Thread: Poraso difficulties - Need advice

I've been SR shaving daily for about 2 months. I get good lather with the SRD soap. It lubricates very nicely and stays wet the entire 30 minutes it takes me to get a really close shave (2 passes cheeks & upper lip, 4 passes chin & jaw, 6 passes neck) - but it tends to burn my skin a little even if I mix it with so much water it starts to become too thin to lubricate, so I got a tube of Poraso to see if it would work better for me.

I can't seem to get the Poraso to stay wet for more than 10-15 minutes. If I use more water, it gets very thin and doesn't lubricate. I've tired different water ratios about 8 shaves now, but no sucess. I'm starting to wonder if glycerin soaps just work better for really slow shavers like me... Has anyone else gotten Poraso to stay wet for longer than 10 minutes ?

Thanks.

Are you face lathering or bowl lathering ? If you're talking 10 minutes on the face I would say that if and when you pick up speed the problem will go away. If you are face lathering try the bowl. I get much better lather in a bowl than I ever did face lathering. YMMV. Also, I have rarely run into a soap that burned but from what I've read of other people's experiences it seems to me that glycerin based soaps are more likely to irritate than triple milled British types.

A few things:

I have never had problems lathering Proraso. In fact, I have read that Proraso lathers in salt water (very hard), not sure how good or bad your water is. The lather stays for a long time, I have definitely can make the lather last for over 10 minutes. The only problem I have with Proraso is that it tends to leave my skin feeling a bit tight, particularly in the winter time.

When I started out, my problems with commercial soaps were so severe that I started making my own. As I developed my formula I also acquired much better lathering skills and the problems went away. I tracked the problems down to dry lather. When I read comments like yours, my first reaction is to think of very dry lather. Usually when the lather is too dry, the concentration of chemicals is higher than intended and this results in many problems, like burning, etc. However, you have indicated that this is not the case.

I would just use an almond size dollop and start adding water to it progressively, 3 drops at the time, until I find the peak of the cream (the point were no more lather can be built). Initially, I would use a bowl because I think it is a lot easier to get the ratios right that way. Once you master the bowl, I would try face lathering, which is much better at prepping your beard. For consistency, I would shake or squeeze the brush prior to loading in the same way. After finding the peak, I would add a few drops (no more than 5) to hydrate the lather.

The high concentration of glycerin in glycerin-based soaps make them retain more water than other soaps and creams. In turn, this makes glycerin-based soaps less sensitive to changes in soapater ratios. In other words, they are the easiest to work with and ideal for new users. Unfortunately, this ease comes at the expense of performance as glycerin is not a soap and does not have ability to form lather although, it can modify lather. One thing that I know for sure is that Don uses very high rates of essential oils in his soaps. If your skin is sensitive, that may explain the burning. You could also be allergic to one or more of the ingredients, you may want to check with your dermatologist if the burning is severe.

I am sure that you have read the wiki and watched mantic's videos but if you have not, that may be something to try as well. I am sure that you with a bit of practice, you would get Proraso and other product to work for you. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

Al raz.

Originally Posted by JohnG10

I've been SR shaving daily for about 2 months. I get good lather with the SRD soap. It lubricates very nicely and stays wet the entire 30 minutes it takes me to get a really close shave (2 passes cheeks & upper lip, 4 passes chin & jaw, 6 passes neck) - but it tends to burn my skin a little even if I mix it with so much water it starts to become too thin to lubricate, so I got a tube of Poraso to see if it would work better for me.

I can't seem to get the Poraso to stay wet for more than 10-15 minutes. If I use more water, it gets very thin and doesn't lubricate. I've tired different water ratios about 8 shaves now, but no sucess. I'm starting to wonder if glycerin soaps just work better for really slow shavers like me... Has anyone else gotten Poraso to stay wet for longer than 10 minutes ?

Thanks.

IME Proraso is one of the easiest most user friendly soaps out there, but FWIW I've never tried the cream.

