I have a tub of shaving cream that I just love the scent of and I rotate it between my soap. It is the Taylor of Old Bond Street shaving cream for sensitive skin and it has a very fresh pine/herbal scent. Very clean and smells like a barber shop if it were in the middle of the forest. I have been experimenting with it and since I used the soap with my brush before the "real cream" I have had some problems that I may or may not already have the answer to. First, I realize swirling and pumping of the brush helps even up the lather. Is it preference on how creamy it should be? My only experience with cream before this was barbosol and I realize that is a very fluffy and dry product and not very creamy. Think whipped cream in a can instead of a tub. Its full of air and is actually pretty far from what I would consider cream. It feels great on my face but doesn't always provide slickness. I know I'm doing something wrong because TOBs is known for being very slick. Secondly, sometimes it tends to dry out and flake down from my face and I shave relatively quick. I have heard TOBS is thirsty which I rather like but I'm not sure if there is a too much water point for cream like there is with soaps. Is the cream supposed to have bubbles in it from water and go on extremely wet? Or does it just need to be wet enough to not paste onto your face. It's easy to tell when it's too dry when going on and I have been using the drip water from your fingertips into the lathering bowl trick. I am merely curious about what a good balance is. I hope I explained everything well enough! If you need clarification on some things I'll do my best! Thanks!
I get the best results from my creams by face lathering. I soak my brush, shake it out, load some cream in the center, spread the cream on each "quadrant" of my face, the proceed to lather. The results are pretty much foolproof, although sometimes I do still need to adjust how much water is in the brush. I try to err on the side of being too dry, since it's easier to add water than to remove it. TOBS is a great cream, as are all the top English creams. With the right technique, it will provide excellent results.
It depends on your preference. Some people like dry lather, where the lather is made of millions of tiny visible bubbles. I like a rather wet lather, where the lather looks like cool whip and forms peaks like meringue. If you see large soapy bubbles in your lather, it's a sure sign that it needs to be worked more with the brush. If they don't go away, then you have too much water in your lather, and need to add more shaving cream.
Thanks! I have always face lathered my soap so I'm not quite sure why I never tried it with the cream! I'll certainly give it a go and keep everyone posted on how it turned out!
TOBS doesn't "bloom" right away. It starts out as a low slickness foam and needs more work to get the right lather. I usually use a bowl to get it right.
Generally, I prefer to face lather. With creams I generally start with a fairly dry brush, work the lather on my face and then dip by brush in the sink to pick up some water and continue this until I get the consistency I desire. The cream you have chosen is a fine choice.
I would say that if you are getting large air bubbles in your lather, you have added too much water. OR, too much water too quickly. Start with a drier, pastier, lather and wotk that in well before you start to SLOWLY add you water.
Leaving more water in the brush did the trick! It had the tiniest bubbles but was still thick, had nice peaks, very slick and didn't dry out. If I can get it that way every time I'll be a happy man! Thanks guys!
