What's new

So i didn't really want my neck anyway

Just had my first "DE" shave and well im quite frustrated :mad3:.

Basically i couldn't builder a lather no matter what i tried to do! after using half a tube i probably got enough to get a half decent lather on my face and started. Especially after i spent 1 hour watching lathering videos before hand.

The first pass was fine however still lots of hair so i tried another 30 minutes to build a lather once i finally had it reapplied.
Tried another pass the other way and face and that went all went.
On the neck i went from bottom to top (chest to chin) and few seconds later i see blood everywhere!!

Never cut myself shaving before so pretty embarrassed.

I know this is meant to take quite a while but any pointers??? or should i just bring out the old mach 3 for another few weeks until i get my cool back.

btw the gear i bought was

Merkur HD (had the boxed razor with it which i used)
**** load of razor blades (diff types)
men u bristle brush (is this the reason couldnt get lather)
men u bristle brush boxed creme (thats what i was using)
geo f trumpers creme (maybe i should try this creme next time)
 
First, welcome to B & B. And try not to get frustrated.

I'm not sure where you live, so I don't know if you have hard water issues. That my impact building a lather.

Also, did you mean to say you waited 30 minutes between passes? Did you do any prep before the later ones?

Finally, you may want to practice building lather in a non-shave situation. You certainly shouldn't need half a tube of cream--I've never tried the brand you used, but it sounds excessive.

In any event, this afternoon just spend 30 minutes or so experimenting with your water/cream ratio. You won't be frustrated or rushed, because you don't need it to shave. Start with a small amount of water to about an almond sized amount of creme and very slowly add water as needed. Also, check out the tutorial for building lather with a cream. It's really helpful.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=150737
 
Good lather is 90% of the shave...you lather needs to be the consistency of yogurt. Is the menu brush you have a synthetic or boar brush ?? Start by soaking the brush... shake all the water out of the brush.... a almond size dollop of cream in a bowl .... and start to whip up the lather.... add the water a drop at a time as needed.... try some practice lathers and read Kyle prep.

Good luck and keep us upadted
 
.I know this is meant to take quite a while but any pointers???

Patience, friend. You are trying to do too much, too quickly. We must learn to walk before we can run.

If you are having trouble making an acceptable lather, then that is the first thing you need to work on. As mentioned, hardness of water may affect your ability to generate a good lather; using bottled, distilled, or deionized water will get around this problem. I have no experience with the men-u cream, but many start with Proraso due to the fact that it is easy to generate a good lather and is relatively cheap (cheaper to experiment with than Trumpers, anyhow). It can be found at Bath & Body Works stores under the name C.O. Bigelow.

Practice making a good lather. Start with an almond sized (or more, if you want - an almond and a half to two almonds) dollop, mix in a bowl or mug with a small amount of water. The lather will likely be far too thick to use. Add a few drops of water, mix some more. Keep adding water slowly and mixing, and watch how the lather changes. Periodically stick your finger into the lather to feel it, so that you know when it has reached just the right consistency.

I would advise sticking with your mach 3 until you've learned to make good lather. It's better than being cut and frustrated.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to B&B.

In addition to the posts above, what brand of cream were you using? Check to see if it is brushless. There are brushless creams that come in tubes and tubs and no matter how hard you try you will not be able to get a rich lather.
 
^^^^ What they all said ^^^^

The only thing I would add is don't get disheartened, persevere and when you succeed you will really be glad you did :001_smile
 
Hi - and welcome to B&B

I don't want to get all hippie-ish, but many here regard the daily shave as a zen-like moment of calm and peace.

To be calm, we must be patient. As others said, try not to run before you can walk - brush and DE is a very different method to gel and mach-3. I'm making the transition from DE to straight razor and having similar issues.

All will work itself out with small steps and practise. As others said, check your tube cream and make sure it's not the brushless type. Ditch the Merkur blade that came with the razor - they seem to be unloved and not well thought of. Try just one pass at first, with the grain, and make sure you are confident on your blade angle, stroke length and speed etc before moving on.

In these initial stages, attempt no more than 2 passes and do not shave against the grain (ie: upward stroke) - your face will thank you for it.
 
Check out which direction the hair on your neck grows too... As a WTG pass for me, for example, is with my jawline starting just off the center (adams apple) of my neck and moving distally (away, towards my ear).

The general consensu seems to be us new folk want to go WTG (With The Grain) for a while. Either way, don't give up!
 
Welcome.

I am also wondering about the brush itself. Are the bristles synthetic?

This from the Men U website:

The bristles are much easier to clean and more hygienic than brushes made of animal hair. Because the bristles are non-absorbant, they do not aborb shaving gunk and other impurities.

If they are non absorbant, then they won't hold water either.
 
thanks for the tips & welcomes so far

after reading tut i realised i never squeezed the brush.. maybe this was the culprit

the shaving part i didn't mind.. the lather was pissing me off.

