SHAVING: Hot Lather Dispenser

[danemodsandy]

Have to Giggle:

I can't use a hot lather machine, because I'm a gel user, and a triple-blade user.

I'm not that crazy about getting the gunk out of a triple-blade cartridge after shaving, but the blade angle, the blade guard and the comfort strip mean you can press really hard and you can shave against the grain with little to no discomfort.

Which is necessary for me, because I prefer to be clean-shaven on a daily basis, and very closely, too.

That's what brought up the giggle: My late partner used to refer to the result of my daily shave as "Drag Queen Close."

 

[tomturbomatic]

I discovered an effective, fast way to clear the blades. I put very hot water and a little Dawn in a small squeeze bottle with a nozzle top. I discovered this way when I would visit friends in Florida each year. The water pipes ran through the slab and the hot cooled dramatically once I shut off the water. With the hot detergent water in the bottle, I can quickly flush the residue in the blades of my Sensor Excel II, give it a quick rinse with clear water and move to the next part of my face.

 

[paulg]

The Lather Man

Funny you should bring this up.
Recently I ran across a little church rummage sale. For 25 cents I purchased an unused "Lather Man" by Sunbeam.
Very clever. Just heat it up and unplug it from the wall. Take the nozzle off of a can of shaving cream and use this device instead, it works rather nicely.
In spite of its convenience, I still find myself rarely using it.

 

[passatdoc]

I had a Conair hot lather dispenser circa 1998-2006. It accepted both standard and large size shaving cream cans. You snapped off the button that came with the can (so only the aerosol nozzle was visible and inserted it into the bottom of the dispenser. The bottom piece had two settings to allow for the two sizes of cans.

It worked fairly well, but was not "instant on" and you had to plug it in for about five minutes to get it ready. There was no on-off switch, you had to unplug it or plug it in to turn it off or on. There was an indicator light that lit when it was ready. I used it less and less because it seemed to take longer and longer to heat up. Also, if I didn't remember to plug it in before my shower, it would never be ready on time. Perhaps the heating element was failing after 5-6 years of use. I tossed it, thinking it was defective or worn out, and never replaced it. It was also a gaudy chrome color and didn't really match the muted color scheme of the master bathroom.

Below is a link to the current version. There is a black version and a chrome version. Looks a lot more updated than my tacky 1998 model. Note that Amazon reviewers give it only 3 1/2 stars, which would make me slow down and analyze the reviews before ever buying it again.

http://www.amazon.com/Conair-HGL1NR...1409066637&sr=8-1&keywords=hot+lather+machine

 

[polkanut]

I tried the GE dispenser this morning, and while it gave me hot lather, it would have been best if the can had been shaken up a bit first.  What came out was very thin, and not really very foamy.  It didn't take long to heat up though, maybe 45-60 seconds.  It does retain some residual heat for about 10 minutes or so.

 

The owners manual does state that this appliance doesn't really lend itself to normal repair procedures.  This tells me it was pretty much meant to be a throw away item when it eventually failed.

 

[passatdoc]

The longer warm up times, as the unit aged, became an issue, because normally you'd shake the can and plug in the cord. HOwever, with warm up times reaching 10 minutes, the whole apparatus had to be shaken again or else run the risk of thin lather.

Today my daily driver is a Braun electric. If I go two or more days without a shave, then I use room temperature Barbasol (the one with lanolin) and a triple blade Gillette. I rinse blade with hot water so there is some warmth.

The reviews of the current Conair are not encouraging.

 

[bwoods]

GE lather warmer

Malcom check Craigslist or Ebay to see if you can find a GE Heated Lather machine. I love mine (see attached pics) My sister gave it to my brother-in-law in the early to mid seventies. He converted to an electric razor and gave it to me. It's about forty years old but still works great.

You just touch the heat side of the rocker button and it hums for about one minute and then shuts off. Then you are all ready-just touch the dispense side of the button and the lather comes out.

 

[launderess]

History Of Shaving & Why So Many Men Didn't

Ever wonder why it seemed so many men back in the day always had beards? Well the answer comes down to three, safety, hygiene and infection.

Until the invention and perfection of the safety razor shaving was tedious and could often be dangerous. Not every man had the skill to use a straight blade and as such shaving could leave one with various cuts and other harm. To avoid this one could see a barber (or in the case of the wealthy a personal valet or manservant) but not everyone had that kind of money.

Because sanitation was not well understood until the germ theory took hold there was also the risk from shaving with a dull and or dirty blade. Either of which could cause infection if the skin was cut/nicked. Folliculitis infections (aka Barber's rash) were also a worry as well. Both in the age before modern antibiotics were not only sources of infections, but could lead to either to chronic conditions or even death. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folliculitis

It may seem hard to reckon today but before penicillin came along in the 1940's (and even then it was not in wide distribution until post WWII), persons died from a simple infection say from being pricked by a rose bush torn whilst gardening.

Finally there was less understanding much less effective treatments for the host of still common (but not often deadly) complaints from shaving such as ingrown hairs and irritation.

Long story short to get shot of risks many men simply chose to simply let some or all of their facial hair grow. Trimming such was an easier affair than shaving and did not involve potential cutting of skin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_razor