Proraso Lathering Help

Hello to all,

I am kinda new to straight shaving and I have been trying different shaving creams and soap and what not. After reading many forums and listening to many opinions, I went out and bought the tubed version of the proraso cream.

I like to have a nice warm lather but everytime I mix the proraso in a bowl, it literally takes me 10+ min. By then the bowl is cold along with the lather. I usually boil water and fill the bowl up for a few minutes to warm the bowl and leave the brush in hot water, but the lather still gets cold. I've tried different methods of mixing such as wet brush/dry bowl or dry brush/ wet bowl. No matter what I do, the proraso lather doesnt turn out nice.

I've looked for videos all over youtube on how to make proraso lather and all i get is some proraso commercial with an italian barber following an italian man everywhere in a grocery...i know...pretty random.

So I was wondering if there is anyone out there with the green/white proraso tube cream that may be able to help me by making a video on youtube showing how to make warm proraso lather in a bowl. I really like the smell of proraso and don't want to use another type of cream.

By the way, I've also tried lathering by the face with proraso and the lather comes out way too thick no matter what I do. Then the shave seems sooooo dry and uncomfortable.

-shaving.newbie

Check out this vid. Proraso shouldn't be hard to lather.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7Aj9vwrtc

For me, I squeeze all the water out of my brush, add about an almond size dollop of cream to my mug, and start swirling my brush around. I leave my faucet running in the smallest stream I can get, and I add just as much water as I get by running my mug under the stream as quickly as I can. I just keep whipping until it is soft and shiny(not sharp peaks), and it usually takes me about two minutes to get good lather that way.
I would say to just practice. I've noticed that every soap and cream lathers slightly differently, so whenever I get a new product, I practice lathering it a few times to figure out the way to do it. Some products need more product and less water, others need less product and more water, etc.
If you definitely want warm lather, I've heard that people have good luck with those bowls made for chilling dips. They are large enough to actually build lather in, and they will keep your lather warm for quite a long while if you fill it with hot water.

A few questions,

Do you do this exact method with other creams/soaps and get good results?

Are you adding more product while trying to build the lather?

Are you trying to keep it hot?

How hot is the bowl? I ask this because you mention using boiling water, which to much heat easily destroys lather.

I use Proraso soap, which people say is not so different from the cream. I make my lather by loading my brush (you could just add cream plus a bit of water into your lather bowl). I float the lather bowl in a sink full of hot water. I add water to the mix by dipping the tip of my brush into the hot water a bit at a time. This works for face lathering too. A sink full of hot water keeps the lather warm for a long time. Others use scuttles that hold a cup or two of hot water, but I'm not that sophisticated.

Cheers,
Ian

Check the cream lathering stickies. Proraso really is about as easy as it gets to lather.

Going on the limited info you gave, it appears you're using way too much water, and in a previous attempt, far too little.

When people say build lather with a dry brush, they don't literally mean dry; they mean one that has been soaked and squeezed.

A dripping wet or unsqueezed brsuh is not conducive ot making good lather it will be far too wet.

@leche - the only other lather that i've tried to make was with williams shaving soap. But I usually wet the brush, squeeze out the excess water,and load the brush. I leave a tablespoon of water in the bowl and swirl for about 5 min. I get awesome lather. When I tried proraso, I would squeeze the excess water out of the brush, added 1 tablespoon of water in the bowl and an almond size of proraso cream and it came out too saturated to build the lather. So I've been experimenting forever with different water amounts in the brush and bowl and I still can't make a nice lather with proraso like I did with williams. I don't add more product while mixing, I just use an almond size of cream. I usually heat the bowl really hot and mix it. I dont have a scuttle or anything but I like the method @drifwood was talking about. And the bowl usually super hot. I use boiling water and I let it sit in the bowl for about 5 min. So that may be a factor.

@drubbing - Yeah I usually have the brush soaking and then I take it out and squeeze the excess, then start trying to build the lather.

I've watched all of mantic59's videos on youtube and his tips do help. It's just this proraso cream. Thats why I would like to know if someone can make a video on how to make lather in a bowl using this exact cream...http://www.shaving.ie/product_images/uploaded_images/proraso-shaving-cream-large.jpg

-shaving.newbie

Water in your bowl is unnecessary. This is where your method breaks down. Add no water initially, beyond what is in the well squeezed brush, then add water with flicks of your fingers as you go - that is how little is needed to get lather going.

You're saturating the cream before you start.

See matics vids on making lather with cream. It's linked in an above post.

Yup, starting with too much water. I use proraso regularly, and always lather as follows:

1. Soak brush for several minutes (start it before the shower if you can)
2. Shake out excess water until the brush pretty much stops dripping
3. Dose the cream - for me, I squeezed the tube out into a glass bowl, so I swirl my brush over the top of the cream for a second. If you're still using the tube, squeeze out precisely 1 American Standard Almond portion of cream.
4. Begin building lather. It WILL start dry, but get started for a solid 10 seconds here.
5. Gradually add water BY THE HALF TEASPOON, or a few drops at a time, until the lather comes into form.

