I use proraso crop and Palmolive shaving stick. Both are great for beginners. As you can lather the proraso in a bowl and the Palmolive stick on your face.
Soaps: Van Der Hagen Deluxe, Proraso (any color), Arko Cream: Proraso/C.O. Bigelow, Body Shop Maca Root, Taylor Of Old Bond's Street
I too am new, and have found a couple of things that work fairly well. 1) Razo Rock Zi Pep- easy lather (tried face, and bowl and both worked fine). 2) Catie's Bubbles LPV (great lather, also easy- holds up well). All lathers I have done have been over a Proraso pre shave green application and light rinse off.
You can't go wrong with Proraso (White is my favourite) and Nivea Original Shaving Cream...they practically lather themselves.
+1 the Italian croaps. I'm a big fan of Cella, never had a problem, although some people have reported allergic reaction to it. One of the easiest creams to lather (and cheapest) in my experience is Palmolive. Regards, Chris
I agree that it is more about technique than the soap itself. Some soaps are a bit easier to load than others, or less water sensitive, but with the right technique you should be able to lather up almost any product (as long as it is not total crap).
Pretty much all the recommendations above; up here in Canada the easiest to access is Proraso cream or croap in Shoppers Drug marts, not sure about the states though. Cella is also good, as well as Razorock soaps, as they're at a lower price point. Catie's bubbles also lathers pretty easily, as does Shaver Heaven, although both of these will cost you a little more (although you get a lot of soap with CB).
I'm very new myself and I agree that Co Bigelow is a very easy to lather cream and I get great results with it
That was my first thought. Proraso is a great soap that is easy to lather and lasts a long time. Cool, but not freezing... C.O. Bigelow is made by Proraso and is available at Bath and Body Works. Great stuff.
St. James of London Cream. All of it smells amazing, It is most definitely the best performing cream for under $30. Also, it is beautifully packaged. Highly recommended
I'm surprised that you're attributing the lather quality to the brush. The Semogue 1305 is all I use ( except my knot fell out yesterday ) I give the brush one shake and can make enough lather for a three pass shave on a horse with most soaps, with the exception of Williams. As one poster eluded to; get a little aggressive when loading your brush. Happy to hear that you found something that works for you.
Any Proraso soap in the tub. My preference is Red or Green. Tabac is great all a round and easy to get top notch lather. Lastly, my new Razorock Mudder Focker is the easiest loading soap I have used. It actually surprised me how much soap loaded up into the bristles with hardly any effort. This makes lathering so much easier and should help get you started with developing your technique. Had I started with this soap, I probably would have had a couple fewer nicks early on!
Prep and technique,soak brush and bloom harder pucks and they will be ready when done with shower. Soft soaps no bloom needed but still soak brush,shake or squeeze excess water out of brush before loading. Dr. Jons is another good soft soap that lathers volumptuously.
