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Am I getting the right lather?

My sentiments exactly!

Would personally reccommend a better soap (Arko, etc) and brush (e.g. Omega boar or something along those lines).
OP doesn't mention which razor or blade is being used. Some missing information for anyone to be truly helpful.
My bad on leaving out what razor I use, blades I use and such.. I'm not very good at socializing.. But My razor is the Vikings Blade Cheiftain, and I am using Derby Premium for a while now after running out of the Astra blades I bought.
Surprising everyone has to be correct for $1.25 a puck of soap can't be that good so I've ordered some Proraso green and a synthetic brush. Hopefully this offers a much better experience than budget products like I have been using.
 
My bad on leaving out what razor I use, blades I use and such.. I'm not very good at socializing.. But My razor is the Vikings Blade Cheiftain, and I am using Derby Premium for a while now after running out of the Astra blades I bought.
Surprising everyone has to be correct for $1.25 a puck of soap can't be that good so I've ordered some Proraso green and a synthetic brush. Hopefully this offers a much better experience than budget products like I have been using.
I, and I believe I can speak for others that have posted, will agree your success will be far greater than what you have had in the past.

Do not be afraid to reach out to us.

Have no fear in socializing. No one, and again I say no one, is any better than you are. Some folks just THINK they are.
 
We're all on here for two things , to learn and in return help others. No one knows everything unless it's my misses. Don't be afraid to ask and if you've not given enough information they'll ask for it as the did already.
 
A bit late to the game, but allow me to provide some input - that $1.25 puck of soap can work well. My stick of Arko has done me better than this soap, but it's also done me worse. This soap is no slouch when lathered correctly.
My findings: it needs much water, the window between too dry and too wet is very narrow, and the right lather is on the thinner side (due to all the water), because it's a detergent, additional passes/touchups must be carried out with more lather (skin will dry out a tad, resulting in sticking, not glide).
It's taken some work, but I've done it. If done wrong, it will dry up, dissapate, run off the face, or form a bubbly foam. Done right, it provides a better than just ok shave.
 
As many have said, Arko is a good shave soap with a lower price tag. Col. Conk and Classic Shavings brand have also yielded me good results for under $5 a puck.


Even with a better quality soap, your shave can be awful if you don't have the water right. IMO, better to be a little too wet than not wet enough. My first couple years shaving was with what most people would call too wet and I did quite well with it.
 
The soap works fine especially for the price. Lathers well, provides a decent slickness, no issues with it dissipating on the face. But I can’t recommend it for regular everyday use, my skin didn’t like it too well particularly the areas just slightly above where I shave on the cheeks where stray residue may end up. Had some itching and breakouts. Keep in mind I rinse my face thoroughly regardless of what soap or cream I use. At the time I was trying to stretch out my dwindling tube of Proraso until I got a chance to order some on discount, and was using the Dollar Store stuff regularly. Stopped using it regularly, problems cleared up. The stuff is made in China after all so it is reasonable to assume it isn’t made with a mother’s love or prepared with a wife’s consideration and kindness.

I still use it from time to time just to switch things up but not multiple days in a row and am careful to keep any of the soap from getting above the areas I shave. I also add a drop of peppermint essential oil to a shave mug and bowl lather it because it seems to eliminate any itchiness and I also enjoy the menthol effect.
For a lower cost soap I’d recommend Van Der Hagen soaps or a stick of Arko over the Dollar Tree stuff.
 
Kiss My Face cream. Not expensive, lathers easily, smells good, protects well.
I agree that the soap he posted in the original post in this thread is likely no good.
 
So I'm a newbie, only wet shaving for 3 months. I started with face lathering using a stick of Arko my brother gave me with a no name 3 piece steel razor that was painted. Maybe $10 at most. The Arko is less than ten bucks for 3 sticks. I liked it fine.

So I bought a puck of Marvy which is very old school. I wanted to learn how to lather a hard puck soap in a bowl and found this video about Marvy.
It worked fine too. It's only like $2.50 a puck.

I've never seen or used the dollar store stuff but I'm leery and intrigued at the same time so I'll try to find it at my dollar store just for kicks.

Anyways, since I'm a newbie I've bought about 5 different pucks, 5 creams, and a different brand stick. I also got from Amazon a 30 blade (2 each of 15 different kinds). Everyone is saying try a lot of different stuff until I find what works for me. I think this is excellent advice and I'm loving it.

Anyways, im just rambling and this has been my very limited experience. There's many great tips in this thread alone and this forum overall. I watch a ton of YouTube videos and try to find one on anything I'm about to try. I have learned a ton from Geofatboy on YouTube.
 
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