Thread: Colleen's Creams Problem

I only use creams. I am a big fan of Colleen's TGQ products. I have definately noticed that I need more cream, and less water with her products. I soak my brush while in the shower. I scoop the cream out with my finger. The dolop of cream usually covers from the tip of my finger to the first knuckle line. A little bigger than the standard almond size, but not out of control big. I shake my brush out almost completely dry. I then put about a teaspoon of water in my (Georgetown Pottery) scuttle, and lather up. Her creams are particularly sensative to the ammount of water. Too much water and the lather thins out fast, and does not last as long. I have also noticed that her creams hold moisture much longer than any other cream even though less water is needed to whip up the initial batch of lather. I am not sure what it is but her creams stay wet on my face almost twice as long as other creams, they also seem to last longer in my hot scuttle. With other creams usually by my final (third) clean up pass; I have to add a bit of water to refresh the lather.

Definitely more cream, less water. Agreed on the creams holding water longer than others--just about the only thing I don't have to add water to halfway through the shave. They do take a lot more whipping to froth them up than others (not like Taylor's which explodes without your even trying). A good brush is essential. (My Stephen's Woodworking makes the task easy!) The result is worth it, though.

One thing I've noticed is, when the cream is just about right, the lather will have a faint, almost mirror-like sheen to it. It will almost appear to reflect a little light. Not sure why this is, bu I use it as a test to see if I've got the water ratio right. When in doubt, use less. You can always add more, usually just a few drops at a time. Good luck with it.

I also have troubles making lather with the creams and the soaps. I tried to isolate the problem-bottled water, tap water, very hot, not so hot, lots of water, not much water. I can't seem to make it thick like I imagine it should be...either it's soupy or very dry. Every once/great while, I have a perfect batch--it seems when I use very little water, I get good, slick lather, but not enough to do more than one pass.