Proraso green/Col. Conk glycerine soap mix.

[tgif7]

Hello I am new to this forum so my questions might be awnsered a million times even though ive searched a little but here it is. This is my first couple times shaving with a safety razor and using a brush and lathering. I have lathered up with the proraso a few times just to get a feel for what works best with how much water and if i should add a little more than an almond sized cream in the bowl. When i lather it up it never seems to get the feel or whip cream like effect it should be getting I have tried multiple times trying more or less water longer lathering. My brush by the way is a semogue 830. My bowl came with a package of col conk glycerine shaving soap so i rubbed the tips of brush on soap and lathered it up in bowl wasnt really what i was looking for so i added almond size of proraso and lathered it up and it seemed very good how it felt and looked. I havent shaved with it yet cause i just shaved recently but was wondering your thoughts on mixing the two? and why I cant seem to get the cream by itself to lather up like in videos ive seen? Trying to get the best mix my skin has always beem sensitive after shaving.

Thanks,

 

[clk]

Try face lathering - put the cream directly on your wet brush, and go straight to your face. Add a few drops of water to the brush as necessary to get the consistency you want.

 

[SteveWY]

Welcome to the group! What you discovered is called a "superlather", adding some cream to a soap. I think you get the ease of lathering a cream (important when first starting out) and a little extra density and protection of the soap (IMO). Ditto on the face lathering. I find face lathering to be beneficial in seeing how the lather is actually working on your face instead of in the bowl. I think you will find that what may appear to be a fine looking lather in the bowl or mug may not be that great. You just have to work it into your beard and then you will now. Hang in there and enjoy your shaves!

 

[InfernoOrangeSS]

Welcome to B&B!
I had the same problem as you for quite a while. I could never get the creamy foamy lather in my bowl. It was always thin and when applied to my face, it was very thin to the point of see through. I had resigned myself to just being terrible at lathering. I took a chance and researched/rewatched some videos and dissected what they were doing step by step. What I was doing wrong was I was starting off with my brush being too dry. What I do now is after soaking my brush, I give it 2-3 shakes to get excess water off, and then I start to lather in my bowl with an almond size dollop of shave cream. (I prefer Proraso at the moment.). The first time I did this, I didn't get enough water off the brush, and I had to start over. The next time, I had the water amount right. It starts out looking like you have too much water, but soon gets a huge lather in the bowl. It's a fine line for me between too much water and just what I need. Now I have it where I know what I need in the shake off.
What I was doing previously, was squeezing my brush to rid it of excess water and it was too dry for me to lather. (I would add little amounts of water, but I was too afraid to add too much.). I hope this helps you in some way. Once you find that right amount of water, you should see a much better lather.
Good Luck!