I like to use the KMF unscented cream for the superlather experience. Some soaps may have too much EO or the FO in it may not agree with my face so Ill add some of the KMF to the mix and it thickens up the lather as well as calms down the fire.
I made green eggs, and ham once. Real easy. Pesto in scrambled eggs with a slab of country ham on the side. Yum. The college kids I was serving ate it up once they got passed the name.
Lately, I've been superlathering with two creams. Rose and Violet is excellent. So is Lavender and Violet. GFT Violet smells like cardboard so it was going to waste. Mixed with other stuff, it's awesome!
only two I've tried so far is Proraso (CO Bigelow) + C&E Nomad, and Proraso + TSD Gucci pour Homme both worked just fine, but no better than the soaps or cream alone, I guess the lather built up quickly...but it wasn't any more moisturizing than normal I still find the soaps and creams to be vastly inferior to Zirh and AL's gels. I want to try Jack Black and Lab Series' creams though.
If you find english creams to be inferior to zirh and AL products, you much not be making much of a lather. Nothing compares to the thick margarine like moisture packed creams and soaps of the wet shaving world. I've got both AL and Zirh creams/gels. I wont even shave with the gels (ick! Gunk!!!). The AL cream is the closest thing IMHO that even comes close to decent. I used it exclusively when using a multiblade. No need to ever look at it again though.
The lather I make is just fine using a BBB brush. The Gels hydrate my skin and protect it much better than the soaps ever do. Even if I use what seems like too much water with the C&E soap, it dries up on my face in no time. Really the only advantage of using these soaps is the scent. I'd be happy to take pictures of my lather to show you there's nothing wrong with it, they just don't perform as well for me as the gels, simple as that. edit: A lot of times I'll start with the soaps, using them for the with the grain passes. But when it gets down to it and I need to go against the grain in places, the soaps just don't hydrate and lubricate like the gels do. I can keep my face drenched with water, apply the soap lather, and it isn't nearly as comfortable going against the grain as it would be if I had just slathered a little gel on that spot. I'm not going to give up on it, because you could very well be right. But I don't see how I could possibly make my lather any better. I've tried it in a bowl, on my face, and in my hand, and I find the differences there to be minimal. The only thing I found out was if I tried to create a lather on my face, it would be very thin...though I found it didn't need to be thick for it to work well. I've followed the stickied threads here and the youtube tutorials. My lather is just as thick and creamy as in the pictures. As I said, the only soaps I have are TSD and C&E (and Williams, but it was so garbage the week I used it I didn't bother anymore), so maybe I just haven't found the ones that work the best with my skin, but that's how its working so far. Now, I'm willing to concede this: the problem may be with my actual shaving technique and not the soaps themselves. The gels may just cover up my developing DE technique, while the soaps don't allow for it.
A good thick lather shouldnt dry up on your face. You may be using too much water. I've gone from bown bowl to face lathering. It took me a long while but I finally got down bowl lathering and than I took a 6 week trip back home to NY where the water is soft and plush and I just couldnt get the bowl lathering to work. So I put a dab on the brush and face lathered and it was even better than the normal bowl lather I used to get. Now I'm a face lather-er only and couldnt live without it. I usually load the brush with MWF and than put a dab of cream in the center and go for it on my face. Maybe you want to give that a try? If you load it with the C&E soap and put a dab of whatever cream makes you happy (I dont particuarly like proraso, and dont think it gives a great lather). The thick gel probably gives a lot of extra cushion and also makes it harder to get a BBS shave.
Why would too much water cause it to dry up? I'll try the dab of cream and face lather technique tomorrow. Also, in my experience your assertion about the extra cushion from the gel making it harder to get it BBS just isn't true as far as my face goes. It takes no more than one pass ATG and a little blade buffing in places because of the contours of my face to get it smoother than its ever been. I was actually amazed the other day at how there was no hair at all on my chin and jawline, where there's usually always a little bit of stubble no matter how many times I'd pass over it. maybe I should make another thread and make a pictorial walkthrough from creating the lather to the point where it dries up, because it almost never fails. now its not drying up all over, in fact it usually only does it in one spot on my neck and just under my lower lip.
If there is too much water there will be too many big bubbles, which will than evaporate and leave you with a thin dry lather. Its like a cappuccino. Go to starbucks and somebody who has no idea how to make a good drink will put a big metal pot under the steam wand, set it down, and wait untill it reaches the desired temperature. What you get is a bunch of huge bubbles and than a whole bunch of water. If you go to a nice coffee shop who knows what theyre doing you'll wind up with a more uniform drink of microfoam and steamed milk. If you get the lather right, it should be completely uniform with "microfoam". It will stay thick and moist for a long time. With the super lather, I'll usually shake my brush out 4 times (pretty dry) and than apply the soap and than cream and start to lather. Half way through I'll dip the tips of the brush into the sink and than continue to lather and moisten it all up. Think of how you can spray barbasol in your hands and rub it all over your face and have a really thick lather with peaks and all. It should behave like barbasol, but it will be a lot denser with peaks forming whenever you lift your brush. Good luck with trying it out.
