Hi all,

Currently I'm predominantly a DE shaver more than a straight shaver but I'm told the pre- and post-shave aspects are the same for both methods of wetshaving.

Problem #1
When I lather my whole face like how geofatboy does it on YouTube, the lather dries up very quickly (it will start to flake at about 2 minutes). I am confident I have got the right consistency of whipped cream.

My questions are:
Am I taking an abnormally long time for 1 pass?
Am I meant to lather the whole face?
Am I missing something in my pre-shave preparation?

Problem #2
When I only lather my face part-by-part, as I shave each section, to get around Problem #1 (of lather drying out too quickly), the lather in my lathering bowl starts to bubble up after a while.

My questions are:
Is the brush putting transferring moisture from the water on my face to the lathering bowl?
Is the lather just bubbling up (and getting thinner) because of the moisture in the air?


Would appreciate any professional opinions regarding these problems, and if they are indeed unusual or common rookie mistakes.
Here are details of my circumstances.

Razor: Merkur Futur DE Razor
Shaving Cream: TOBS Jermyn Street Collection "Shaving Cream for Sensitive Men"
Pre-shave: A shower (Nivea for Men face scrub)