D.R. Harris Luxury Lather?

Hey guys, I've got a question for those of you who are familiar with this shaving cream. I have been using this for the last few months and enjoy the lather once it's made, but I cannot seem to get this stuff to thin up and break down into lather all the way. No matter how much I use or how long I lather, I always end up with chunks of it left over in the shave bowl. Any advice on using this stuff? I am using D.R. Harris Luxury Lather shaving cream in the 150g tub, lavender scent. I typically use a dime size amount and am whipping it in a stainless bowl with my "Super Badger". FYI, I have the same issue with my firmer "Pure Badger" brush. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jeremy-

Try letting it sit in a very small pool( a tablespoon?) of hot water to dissolve before you start trying to build the lather

Jeremy,

After you have added the 'dollop' of cream into your shaving bowl, make sure that your brush is fairly dry.

Add a couple of drops (no more) of water to the 'dollop', and start with the brush.

Hopefully you will see the soap starting to disperse. Add a few more drops of water, and continue this way, adding drops of water until all the 'dollop' has been worked into a stiff cream. After that continue to build your lather as you normally would.

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Even a chip of the hardest soap
or the toughest blob of cream
can become a puddle in a red-hot scuttle
and lather like a dream

Hello, Jeremy:

I have the lavender version of the D.R. Harris shave cream, in addition to other creams and soaps.

When using shaving cream, I place a dollop, about the size of the first joint in my forefinger, in my lather bowl. Then with one hand I gently squeeze the water from the brush, which has been soaking while I have been in the shower, followed by three or four gentle shakes of the brush. By now the brush is just moist.

Now I start making lather by swirling the brush and occasionally tamping it gently in the lather bowl, adding few drops of water at a time as I need to until I have created luxurious lather. This whole process takes three or four minutes. Then I spend a minute or so applying the rich lather onto my face.

My lather bowl is warmed on an electric coffee cup warmer, but I make sure my lather is just warm and not extremely hot. Extreme heat weakens the lather. If I understand you correctly, this method, which is similar to what the other gentlemen have suggested, should take care of your problem.

Regards,
Obie

Great advice so far guys. I have tried the wetter and drier approach with this particular cream with no win. I will try to add some more "heat" to the equation as well as work more at the process. I know some soaps or creams just take more work to get going so I'll just have to be patient and work some more with this stuff. If not, I will throw in the towel and gladly go back to my favorite, some C.O. Bigelow tube cream from good old Bath and Body Works.

Do you know if this is old stock? Is it really dark purple and the tub only looks half full? Where did you buy it from? There were some NOS tubs of this stuff that has been floating around, over time these tubs dry out. If it is try using it like a soap and swirl your wet brush over the top of the cream to load your brush. You can also try adding some water directly to the tub to try to rehydrate the cream.

I'm not sure about nos, I think I got it from Classic Shaving if I remember correctly. It was fairly full when opened but yes, I was even shocked at how "firm" it is for a cream even when first opened. It's nothing like a cream you would expect from a tube such as Proraso, consistency wise.?? Jeremy-

If it's that hard, just use it like a soap, use a fairly wet brush and swirl directly on the cream in the container till you see bubbles start to form then either face lather, or move to the bowl to generate the lather. It's not rocket science, but it does take a bit of trial by fire to figure out how wet your brush should be and how long to load your brush. Good luck.

Awesome, I will give that a try and see how she does. Thanks for the assistance. Jeremy-