I could get maybe a little bit (enough for one lathering on the face) but it wouldnt be a nice mug full like in mantic's videos

i used almond size and didn't add any water except what was on brush (dipped in hot water and shook it twice)

here is some pictures of what i used for that shave
proxy.php

proxy.php


there also the mugs/bowls i tried to use this first one was white so i couldnt see lather which was annoying.. glass one im not so sure maybe too small lather come up on side


in regards to water im from australia( sydney ) so im not sure if "heavy water" could be an issue.

this is the brush i bought http://www.kineticblue.com.au/men-u-barbiere-pure-bristle-shaving-brush.html

says pure bristle.


should i just work on lather and shave with mach 3 till i can get lather right (maybe brush will work itself in more)


also what blade would u recommened to try next time (if too throw merkur away)

this is the sample pack i got

proxy.php
 
Last edited:
The hard water is such an important factor in not being able to build lather. On my first trip to visit my parents in the U.S. after I started wet shaving I had a series of the worst shaves I've ever had. I couldn't build lather, and while I didn't cut myself, I came out with bumps all over my neck, which was a first. I think the water could easily be the primary culprit.
 
thanks for the tips & welcomes so far

after reading tut i realised i never squeezed the brush.. maybe this was the culprit. the shaving part i didn't mind.. the lather was pissing me off.

i used almond size and didn't add any water except what was on brush (dipped in hot water and shook it twice)

in regards to water im from australia( sydney ) so im not sure if "heavy water" could be an issue.

this is the brush i bought http://www.kineticblue.com.au/men-u-barbiere-pure-bristle-shaving-brush.html

says pure bristle.
It's not the cream. It's not the brush. It's not the water. Sorry, it's tough love week - it's you. My water is so hard, I need to buy new taps every few years, but I can build a good lather with anything. You can work around hard water when you get to know your cream and brush well enough to use them.

See Lucs lathering tute in the shave cream forum stickies.

Well soaked brush, gently squeezed, small scoop of cream. Better to start with a bit too much cream, too dry a brush and add water till you get yoghurty lather. If you start with too wet a brush, you'll just drown the cream and make it watery and unusable.

You've got a bristle (boar) so it will take a week or more to break in and retain water, which will make lathering easier. At first, they tend to hold too much or not enough.

I'd suggest practising making lather, even when you're not shaving. Probably not with the Trumpers, it ain't cheap.
 
Last edited:
First, welcome to B & B. And try not to get frustrated.

I'm not sure where you live, so I don't know if you have hard water issues. That my impact building a lather.

Also, did you mean to say you waited 30 minutes between passes? Did you do any prep before the later ones?

Finally, you may want to practice building lather in a non-shave situation. You certainly shouldn't need half a tube of cream--I've never tried the brand you used, but it sounds excessive.

In any event, this afternoon just spend 30 minutes or so experimenting with your water/cream ratio. You won't be frustrated or rushed, because you don't need it to shave. Start with a small amount of water to about an almond sized amount of creme and very slowly add water as needed. Also, check out the tutorial for building lather with a cream. It's really helpful.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=150737

Yes, your techinque may not be perfect yet, but that is why you are here.
While you work to improve here is a suggestion that may reduce a variable to allow you better progress.

I had hard water issues the made lathering more difficult (not impossible just more difficult).

I now use the water from the Pur filter on my kitchen tap and pour it into a hot pot to boil in the bathroom. The minerals that reduce lather are now gone. I have hot water to put in a second mug to clean my razor to reduce running hot water from the tap (DO NOT CLEAN RAZOR IN HOT POT - YOU COULD BURN YOURSELF). My lather is nice and smooth with a yogurt consistency.

Be sure to quick rinse your razor in some cool water after you rinse it in the hot water to prevent a hot razor from contacting your face.

You can substitute a scuttle for the hot pot if you heat the purified water on the stove.

BTW, your shaving equipment will last longer (blades, brush, etc. with less mineral residue).

Good fortune and I hope your shaves get better!
 
Last edited:
Lots of advice already preceeding this one. I will second the earlier comments about the hard water making it more difficult if that is the water you have to use. I have never used bottled water but I have seen it recommended in other threads. You may want to try some and see if that helps. My main encouragement is to be patient with yourself and the process. The technique will improve with practice and the frustrations will decrease. If you can practice lathering some it will be a help - at least, it was for me. Hang in there, better shaves are around the corner!
 
I've got that EXACT brush (from Boots) and tried that cream.

It's the cream.

You need hardly any water at all with it (shake the brush almost dry) even then it doesn't make a creamy lather, it's either too watery or too thick.

I ended up using the whole tube in about 3 or 4 shaves yet it says up to 20 on it.