Eventually, you will get to the point where you can add almost exactly the right amount of water in one or two tries. Don't be afraid to do it slowly, and take several tries to get enough water in your lather. I recommend doing the exercise shown here - The Art of Lathering by Mantic59 - it really teaches you how water changes your lather.

Note how at some early points, what looks like runny lather actually needs more water.

I would agree with the diagnosis of too much water. I also would say that perhaps you are using a bowl that is too hot as well. If your bowl is too hot, it can cause the lather to break down even as you are trying to whip it up. I would get the bowl warm, but not as hot as you seem to be getting it from the boiling water.

Proraso is a great cream, and I'm a fan of using it. It finds a regular spot in my rotation. Don't get discouraged, soaps and creams are different. Give it a few more tries, and you'll have the ratio down in no time.

Cheers!

Aaron

Also, a very hot bowl and cool menthol lather doesn't really compute...

You should be able to get a good lather out of Proraso in about 40 seconds or so. Not TEN freakin' minutes.

You're doing something VASTLY wrong.

As Drubbing mentioned, Proraso has a cool menthol feeling. Part of it's virtue is that it feels cool and soothing.

That being said, 10 minutes to get a lather is way too long here.

-Soak badger hair brush in warm water for 30 seconds.
-Squeeze excess water out...do not shake brush.
-Squeeze an almond size dollop of Proraso cream in a bowl (or a little more is fine).
-Whip for about 30 seconds adding sprinkles of more water with wet fingers if necessary.

If it's feeling thick and not creamy...ADD WATER. Don't continue whipping until your arm falls off. Enough water is the key here.

I love Proraso...it's my favorite.

Okay, so I just tried DPDysons' method. It was indeed a significant improvement. I got a nice looking lather but when I rubbed it on my hand to test the slickness it felt kinda wet and not so creamy. It probably is my fault but adding too much water. However changing from hot to warm water was a great improvement. That seemed to work out well. I am going to try out jdudley76's method now. It seems almost similar to DPDysons' with the exception of squeezing the brush instead of shaking it. brb...and if anyone has a posted video of making lather from proraso cream (tubed version) let me know

jdudley76's method worked out pretty well. Starting of with very little water helps. It took me about 4 minutes to make the lather and when I tested it, it was pretty slick. Not quite as slick as the way I made williams in my first post on this topic, but pretty good. And like I said, changing from the hot to warm bowl seemed to make quite the difference.

Well, I never have slickness problems - but I almost always lather my Proraso with a B&B Essential, so I compensate by adding a bit of extra cream. It's known to hold a lot of water and make a giant heap of lather in a matter of moments.

PS, It's JPDyson

My fault, sorry about the typo JPDyson. I'm new to forums. And thanks for the step by step process. I'm sure i'll catch on to lathing up proraso soon.

shaving.newbie said:

My fault, sorry about the typo JPDyson. I'm new to forums. And thanks for the step by step process. I'm sure i'll catch on to lathing up proraso soon.

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No harm, no foul - just poking fun.

Keep at it! Proraso is a rewarding lather to use, so you'll be glad when you get it right. Getting this right will help you lather other creams down the road as well.

All I've ever used is the Prorasso cream and this is how I do it.

First, while I'm taking a shower, I put my bowl in a sink of hot tap water and also fill the bowl and let my brush soak in it. When I'm done my shower I empty the bowl and gently shake out the brush. I find there's usually a tiny bit of water left in the bowl which is nice. Put an almond size amount of cream in the bowl and lather away. Get a good usuable lather in 1-2 minutes. Lather seems to last right through my shave without having to add any extra water or re-working it. Not saying it'll work for you but I've never had a problem doing it this way.

Drubbing said:

Also, a very hot bowl and cool menthol lather doesn't really compute...

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It does, actually, and I never said "very" hot. My water heater is set at about 140*F, which is about 20* cooler than the standard factory setting. This saves me money every month and reduces the scalding hazard for myself and visitors.

The menthol/eucalyptus cooling effect of the lather still happens -- I guess it's chemical rather than thermal. I have the comfortable feeling of applying warm lather, and the cool tingly feeling. The best of both worlds. It's one of the reasons I love Proraso.

As far as regulating the amount of moisture in OP's lather, yes I was off the mark by suggesting putting water in the bowl. I think the only way to determine the right amount of moisture is to start by squeezing/shaking as much water from the brush as possible, and making a lather that is too thick and goopy. From there you add tiny amounts of water at a time. I dip the very ends of my bristle brush into the water in my sink. Adding a few drops at a time by dipping my fingers in the sink has also worked well.

It will take a bit of experimentation to get the right consistency, but once you achieve a nice fluffy moist lather, you should be able to recreate that in less than a minute. Better too dry than too wet, absolutely, because you can add more water at any stage, but it's very hard to remove it.

If I apply lather that feels a bit sticky, I will wet the tip of my brush lightly and add moisture to the lather on my face that way.

I'm sorry I didn't put enough thought into my original post. Hopefully with all the good advice offered you're well on your way to getting the right lather.

Cheers,
Ian