Struggling to get a good lather even after watching some videos.

[Saviorself]

I have watched a few different videos and seem to still be having trouble.

I am using an omega brush, captains choice bowl and have tried using both the captains choice cream and proraso shaving cream.

I am wetting the brush under running water and then squeezing out gently any excess water. I use about a Hershey’s kiss size amount of cream.

I have tried using a light but quick circkly of the bowl to lather It up and I’ve tried applying a bit of pressure. In both cases it just seems to come out runny and not foamy. I am only using a couple of drops of water in the bowl in addition to wetting the brush. The videos make it look super easy and I am really not sure what I am doing wrong. Any suggestions would be helpful

thanks!

 

[brucered]

Double your cream.

Problem solved.

 

[FarmerTan]

Double your cream.

Problem solved.

True. Or back off on the water?

I mostly face lather, and it's sure easy to get the water to product ratio off.

 

[Saviorself]

Double your cream.

Problem solved.

i will try that. I had ordered the sampler pack of the captains cream (which is about the size of a Hershey kiss) and I would have assumed it was enough to get a good foam to get a couple passesover the whole face. maybe I will just wet the brush and not add extra water. I added two literal drops including wetting the brush and it just never did anything.

 

[brucered]

95%+ of lather issues can be solved with using more product.

Personally, I hate samples for this reason. You get some rinky dink little container that you want to make last X # of shaves to justify the price. But you skimp on the amount used to make it last and the lather usually sucks.

Shave lather samples are only good for scent if you ask me.

 

[Chef455]

Hmmmm... Not enough product or not enough h20. As a prior chef I will always recommend grabbing a bowl, whisk and some heavy cream. If you can whip said cream by hand any lather with any brush should be child's play.

 

[Chef455]

Also, runny sounds like too much water...

 

[Saviorself]

So I went and doubled what I was using and most of it got soaked into the brush as I was swirling. But when I squeezed the brushed out it came out pretty foamy but I was expecting more foam? I used about a walnut sized amount this time.

Maybe I’m expecting to much but it does seem that the brush is retaining some of the product.

 

[VisceralWatch]

If your lather is foamy it means that either you didn't mix your product and soap for long enough, or you're just using too much water and not enough product. Also, if your boar brush isn't broken in yet they can tend to "hog" lather.

 

[Saviorself]

If your lather is foamy it means that either you didn't mix your product and soap for long enough, or you're just using too much water and not enough product. Also, if your boar brush isn't broken in yet they can tend to "hog" lather.

Gotcha. This is only the 5th time I’ve used it so far so that might be. I know it’s hard to say for sure when you can’t see what I’m doing. I appreciate all the feedback. Maybe I’ll record what I do next time and post it up. Might be able to say for sure what it is I’m doing wrong then.

 

[VisceralWatch]

Gotcha. This is only the 5th time I’ve used it so far so that might be. I know it’s hard to say for sure when you can’t see what I’m doing. I appreciate all the feedback. Maybe I’ll record what I do next time and post it up. Might be able to say for sure what it is I’m doing wrong then.

Boars are tricky to begin with and are even more so if you only have 5 uses on it. Could take 10-15 lathers until the Omega is working properly for you.
Video or pictures of your lather building process would certainly allow us to give you suggestions in a more specific way!

 

[Chef455]

Link us to the video/videos you are referencing? I myself bowl lather and find it a rewarding part of my shave. It saddens me to know you are frustrated/struggling. I have no experience with the Captains Choice, but the Proraso cream should come together fairly easily.

 

[Saviorself]

Omg I am feeling quite stupid right now. The prorasa stuff I got was a PRE-shave cream no wonder I am having trouble

 

[Chef455]

Ahhh... Well that's not only a great realization, but a great product. You will benefit from using it. I, for one, am now curious as to whether or not I can lather it after all my previous bluster.