It could very likely be your water itself. But you also mention that you're a slow shaver. How long you are taking between relatherings? Because if you're talking about 10-15 minutes a pass I think you'll be hard pressed to find ANY soap/cream that would stay completely hydrated for that long with out a touchup from your brush. And there's nothing wrong with that either.

I use the Proraso cream 2-3 times a week, and have never had a problem, even with pretty hard water. You said when you add water, it gets too thin. I wonder if you are adding too much then? I find that if you can see streaks of foam in the bottom of the bowl, it's too dry, but I just add the tiniest dribble of water and give another whip. Repeat until you get lather at the bottom that looks smooth, but doesn't leave noticeable ridges.

I agree that you probably shouldn't expect lather to last 10 minutes without a refresh, however. That's a long time to expect a thin film of soapy water not to evaporate! There's no shame running the brush over your face every few minutes, and then you get another blast of your lather's scent.

Fred

Few random things to try:

1. Not sure if it's dry where you are, but if you're shaving in a bathroom, maybe you could steam it up a little with the shower or a pot of hot water to keep the air from being too dry. You may need to do something to keep the mirror from fogging, though.

2. Lather only one section of your face at a time. No harm in it, and as your shaving times improve, you probably won't need to anymore.

3. (NOTE: I suspect this may be the culprit.) Do you wash your face vigorously first? It's just a theory, but I think overly dry skin can also suck the water out of your lather. I used to have problems with lather drying on me until I started doing one or the other of the following:

a) don't wash your face first (or shower). In fact, don't wet it or do anything that removes the natural oils - just make sure you spread the lather around for at least 2-3 minutes to help soften the whiskers - it's really all you need for this purpose. This time spent lathering on your face will also let you adjust the lather to make sure it's the way you want it.

b) if you do wash or shower first, try applying pre-shave oil of some kind. I think this may act as a barrier.

4. Because it bears repeating, don't be afraid to pick up the brush and fix your lather during a pass if needed.

For what it's worth, I've never had issues with Proraso cream drying out on me - even when some other products did.

The first addition of water needs to be a very small amount.
Soak your brush then shake out the extra water.

Once Poraso begins building a lather it will hold a
bunch of water. But if you add it all in one big glug
it takes a lot of brush work for it to lather up.

It face lathers well for me.
Might try a pea size bit and rub it into your wet whiskers.
Then with a damp brush build a face lather adding
water to the brush then face in small dribbles.
Each small addition of water wakes up the eucalyptus
and menthol for me like six times of more.

I'm a newb. Joined in Feb, had my first full face shave on 3/20. I also had the same/similar issue you have with lather drying out on your face. I couldn't even complete my first WTG pass w/o the lather drying out. Here's what worked for me. Everything was done in steps.

Before trying a straight razor f/the first time, I was used to building lather on my face from a mug (Williams soap). Shaving w/a Sensor 3 always went quick so drying wasn't an issue. Williams on the face wouldn't last for my Str8 shave, though.

Bought some Proraso cream and tried building lather in a bowl instead of on my face. Same problem--dried out too quickly. Watched some videos on über lather and read posts related to lathering.

Experimented with warming my bowl in a sink of hot water. That helped a lot so I purchased a Dirty Bird scuttle (size 1.5) and set to work.

I fill the scuttle reservoir & bowl with hot tap water to warm the scuttle & I stand my brush in the bowl so it can soak in the hot water. Then I go through my face prep.

When ready to make lather, I squeeze out my brush and work some Williams soap into the bristles. I'm not trying to make lather with the Williams, I just want to get a whole lot of it worked into the bristles so it will mix with the Proraso.

I empty out the scuttle and refill the reservoir with hot tap water again. Then I add some glycerin to the scuttle bowl. One post in the Wiki said 3 - 5 drops. I found it worked better for me to use more than that. Experiment to find what works for you.

