds of a single shave, I did not notice a significant difference in the quality of the shave as additional water is added. Here the limitation of performing the experiment within a single shave also reduces the quality of the data and conclusion: it would be better to judge the quality of each pass with each ratio. While I certainly could have prepared three different lathers for this shave, I chose not to, due to time constraints.
Based on the lack of significant qualitative differences noted between passes, beyond what would be expected by the different nature of the passes, I would conclude that this soap has a fairly wide range of optimal performance.
But as is often written, more research is needed.