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Quality of lather with cream

I just tried my new Penworks finest badger with the Bigelow cream (prosaro) and I got what appeared to be a very rich creamy lather that I couldn't get off the handle, sides of the bowl or my fingers. Made quite a mess!! hehe...but my question is this.

I have a fully loaded brush of what I think is a quality lather. I begin to brush it onto my face in circular motion and it goes on extremely thin. I can still see my face! So I end up "painting" the lather on from the thick stuff that ends up on the sides of the brush and my mug to get a nice consistant layer on my face, but this is just a very gentle application.

Am I doing it correctly?
 
Pictures would help. Offhand, "lather that I couldn't get off the handle, sides of the bowl or my fingers" and "it goes on extremely thin" both seem problematic. How much cream/water did you use?
 
problematic or opposite? ;-) I'll see if I can get some pics tomorrow. I let my brush soak, then empty the mug and squeeze out about a nickel sized bead of cream then bring in my fairly heavy brush (heavy with water). I don't add any water because it appears I'm getting amazing lather. It is firm enough to hold its shape on the brush.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Pictures would help. Offhand, "lather that I couldn't get off the handle, sides of the bowl or my fingers" and "it goes on extremely thin" both seem problematic. How much cream/water did you use?

+1
Sounds like your lather was a bit dry. The brush may have been loaded, but there was not enough water content to transfer the substance from brush to face. What you wound up doing was painting on the more wet, but less lathery "suds"
Though many folks use the "face painting" method when they bowl lather, that is generally not the way to do it when face lathering.
Watch mantics videos on building a good lather and how to properly load a brush.
Don't worry, it just takes a little practice. Keep at it!
 
Actually it does make sense that maybe I'm not using enough water....I'll try and use a bit more next time and post my results. Thanks guys!
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Actually it does make sense that maybe I'm not using enough water....I'll try and use a bit more next time and post my results. Thanks guys!

Are you by any chance doing a pre shave prep, maybe with a shave oil or something?
 
I do have a pre-shave oil (AOS) that I tried awhile back, but I haven't used it at all since I got into this wetshaving stuff.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
ok, because some pre shave items can prevent lather from "sticking" to your face.
Try a bit more water and see how that runs you.
Keep us posted, we will figure this out together.
 
I'm on day two of using shaving cream.

Day one, very thick lather (pasty), went on my face in a thin layer. I feel confident that I used far too little water.

Last night, watched videos.

Day two, used more water in the brush, mixed a much nicer, rich lather that went on my face in a softer, creamier lather. Good shave.

I anticipate it will get better in the coming days. BTW, I'm mixing in a small, cermaic bowl, smooth interior. Works OK.
 
I would recommend that you squeeze out most of the water in your brush and then add water little by little. If it was thin, it could've been too wet. I noticed when I first started I tried lathering by leaving water in the brush, and it just didn't come out right. Use a generous amount of product and add water little by little, that way you have more control of the outcome.
 
I would recommend that you squeeze out most of the water in your brush and then add water little by little. If it was thin, it could've been too wet. I noticed when I first started I tried lathering by leaving water in the brush, and it just didn't come out right. Use a generous amount of product and add water little by little, that way you have more control of the outcome.

+1 Give the brush a good squeeze, and even a few good shakes. It's easier to recover a too dry lather, than one that is far too wet.

Start with a dry brush, and slowly work a teaspoon of water at a time into the lather until it reaches the desired consistency (think yogurt for the consistency, not whipped cream).
 
Wow..okay I'm looking for yogurt not whip cream. Awesome analogy. I've definately not achielved yogurt yet. This morning I used more water in my brush and left a bit in the bottom of my mug...WAY TOO MUCH. I got lots of foamy lather that never really amounted to much. It was lighter than whipped cream but still held it's form.

Next time, I'm shaking out my brush, starting with a bit more product, giving it a squeeze...and slowly adding water to see what happens. I'll let you know how it goes.
 
Wow..okay I'm looking for yogurt not whip cream. Awesome analogy. I've definitely not achieved yogurt yet. This morning I used more water in my brush and left a bit in the bottom of my mug...WAY TOO MUCH. I got lots of foamy lather that never really amounted to much. It was lighter than whipped cream but still held it's form.

Next time, I'm shaking out my brush, starting with a bit more product, giving it a squeeze...and slowly adding water to see what happens. I'll let you know how it goes.

Foamy lather = suds, which is not at all what you want as it will have very little in the way of protection for your face.

The Yogurt vs. Whipping Cream analogy was borrowed from a different user, so I can't take credit for it. :tongue_sm

I start out with a fairly dry brush (both squeezing it, and shaking it), and slowly add just a teaspoon of water over time. I also don't vigorously whip it, as doing so tends to create foam/ sudsy lather which is useless.
 
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I have a fully loaded brush of what I think is a quality lather. I begin to brush it onto my face in circular motion and it goes on extremely thin. I can still see my face! So I end up "painting" the lather on from the thick stuff that ends up on the sides of the brush and my mug to get a nice consistant layer on my face, but this is just a very gentle application.

Am I doing it correctly?

I have an alternative hypothesis.

First of all, in a general sense, I think what you're describing happens all the time to a certain extent. Moving the brush around your face in a circular motion puts some lather on your face, but it also moves some lather back into your brush. Some brushes are what I like to call "lather hogs." With one of these brushes, the more you work the lather on the face, the less lather ends up on the face! (Is your brush a Tweezerman, by the way? That baby is a notorious lather hog.)

In any case, after working the lather around the face for awhile, most people actually DO use a painting motion thereafter to get a nice, even layer.

In other words, just from the description above, I can't say for sure that your lather is suboptimal, because I've seen this happen even with a great lather. For me it varies depending on the type of cream or soap used and the type of brush used. Some products seem to want to stick to the brush more than to the face.
 
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