struggling with lather

S

selecta

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56
I really struggle to make a good quantity and good thick consistency of lather in a bowl from Cream. Whatever i do i fail to get enough in there. I use large amounts of cream (certainly a lot more than an almond size dollop!), more water, less water etc etc but i fail to get a satisfying lather a lot of the time.

I just used Henks no 5 for the first time tonight and after reading how other members got loads more lather with this than normal i was expecting big things! Dont get me wrong i am not blaming the cream as i still had a smooth shave with it and it smelt and felt great afterwards, i know it is down to my technigue, or lack of it!

Anyone want to share any tips, did you guys have similar problems when you started and if so what changed in your methods that helped improve your lather?
 
There's a lot of trial and error involved, but you've only got three variables:

Brush
Water
Cream

More/less water, more/less cream is easy.

Some brushes work better with soap or cream (although they will all work with both).

As a rule of thumb, stiff boar brushes work very well with soap, floppy silvertip badgers work well well creams and then there's the whole spectrum in between.

Anyway, I don't use creams so I'll let someone else chip in with some proper advice rather than rambling on.
 
selecta said:
Its a Kent H8 Badger courtesy of Fido !
Click to expand...

hmm, the brush would be OK then.

Almond-size dollop, damp (not dripping) brush, swirl and pump a bit, add drops of water now and then, keep swirling and pumping until ready.

The only thing I can think of - other than the above - is that the brush might need a wash - soap-scum can hinder the brush's water-retention abilities.
 
You in a very hard water area? Because lathering can be a right game..
I seam to spend at least twice as long as most people generating a decent lather .
 
It sounds like a cream / water ratio. Try using the "almond sized " dollop with a dryer brush. It is easier to add water drop by drop until you find the sweet spot.
 
Have you tried face lathering, I stopped bowl lathering after I found I could more easily control building the lather directly on my face.

Other than that it really does boil down to adjusting the volume of cream and water to your desired consistency.
 
joe mcclaine said:
selecta said:
Its a Kent H8 Badger courtesy of Fido !
Click to expand...

hmm, the brush would be OK then.

Almond-size dollop, damp (not dripping) brush, swirl and pump a bit, add drops of water now and then, keep swirling and pumping until ready.

The only thing I can think of - other than the above - is that the brush might need a wash - soap-scum can hinder the brush's water-retention abilities.
Click to expand...

Scummy brush from Fido ? No..........!
 
The brush is fine and on the couple of occasions it was used it generated plenty of lather. I suspect you need to leave more water in your brush. Soak then let the surplus drip out, tiny flick then swirl away in a bowl.
 
Yeah, this actually sounds like a problem of not enough water, rather than too much. And Joe Mcclaine's technique description is spot on.

If none of this helps, it might be due to water chemistry. Just to check that, get a bottle of (low) mineral water (over here I would recommend Spa Blue, in the UK, I don't have a clue -- Evian maybe?), and see whether you can make lather with that...
 
What Fido and Henk say, I should think. I've found Henk's cream, particularly the sandalwood version to be a little thirstier than others, so I wound up adding water gradually until the lather came right, which it certainly does. Hard water's another possibility.
 
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