Thread: Something cheap, won't dry up like Proraso?

Hi everyone,

I've been shaving with Proraso, but it keeps drying up on me very fast. I'm looking for a new shaving cream (or soap, I'm disappointed with Mama Bear though, maybe it's a soap thing?) that is relatively cheap. My water is very hard, and I can't do a whole lot about it.

Proraso dries out very fast for me, and even before it dries out, it gets very sticky on my face pretty fast, and makes my razor skip. I feel like Proraso itself also dries out my face, not just dries out itself. Makes my skin real dry. Any ideas?

-Thanks.

I have a white tub of proraso (eucalyptus?) and it seems to do well enough. I've used the green tube maybe once in the past few months, so I am not of much use as far as a comparison goes. But, Honeybee soaps have always done well for me. It's been a while since I bought any, but I think I remember them to have been somewhat less expensive than others. Lately I find myself slathering on moisturizer right out of the shower and it seems to help against the hard water and dry winter weather.

I don't know if this applies to you, but I have learned something recently about lathering. I noticed that the shinier the lather is, the less likely it is to dry out. Sometimes I don't add enough water and I can tell that the lather looks kind of dull. So, I add water a little at a time until it looks wetter/glistens a little bit.

I've heard that using bottled or filtered water can make a difference.

Originally Posted by jcw122

Hi everyone,

I've been shaving with Proraso, but it keeps drying up on me very fast. I'm looking for a new shaving cream (or soap, I'm disappointed with Mama Bear though, maybe it's a soap thing?) that is relatively cheap. My water is very hard, and I can't do a whole lot about it.

Proraso dries out very fast for me, and even before it dries out, it gets very sticky on my face pretty fast, and makes my razor skip. I feel like Proraso itself also dries out my face, not just dries out itself. Makes my skin real dry. Any ideas?

-Thanks.

When you say "dries out", can you describe what you mean? Does it get all bubbly and thin so you can see skin through it, or does it start to get pasty and almost cracked looking, or what?

Your comment that your razor is skipping makes me think that you might actually have TOO MUCH water in it; I had a similar problem with a cream when I first started. Turns out, water can eat away at lather and turn it into an almost gluelike paste, if there's too much of it that isn't whisked into the lather.

Keep in mind, Proraso as a cream is fine for most people. You might find a product that you can get good results from with your water, but I think chances are that as Proraso and MamaBear go, so go the others. try adjusting the water rations and mixing time to see if you can get the lather to last longer.

I posted this in an extended version at another forum. I'll post a condensed version here.

Creams have a limited amount of water in them. They can be whipped without water, it will just disappear into your hand. That being said. You must strike the perfect balance of water to cream/soap. The perfect balance usually being a soaked brush, shaken till almost dry, then dipped into the warm water to wet the tips. Plunge this into a pea size amount of cream in a warmed bowl with about 1/2 or 1/4 teaspoon of water in the bottom. Whip until it comes together and looks like a cross between dish bubbles and whip cream. Very small bubbles, very smooth texture.

Harder water means that the balance will be harder to achieve but it can be done.


YMMV

Originally Posted by singlewedge

I posted this in an extended version at another forum. I'll post a condensed version here.

Creams have a limited amount of water in them. They can be whipped without water, it will just disappear into your hand. That being said. You must strike the perfect balance of water to cream/soap. The perfect balance usually being a soaked brush, shaken till almost dry, then dipped into the warm water to wet the tips. Plunge this into a pea size amount of cream in a warmed bowl with about 1/2 or 1/4 teaspoon of water in the bottom. Whip until it comes together and looks like a cross between dish bubbles and whip cream. Very small bubbles, very smooth texture.

Harder water means that the balance will be harder to achieve but it can be done.


YMMV

I guess I'll have to try that then, and see if my mix isn't good. Thanks!

Originally Posted by JimR

When you say "dries out", can you describe what you mean? Does it get all bubbly and thin so you can see skin through it, or does it start to get pasty and almost cracked looking, or what?

Your comment that your razor is skipping makes me think that you might actually have TOO MUCH water in it; I had a similar problem with a cream when I first started. Turns out, water can eat away at lather and turn it into an almost gluelike paste, if there's too much of it that isn't whisked into the lather.

Keep in mind, Proraso as a cream is fine for most people. You might find a product that you can get good results from with your water, but I think chances are that as Proraso and MamaBear go, so go the others. try adjusting the water rations and mixing time to see if you can get the lather to last longer.

It's a bubbly, and thin later than ends up being see through on my skin. It gets a bit pasty too but doesn't look cracked or solid.

Thanks for the ideas on the water ratios, I'll have to play around pre-shave a bit.

