Trouble whipping up Taylor's Sandalwood.

So I've been using a brush for shaving for well over a year now. Approaching two years actually. Have used VDH, AoS cream, L'Occitane soap. Not a newbie when it comes to mixing lather. I bought this Taylor's from westcoastshaving.com and was given samples of shave shop, GFT, GFT Violet and i think Taylor's Lavender.

For some reason I can't get the Taylor's to whip up that well. I thought it was technique after my first attempt where I made a thin, flimsy lather. I tried the GFT cream to check. Nope, whipped right up with abundant thick lather. Ended up shaving with it as I had to work. Tried the sandalwood again using much more cream than I ever thought necessary. Got a respectable lather that thinned to fizz when applied to my cheeks.

I'm using a Vulfix 2234S that soaks in my sink while I shower. I ring it out a good bit leaving some moisture. I scoop a fingertip full (when not trying to be excessive) of cream. I bowl lather in a $2 sundae dish I purchased at wally world. Although, I did try to face lather with a similar result.

My brush is new, purchased in the same order as the Taylor's and samples. Only other tidbit I have is maybe my location. I live in a rural area. 500 dairy cows acrossed the street in the middle of a 100 acre corn field. Water here is notoriously high in nitrates. Had some trouble lathering AoS but worked it out. Did't perform as well as at my friend's with the salt softener he has there but it worked...

Might be worth trying some bottled water, to rule that out of the equation. I use bottled water for lathering by default, we avoid drinking the stuff that comes out of the taps, So I have a bottled water dispenser that has both a hot and a cold source, the hot is good for really hot lather.

Grocery store brand just as good or do I need the fancy stuff?

taylors gives me fits too. what works for me is to load the brush and then scrape it off in your bowl and load it again and scrape it again then add water to the cake and load it once more add water slowly . mostly it just sits in my shave shelf. with so many good soaps out there taylors isnt worth the hassle. woops i now see you have the creame not the soap ..try useing more product hope this helps

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Originally Posted by RonPopeil

Grocery store brand just as good or do I need the fancy stuff?

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Just the cheap stuff, as a one off experiment to see if the nitrates in your normal water supply are the cause of the problem.

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Originally Posted by easyace

Just the cheap stuff, as a one off experiment to see if the nitrates in your normal water supply are the cause of the problem.

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did the bottled water experiment today. no dice. i did, however, figure this bugger out. before posting this thread i was reading other forums talking about how you need to stir taylors in the pot sometimes. the posts were dated 2007-2009 so I'd figured whatever quality control issue was present was probably not there anymore and disregarded. appears to be the mistake.

it would seem that taylor's soaps, with their high concentration of glycerine (oils/fats mixed with water), ends up settling at the bottom of the tub. after reaching in and mixing it up i noticed the stuff I was pulling from the bottom was very wet/oily looking compared to the top. tried that stuff with the bottled water and I got a great shave. tried making a lather with it on the house water and that came out about as well.

Are you using the TOBS soap or cream? I have to ask because in one post you say you used a "fingertip full" but in another you mentioned "Taylor's soaps".....

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

Are you using the TOBS soap or cream? I have to ask because in one post you say you used a "fingertip full" but in another you mentioned "Taylor's soaps".....

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my bad, i'm used to soaps. I'm using the cream.

Good to know, especially for technique's sake :)

I find Taylor's products to be less thirsty than other brands. From your description I`d say you may be using too much water, creating a thin lather. You can try face lathering, or bowl lathering, it`s up to you. Try adding very little water at first and then apply to your face. It should be fairly thick to begin with. Very slowly, add water until you reach your desired consistency. As always it's easier to add water then to take it away.

Failing that, I'd go back to the water quality issue. If cutting back on the hydration doesn't work on its own, try it with bottle water (just to rule out the variables). And if that doesn't work..... it's just not the cream for you.