C.O. Bigelow/Proraso and I don't seem to be getting along :

[EvilSmrk]

I have had pretty good luck with the two Soaps I have tried ( VDH Luxury, and Williams ) and decided it was time to try a cream so I stopped by the local mall and picked up a small tube of C.O. Bigelow.

Reading the different wet shaving sites Proraso green has pretty good reviews and it looks like C.O. Bigelow is simply rebranded Proraso green so I was thinking this would be a good place to start.

After the first three days, it looks like its not a match made in heaven.

Day one:
Put a fresh blade in the shaver (German Wilkensen Sword in a 40's Gillette tech.)
After soaking my cheap boar brush during my shower I emptied my bowl out and gave the brush two shakes.
Added what I would consider an almond size dollop of the product to the bowl and started making some lather.

First thoughts were that the smell is pleasant, kind of "old school". It definitely reminded me of something my uncle used ( he's been gone for the past 15+ years )

The lather looked good in the bowl and I applied some to a couple days worth of growth, it looked good on the face, not thin and the lather didn't start breaking down immediately.

I took my time getting the razor hoping to get a little bit of cooling sensation from the Eucalyptus/Menthol but it didn't seem to be happening so I started shaving.

Wow it dried fast on my face, was uncomfortable to shave had to dip the shaver in water repeatedly in order to get any glide at all.
I probably should have stopped and remixed the lather but I was "taking too much time" in there according to SWMBO

After the first path I tried adding some water to the lather and re mixed, put some on my face and did a XTG pass, this was better but it was still pretty dry.
There was a hint of cooling

For the third pass I dipped the brush a little too much and ended up with a lather that was too thin and broke down almost immediately
But I finally got some cooling sensation, but that could have been the water

Overall the shave ended up being OK but the experience was not a pleasant one, if this had been my first wet shave I may not have continued.

Day two:

Started off by giving only one shake to the brush and added twice the product and leaving some water in the bottom of the mixing bowl.
I felt that with some more cream I would have better control over how much water I could add before it got too thin.

Mixing the lather this time I felt it was better, and applying to the face it did feel better. There was just a hint of cooling, but not what I would call cool.

First pass was definitely better than the previous day, but it was still too dry.
I added some a couple of drops to the lather and re-mixed, this was better but it still did not have the glide/slip I am used to.
So on the third pass I added some more, and once again added too much, thin lather that broke down too quickly.

After three passes I was actually kind of surprised but the shave was actually worse than the day before, even though the experience was better

Day three:

Once again I started with two almonds worth of product, and a pretty wet brush.
After playing a bit I did manage to get the lather to be the same as pass two the previous day right off the bat.

The first pass was OK it seemed just a touch dry/un-slippery untill I got to a spot on my neck and my shaver chattered badly on two different strokes.
Rinsing my face I could tell that I had a pretty bad razor burn/set of cuts where the razor stuck and chattered.
And adding lather to that spot confirmed it with a nice pink/red color to the lather on that area.

On the second pass (XTG) I managed to nick my lip pretty good, Im not sure if it was just a mistake on my part or if the lather was poor and caused another problem.
So I cut my losses and stopped with two passes before I managed to really mess up my face.



This stuff is just not slick enough for my taste, it seems to feel too dry until I get too much water in it.
Also with the amount of product I am using this tube will not last long making it very const inefficient.

I'm also pretty disappointed in the cooling aspect of the cream, I definitely think it could use some more menthol.

I'm going to try and finish out the week with it in the hopes I will find the magic combination of water and product to get the results others get with it but I may just need to put it on the shelf and try it again in six months.

 

[mikelz777]

I love Proraso and I've had very good luck with it. If you are looking for that warmth/cooling sensation, it is very mild with this cream.

Maybe it's a water issue? I have a water softener so I have soft water. I let the brush (VDH pure badger) soak for a couple of minutes so it's saturated and then give it a few light shakes until there's not a lot of water coming out of it. It's "dry" enough to the point that when I start whipping, there isn't any kind of pool of water at the bottom of the lathering bowl. I start with an almond sized dollop of the cream and start whipping it. Gently shaking the brush out beforehand usually results in a dryer lather or one reluctant to whip up so I'll usually have to dip the tip of the brush in water a couple of times and continue whipping to encourage it and get it to where I like it - a rich, thick, protective lather. This is my approach and I get an excellent lather each time. I could probably go with a little less than an almond size because I usually have a good amount left over. Keep at it! It's an excellent cream if you can get it to work.

 

[bryan1980]

Proraso/Bigelow require a lot of water in my experience.

Also, is your boar brush broken-in yet? The way you can tell that is by looking at the tips of the bristles. If the majority of them have split tips, or "flagging", its broken-in. Boars don't really hit their prime until this happens. I find that a badger brush works better for creams, anyways, especially for bowl lathering.

Don't overlook the rest of your technique if you're a beginner, either. Have you tried other blades or blade/razor combos?

 

[brother cavefish]

bigelow is a great cream , but friend, there is Nothing that replaces a good lathering soap, Sienna and nomad Awesome soaps

 

[u2u]

I am mostly a badger fan with a side of horse. Proraso and C O Bigelow never miss for me. One of the surest creams out there. The boar may need more technique. Keep trying, you will be rewarded. Give face lathering a shot starting with the lather a little thick and adding a few drops of water to the brush at a time till you get it right. Once you have the quantities down just repeat.

 

[Eeyore]

It's hard for me to love Proraso Green as well ... I don't like the cooling sensation too much. But I do love the lather it produces, and the scent.