I've got really hard water and use Proraso Green. For me, it's tough to get the mixture just right, and really dries my skin - to the point of cracking and peeling at times (almost like the aftermath of a sunburn, without the burn).

Glen's Uberlather does the trick for me:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...tml#post208517

You might try it and see if it works for you. I use Williams soap and glycerin I found at the local drug store. I've tried making normal lather with just Proraso and with some Body Shop Cream (also a good quality SC), but I always end up with dry skin afterwards. My guess is it's the glycerin that does the trick, but I like the feel of the soap/cream mixture.


Cheers,
Tom

Originally Posted by TomPike

I've got really hard water and use Proraso Green. For me, it's tough to get the mixture just right, and really dries my skin - to the point of cracking and peeling at times (almost like the aftermath of a sunburn, without the burn).

Glen's Uberlather does the trick for me:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...tml#post208517

You might try it and see if it works for you. I use Williams soap and glycerin I found at the local drug store. I've tried making normal lather with just Proraso and with some Body Shop Cream (also a good quality SC), but I always end up with dry skin afterwards. My guess is it's the glycerin that does the trick, but I like the feel of the soap/cream mixture.


Cheers,
Tom

This is yet another problem: the skin too dry after the shave. I find that the C.O Bigelow/Proraso really dries my skin out, no matter what I do to it. When I travel and go to places where the water is hard, the problem worsens. I cannot stress the importance of using good quality products. If your face feels like a tuned drum after you shave, you have a problem. Your skin would be more prone to wrinkle prematurely. One thing that you may want to do to test the hardness of the water vs the "quality" (I use this term like this because many people use these products with no adverse results but everyone's skin is different) of the soap, try shaving using distiled or deionized water. If the problems persist, it is the skin/soap combination. If adding glycerin does the trick that is ok but there are so many products out there that you should be able to find one that works for you. I just developed my own soap formula to avoid the problems I was having and I am pretty happy with it. Chcke it out: http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...-homemade.html

Al raz.



Al raz.

I think I know exactly what the problem is and it probably has nothing to do with the soap/cream you are using. I think these soaps are ok but not stellar. I have managed to produce decent to good lather with C.O. Bigelow/Proraso. You can even improve the lather by combining it with glycerin and soap to form uberlather. I imagine that you have a dilution problem going on if it is not working right. Perhaps these links would help:

Illustrated Guide to Making Basic Soap Lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Illustrated Guide to making Überlather - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Illustrated quide to making basic cream lather in three different ways - Straight Razor Place Wiki

How do you know if you have hard water

If your lather dry out in your face, it could be indicative that the lather is not ready yet, same if it dries in your bowl. The lather should be thick but it should be wet. The key is to keep rubbing the brush against the bowl (see my post in the last link ) until you start getting large bubbles as you rub. At that point, you know you are done lathering for that amount ot soap. If you stop adding water before, you end up with a very thick lather that would have a tendency to dry out. A final tip to prevent lather from drying in your face is not to cover the whole face with it. I usually only apply the lather to the section of the face that I am going to shave. I do this not only to prevent the lather from drying but because I want to minimize exposure to the soap as my skin is VERY sensitive. Now, if the lather dries out in your bowl, I think you were far from getting the optimal lather; you may have had just suds.

Al raz.






http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...er-brands.html

You should give Palmolive a go the shave sticks are very cheap & can be whipped up on the face to give a good creamy lather.The Palmolive cream is good to.
Have you tried using a shave oil as a base before you apply the lather .This can help with dry skins & in hard water areas.Paul

I'm surprised you've had trouble with Mama Bear's soaps. Her soaps are fantastic IMO. It's likely that you weren't loading enough soap onto your brush.

Try this to create some good lather with her soap. First, start soaking your brush in warm water, and put a couple tsp of warm water on top of your soap while you are preparing everything else. Next, remove your brush from the water and squeeze and gently shake your brush dry and then try loading up by swirling, plunging and twisting around on the soap for 30 seconds. When you think you've loaded enough soap, go back at it for another 10-15 seconds and load even more. Then, take the brush straight to your face and start swirling it around. After you swirl a bit, dip your bristles in some warm water (not too much, maybe dip 1/8" deep), and go back to your face and swirl again. Repeat dipping your bristles and swirling on your face until you start to get some good lather forming, and it starts to glisten. Then, you're ready to go!

I have hard water too and this works for me. If you really want to see if hard water is your problem, though, you can purchase some distilled water at the grocery store, heat up a couple cups in the microwave (not too hot!!) and try soaking your brush and dipping your bristles in that to see if you notice a difference. Good luck!