The Lather



The Lather

We have had a lot of discussion over the years on the topic of peaks vs froth of our Shave Cream. Our intention is to be relevant, contributing & useful during the shave. The main objective is to produce actual results and substance vs seeking pure aesthetics.  

There has been a huge focus & glorification in the wet shave community around shaving foam peaks and the more peak the better. Yadda- Yadda-Yadda.

If shaving cream reviews are so heavily focused on Peak Lather rather than time efficiency, skin healing attributes and blade management then the sole purpose of using shave cream is lost.  

To summarize, think of the meaningful purpose of a large Army Tank driving around hostile enemy territory carrying no ammunition. The Tanks intimidating display is merely 'Pure Optics' as it has no useful value operating as a military assault vehicle. The tank would be far better suited servicing local banks to transfer cash deposits rather than being on a battleground. Our intention is to operate with a full tank of substance. 

If your looking for snowy white peaks then head to Colorado. Educational content is listed below.

Background: Producing the Foam Part I
You will notice, the lather & bubbles produced with Luther Lather will be more of a froth or "thinner paste" than the typical aerosol gels or soap pucks. This is a result as we refrain from using any artificial chemicals or parabens as foaming agents in our shave creams.

Foaming agents (artificial chemicals) that are typically used in other creams & aerosols use chemical compounds that are not natural and can be harmful to the skin. Hence with other aersols or pucks; you have to rinse off your face post shave as those compounds would most likely dry out your skin.

Please be mindful if any ingredients which include (TEA), (DEA) (MEA); these are responsible for the foaming attributes of shave creams and gels. Research has linked them with hormone disruption and can also form cancer-causing nitrates within the body.

Background: Producing the Foam Part II
Most common acids that are used for shaving soaps for foaming or emulsifying purposes are stearic acids and myristic acids. We do NOT use these in our production currently.

These two acids are placed in heavy doses at the front of most soaps or pucks ingredient lists. For most shave creams the manufacturers wants the user to rinse off and use their (secondary) branded aftershave product and likely a (third) branded face moisturizer as most of the moisturizing properties were stripped out for profitability purposes to use in other marketed products.  

Please be mindfully clear. Luther Lather is NOT a shave soap. Luther Lather is a true shave cream (3 in 1) as it is intentionally made to be used as a Shave Butter+Moisturizer+ Aftershave. 

A helpful reminder to consider is once shaving is complete with Luther Lather, refrain from rinsing off face or skin. Unlike other shave soaps that repel water Luther Lather absorbs into the skin to moisturize. Any shave cream residue left on the face or brush can be rubbed into the skin post shave. The honey and coconut oil in our shave cream gives the skin a refreshed, moisturized and healed finish.

Foam Froth vs Bubbled Peaks
The other key factor in the low lather output is a result from the use of less tallow (beef fat). We do use Beef Tallow from our friends at Mikes Queen Street Meat Market which is a local Butcher shop here in Charlottetown.

Tallow is extracted fat from livestock or fowl, which have little to no value to commercial food industries but is still very useful in natural cosmetics. Tallow is a key ingredient & natural agent that forms to produce a dense creamy lather.

Most shaving pucks use a combination of tallow and acids for an extravagant lather show and must rely on an secondary bottle of their branded aftershave gel to sooth/heal the skin, where alternatively Luther Lather is a unified true shave butter made intentionally for use as (3-in-1) Shave butter+moisturizer+ after-shave.

We chose to include Tallow later in our recipe, hence the low lather:bubble ratio. It is the heavy use of coconut oil, shea and honey upfront in our recipe that we choose to heal the skin rather than focus entirely on a lather display. You may recall our Army Tank example from earlier. 

The other decision was to strive for a thinner foam. This was done on purpose to aid in the low clogging of razor. Listening to wet shavers, a common frustration is thick heavy cream clogging or leaving behind hard gunk on razors. These clogging obstructions make a mess and result more blade maintenance as hairy stubble collect. 

We hope that this piece helps clarify and provide more insight when you reflect on your experience with Luther Lather.Â