 

[normdugas]

I was having inconsistent lather for quite a while with just about any cream or soap I was using. This all changed, for the creams at least, a few weeks ago when I started face lathering. For tubs, I'll load my brush for about 30 seconds, apply to my face, dip brush in water, then start working the lather, dipping my brush in water as required until the lather looks good. For tubes, I'll squeeze some out and apply to my face until it looks like I've got enough, then use the same brush technique. I get a better feel for the lather this way over bowl/mug lathering.

 

[EvilSmrk]

All, I am a relative beginner here with wet shaving so I am sure its mainly technique.

Bryan, My brush really hasn't broken in yet, there is some flagging to the bristles but it still has a ways to go. I am able to build a lather with it is just taking longer.

I guess I can get a little long winded and over detailed but here is

Day four:

Changed the blade on my shaver to a pharmacy brand Persona.

Reduced the amount of product back to what I think of an almond sized drop and did two shakes on the brush.

Started building the lather in the bowl until it looked OK then added some water to the bowl and mixed again.

Scraped off a lot of the lather from the sides of the brush and started applying some lather to my face and added some water to the brush and proceed to essentially face lather.
There was more cooling sensation this time.

Put the brush bristle down in the bowl and did a first pass with the shaver.

First pass was OK good cushion but still not enough slip, I constantly feel the head of the razor sticking to the skin, changing the angle of the shaver I end up with too much blade discomfort.
At this point I realize that I might be putting too much pressure, without meaning too, and things improve some, but its still not slick.

Rinse the face off and notice some moisture pooling in the bottom of the mixing bowl and whip that back into the lather. Applying the lather to my face I actually feel some cool sensation (still not what I would call cool but better)

Second pass.... some success!! the lather actually seems to be somewhat slick, still not as good as the hard soaps but better.

Third pass, I notice some more moisture pooling in the bowl and mixed that in and applied to my face, basically the same as the second pass.


I understand that Bigelow/Proraso is pretty mild on the menthol scale and If I want some actual cooling sensation I'll have to look to other creams/soaps but I think the trick to telling if this cream has enough water in it is by how much it does cool. For me at least.

As I said, I'll keep trying this for the rest of the week, hopefully I can keep improving with it.

 

[gasdoc]

I use the bigelow product and find it to be pretty decent. I am new to wet shaving so I know my technique needs work and I always have to use more than the old "almond" sized dollop to get decent lather. I get some blade chatter too but it never seems to irritate or bother me. I guess I don't know enough to realize that this may be technique or the software I'm using. I figured it was normal when putting very little pressure on the razor. I basically use the bigelow primarily because I have a whole tube of it and my wife likes the smell. I do have some soaps on order from Mike's so we will see how that goes when they show up. good luck with the cream!

 

[Neffarious]

If its sticky and dry you need more water. Add it drops at a time until you get it. With time it will come naturally. This what i do is check between two fingers to see how the glide is before i use it if i think it is questionable.

 

[mikelz777]

Moisture pooling between passes sounds odd, I've never seen that before. Do you leave the brush in the lathering bowl while shaving? I wonder if it's draining from the brush? My guess now is that it's your brush and how it is/isn't holding water. I've never tried a boar brush but from what I've read, it's not going to hold water as well as a badger brush. (Unless it's broken in?) I'm guessing it's the brush and it's ability to transfer and mix the water into the lather. It would be interesting f you have the opportunity to use a badger brush if that would make a difference.

 

[weizemanner]

The moisture pooling thing makes me think there may be an issue with your water...

Every time I try a new soap I build a lather and put some on my inner arm (allergy test) and leave the bowl full. I wait 20 minutes (my day off shave time) and then check it. In my bathroom bigelow stayed thick rich lather for over an hour.

 

[MegaBullfrog09]

I get an allergic reaction every time I use Proraso Green. It's the eucalyptus in it. I love Proraso White though. Italian Palmolive is a better menthol cream by far.

 

[Doubledgeislife]

It is not really a bad cream, I use alot when lathering. A "nut" sized dollop never seems to work out no matter what cream I use. When the cream is broken up and starting to lather, I add some water. Let's face it. The stuff is cheap, it has the ingredients used in cheap soaps and creams and kinda performs cheap. Using something 3 times the cost brought me to that conclusion. I have used other creams just a couple dollars more and got some better results, but not by much. If I fall on rougher times and run out of the good stuff, I'll use the half tube of C.O. Bigelow I have hangin around. But as for right now, I prefer the good stuff because although my mileage has varied; I got what I paid for.

 

[nymtber]

Proraso works for me just fine. Almond size (or slightly larger, depends on the day) with our HARD water and I get enough lather for a full 3 passes.

Good quality stuff, IMO.

Nothing beats a good quality Tallow soap, though. Stirling Soaps are winning me over

 

[Eeyore]

I get an allergic reaction every time I use Proraso Green. It's the eucalyptus in it. I love Proraso White though. Italian Palmolive is a better menthol cream by far.

I might have to try one of those alternatives then! Proraso Green is too harsh for me unfortunately

 

[dvjohnso]

For my money, one of the best cooling lathers comes form the Queen Charlotte Soap's Vostok. Talk about a face freeze. It is a soap, but it makes really rich lather and has good strong menthol action.

 

[razorhead63]

I echo some of the others advice, you might want to experiment with your water, more or less.
Also, using a badger hair brush with this cream will improve the richness of your lather........ intensely...

John H.