Then I squeeze some Proraso cream into the scuttle bowl. One post in the Wiki recommended an amount "the size of an almond." That didn't work well for me. In The Pastor's über lather video, he uses considerably more cream than "the size of an almond." More worked better for me, too.

So with the William's worked into my brush and the glycerin & Proraso in the warm scuttle bowl, I start swirling my brush in the bowl to mix the Proraso cream & glycerin & Williams soap together. I continue until I have a very dense lather built before adding any water.

IIRC, one post suggested you might need to add up to a tablespoon of hot water as you build the lather. So out of curiosity I measured. I started adding hot water, a 1/2 teaspoon at a time with lots of swirling in between. 2.5 - 3 teaspoons of hot water provided me with an excellent lather that simply would not dry out.

I lather up & strop then I lather a bit more. First pass & then I rinse & lather again. Second pass & I rinse & lather for a third pass. Then I rinse & lather for a fourth pass (mostly under the neck but I lather my whole face anyway). Then I rinse and lather a fifth time for a single pass with my Gillette Sensor 3. And there is *still* luscious lather in my brush for yet another pass if I needed it (and it takes me a gawd-awful long time to shave)!

I'll eventually cut back on the amount of Proraso I squeeze into my scuttle so I don't waste so much, but the point is by doing the above, I make a killer über lather that just won't quit! Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

And don't worry about needing to go out and buy a scuttle first. In his über lather video (in the Wiki), The Pastor uses what appears to be a home made scuttle: a cup within a larger cup.

Go for it!
Namaste,
Morty -_-

Originally Posted by JohnG10

I've been SR shaving daily for about 2 months. I get good lather with the SRD soap. It lubricates very nicely and stays wet the entire 30 minutes it takes me to get a really close shave (2 passes cheeks & upper lip, 4 passes chin & jaw, 6 passes neck) - but it tends to burn my skin a little even if I mix it with so much water it starts to become too thin to lubricate, so I got a tube of Poraso to see if it would work better for me.

I can't seem to get the Poraso to stay wet for more than 10-15 minutes. If I use more water, it gets very thin and doesn't lubricate. I've tired different water ratios about 8 shaves now, but no sucess. I'm starting to wonder if glycerin soaps just work better for really slow shavers like me... Has anyone else gotten Poraso to stay wet for longer than 10 minutes ?

Thanks.

Six passes on the neck seems like an awful lot of passes for a shave. I'd try different strokes and stretching techniques to eliminate that many passes.

What I usually do is cake the brush with soap and face lather. I then add droplets of water to the knot of the brush if the lather is too dry and then continue to face lather. After each pass I just cake more soap on the brush and face lather again. I don't get the whole whipping in a bowl thing, it seems like too much effort.

And I wouldn't consider yourself a slow shaver, but a new shaver, this shaving technique takes a good 6 months to get comfortable with so you can shave faster and easier.

Originally Posted by Disburden

Six passes on the neck seems like an awful lot of passes for a shave. I'd try different strokes and stretching techniques to eliminate that many passes.

I agree, 6 is way to many. If anyone has any ideas that might help me with the problem below, let me know.

Here's my problem: When I pass my hand over the stubble it's obvious the hairs grow sideways from left to right, points a little bit upward, and lies flat to the skin. So I stretch the skin to the left to get the hairs to stand up. Shaving the left side of the neck ATG works, since it's going from the center outward (diagonally), but shaving the right side ATG causes the razor to dig into the trachea no matter what I try.

I'm still working on finding a way to go ATG on the right side, but in the mean time, I do N-S, diagonally outward and downward, S-N, diagonally upward and toward the center, and in a sything motion with lots of swing around the pivot that causes a small part of the tip to travel close enough to straight across that it cuts some of the stubble ATG. If I repeat the sything pass twice, I usually get a close enough shave that the neck hairs don't start sticking into my shirt collar (shirt & tie job), until 2-3 pm (which is an improvement over the 10am they used to start sticking at before I started using a SR, but not quite good enough yet).