Alright, so I tried out the tube of Proraso cream I just received. I'm guess I'm a little underwhelmed. It took quite a while to lather, I was using a brand new Omega Boar though. Once I got it whipped up, as you will see in the picture below, it seemed fine. Applied to my face for first pass, that went on just fine. When it came time for pass number two though, it seemed to have lost ALL of it's body. When applied to the face it seemed really watery and didn't hold up well at all. I did make it through the second pass by re-whipping it up in the bowl for a while. For the third pass it was done. I switched over to TOBS Mr. Taylor for my last pass and face lathered that. Omega Boar handled the face lather like a champ. This is what it looked like before face application
I used Proraso exclusively for quite a while, and found that it was a much better performer when you face lathered. I also get a good shave with just one or two passes, though, so I never had to see if the lather would break down for a third pass. You also may want to consider popping just a bit less water in. For me, it seemed that this particular cream worked better when it was slightly more robust. Hope it helps!
Kind of hard to tell, but it looks like your lather is a bit foamy and when that happens to me it tells me a have used too much water and maybe whipped too hard. You want it to have a sheen to it and no foamy bubbles. The great thing about most soaps and creams is that they are cheap. Go ahead and make a few practice lathers and play with the amount of water you use. Start with a pretty dry brush and see what the lather looks like, then add a little bit and see, then keep adding water until you have added too much (you will know when that is). That way you have a good idea of what the lather looks like through all the stages. Then make another one using more of a wet brush and see if it gets you to where you want to be with your lather. I have been at this for about a year now and I still get home from and sometimes whip up a lather or two, just to practice or see what might work using different amounts of water. The Proraso is a good cream and you will get it whipped up like a champ with just a bit of practice. Good Luck!
From my experience Proraso can handle a good bit of water. Can you give any details about how much cream you used (almond size, pea size, etc), how long you spent building the lather in the bowl, and if you added any water as you went? Also, did you start with a wet unshaken brush or a drier brush?
Almond size, brush had a soak while I showered. When I was ready I shook it off 3 or 4 times. It was not dripping by any means. Spent a minute or two with clockwise swirling, no water added.
Do you know if your water is hard? My initial thought is a bit opposite of the replies above, I actually think you may not have enough water. It's all a ratio, and when I have lather that doesn't last it's usually too airy and not enough water. The ratio isn't just water & cream, there's also air in there. If you're whipping a lot of air into the mix you might need to either use more product, more water, or both. Or less whipping. Lots of variables and hopefully you'll enjoy the process of figuring it out.
Well, if you decide the Proraso cream is not for you, I will be glad to buy it from you. One of my favorite creams and soft soaps as you can see in my SoS of today post.
I've always had good luck lathering Proraso but I need to use a little more product than that, hard water.
I have never actually used Proraso Cream, but for me, with the soft soap, and hard water, I need to start with a brush that is quite dry, load it for longer than "normal" ie. More Product, and dip the tips of the brush in water a few times throughout the later building process.
just my opinion...but loose the boar brush...get yourself a nice badger brush and you should have no problems....proraso has never ever let me down...creams soaps what ever i love it all...hope this helps
Don't let Aaron hear you say that. Boar, badger - makes no difference. Just gotta learn to use what you have. I have no problems with either.
Actually my Omega boar I just bought does a fantastic job of lathering. I don't know why people hate on them at all. Probably does a better job on Proraso than with my EJ Pure Badger.
Alright, second time with Proraso. 100% better. Started with a soaked brush. Shook it til it wouldn't let any more water out. Started mixing, added a little water at a time and got it to perfect consistency. I loved the feeling and smell this time which seemed to be much more pronounced. Oh I also switched back to my pure badger brush. At least until I break the boar in a little more on the TOBS. Thanks again for excellent advice everybody.