 

[Saviorself]

Ahhh... Well that's not only a great realization, but a great product. You will benefit from using it. I, for one, am now curious as to whether or not I can lather it after all my previous bluster.

lol I had picked it up because people were saying it was great if you had sensitive skin. I assumed it was like the gel cream that comes in a can that’s labeled as sensitive skin formulas that you use for cartridge razors. So I decided to read the labels closer just now and saw the last part that said then apply your shaving cream and I was like ooooooooooh

So after that I took one of my captains choice samplers and scooped the whole amount onto my brush. Wet my bowl just to moisten it and started to go to town and within 15 seconds I was getting some dense lather. I added 3-4 drops more water still super dense later and it was building....feeling much better now. So clearly the first time I tried the captains sampler I didn’t use enough product/used to much water.

and yes I have nothing better to do at 1140 at night other than practice my lathering and watching disenchantment on Netflix

thank you again everyone

 

[Chef455]

There is something better to do than watch Netflix and lather... Pssssshhhhh nah. I have YouTube shaving videos playing on my way to work a couple days a week. You are doomed.

 

[Omarz]

Ok so with porasso your ment to use it like a hard soap so start by soaking brush for a minute or two in mean Time get your crap in order blade ,razor, pre shave ,exct next remove brush from hot water (should of mentioned use hot water) give it one or two good hard flicks till most of the water comes out of the brush,now load your brush by Puting the bristles on soap and rub until thick and foamy thicker better(overloaded brush doesn’t hurt) tip out water from lather bowl and jam you brush in the bowl and whip it like you mean it I’m talking get it moving add small amount of downward force to splay the bristles and whip whisk what ever u wanna call it add drops of water as you go and I mean drops don’t ham fist it and add a table spoon you will kill it keep at whisking until it builds should be similar consistancey to canned foam but little more wet. Iv tryed the almond method iv tryed loading the brushs center none of that works for me. no matter what soap I have this works for me 100% of the time.

 

[Timeclo]

I have watched a few different videos and seem to still be having trouble.

I am using an omega brush, captains choice bowl and have tried using both the captains choice cream and proraso shaving cream.

I am wetting the brush under running water and then squeezing out gently any excess water. I use about a Hershey’s kiss size amount of cream.

I have tried using a light but quick circkly of the bowl to lather It up and I’ve tried applying a bit of pressure. In both cases it just seems to come out runny and not foamy. I am only using a couple of drops of water in the bowl in addition to wetting the brush. The videos make it look super easy and I am really not sure what I am doing wrong. Any suggestions would be helpful

thanks!

If that Omega brush is a boar, it'll have some trouble lathering with creams. I find that synthetic brushes lather the best with creams while natural hairs lather better with soaps. Using more product will help but also, it's good to use a synthetic brush with creams.

 

[Atlantic59]

Boar brushes and Proraso are made for each other. Try the Marco method after soaking your boar brush for at least 10 minutes so it is fully saturated with water. You will not have any complaints about your brush eating the lather.

My lathering technique with Italian soft soaps

Lately I've seen that some B&B members are having issues regarding how to create a good lather with Italian soft soaps. And I have personally received several PMs regarding this subject, with many asking me what kind of lathering technique I actually use. Here is a simple tutorial for new wet...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[RayClem]

There are lots of ways of lathering soaps.

If you are new to wet shaving, you might want to get an inexpensive synthetic brush. I find that they can be used to lather nearly anything from soft creams to hard pucks. Because synthetic fibers do not absorb water, it is easier to control the amount of water used for the lather. I love natural hair/bristle brushes, but they are a little harder to figure out. Each natural hair brush holds a different amount of water.

Also, different soaps have different loading and lathering characteristics. A lot of people seem to like Williams Mug Soap, one of the less expensive soaps. However, if you use it, plan on spending several minutes developing your lather. I do not have the patience to do that. With some of the better soaps in my den, I can load my brush in 10-15 seconds and whip up a smooth lather in about 30 seconds in my lather bowl.

BTW: I always bowl lather because my skin is so sensitive that face lathering irritates my face. Many of the shave videos you will view will show face lathering.