Get some Palmolive Classic cream if you're only buying from supermarkets, it's very easy to lather and is a good cream. That Men-U brush works fine for me, I was so disappointed with the Men-U cream - smells nice though :001_smile

I read reviews on the Men-U cream as soon as I tried it and couldn't make a lather and a lot of people said it doesn't lather with the "normal" amount of water, so I tried a pretty dry brush and it lathered ok, but it's the worst cream I've tried
 
Last edited:

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Welcome to B&B!

The Men-U bristle brush is a very good brush, I used it myself for more than 6 months until I changed for a softer silvertip. It's a very good contender and would doubt it's the brush.

The Men-U shaving cream is also quite good. You don't need that much product to build a lot of lather. My only guess is that you might have hard water. I would recommend buying a bottle of water and heat it up with a kettle. Make sure it's not too hot as you don't want to burn yourself.

The tutorials for the lather are here: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Lathers
They should help...

Did you do any prep? A hot shower is usually good to prepare the skin or Kyle's prep: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/How_to_pre-shave_prep

Lastly, if you cut yourself, you are likely to apply too much pressure, it should be none.

I would advise making a few bowls of lather before your next shave, that should help.
 
I've got that EXACT brush (from Boots) and tried that cream.

It's the cream.

You need hardly any water at all with it (shake the brush almost dry) even then it doesn't make a creamy lather, it's either too watery or too thick.

I ended up using the whole tube in about 3 or 4 shaves yet it says up to 20 on it.

Get some Palmolive Classic cream if you're only buying from supermarkets, it's very easy to lather and is a good cream. That Men-U brush works fine for me, I was so disappointed with the Men-U cream - smells nice though :001_smile

I read reviews on the Men-U cream as soon as I tried it and couldn't make a lather and a lot of people said it doesn't lather with the "normal" amount of water, so I tried a pretty dry brush and it lathered ok, but it's the worst cream I've tried

could of been the reason i never squeezed the brush just two strong shakes before i tried to lather

Welcome to B&B!

The Men-U bristle brush is a very good brush, I used it myself for more than 6 months until I changed for a softer silvertip. It's a very good contender and would doubt it's the brush.

The Men-U shaving cream is also quite good. You don't need that much product to build a lot of lather. My only guess is that you might have hard water. I would recommend buying a bottle of water and heat it up with a kettle. Make sure it's not too hot as you don't want to burn yourself.

The tutorials for the lather are here: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Lathers
They should help...

Did you do any prep? A hot shower is usually good to prepare the skin or Kyle's prep: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/How_to_pre-shave_prep

Lastly, if you cut yourself, you are likely to apply too much pressure, it should be none.

I would advise making a few bowls of lather before your next shave, that should help.

thanks for advice i always shower before i shave.. however by the time i got any sort of lather it was quite a while since. hopefully next time will be better.

ive had this tube of "AMERICAN CREW HERBAL SHAVE CREME" in my bathroom for like 2 years.. would this be suitable to practice lathers with ( as it smells rank)

Lots of advice already preceeding this one. I will second the earlier comments about the hard water making it more difficult if that is the water you have to use. I have never used bottled water but I have seen it recommended in other threads. You may want to try some and see if that helps. My main encouragement is to be patient with yourself and the process. The technique will improve with practice and the frustrations will decrease. If you can practice lathering some it will be a help - at least, it was for me. Hang in there, better shaves are around the corner!

how can you tell what hard water is? is there any tests you can take?


thanks for advice so far!!
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
could of been the reason i never squeezed the brush just two strong shakes before i tried to lather



thanks for advice i always shower before i shave.. however by the time i got any sort of lather it was quite a while since. hopefully next time will be better.

ive had this tube of "AMERICAN CREW HERBAL SHAVE CREME" in my bathroom for like 2 years.. would this be suitable to practice lathers with ( as it smells rank)



how can you tell what hard water is? is there any tests you can take?


thanks for advice so far!!

You might need to use a hot towel then if your face dried too much or at least re-wet your face with warm water.

If I'm not mistaken, American crew is a brushless shaving cream... I would use the Men-U, keep the same product that you are already using.
 
I am still a DE newbie myself, been shaving with it for two weeks. I practiced lathering and shaving with the mach 3 before I had the funds to get my DE.

Anyhow if your lather is not good enough, do what you can to make it better before putting it on your face. do not get frustrated and just slop it on after a while. One thing that really worked for me was I went to bed bath and beyond and got Kiss my Face. That stuff lathers like it's life depended on it, and it is inexpensive, as in a couple bucks for a lot. Even cheaper than Bigelow's. Practice a lot, and soon enough it will come. Don't mind the gender neutral pump, this stuff rocks. I have the lavender and unscented. Another plug for starting off fairly dry and adding water as you go.

Ditto on what the other guys said about prep. I go from hot water to lotion and then shave within a few minutes. Anything more than that and you have to start over again.

And spend 5 bucks and get a VDH boar brush. It will get you by till you can drop some more yak on an omega boar or badger of whatever brand.
 
Top Bottom