Proraso.... what am I doing wrong?
I've tried Proraso several times now... used it for a couple years with a multi-blade disposable by lathering it on my face with my fingers.... it worked well in that job.
Fast forward to straight razor use...
I find it dries way to fast and becomes "tacky" on the face.... obviously that's bad. Led to the most bloody shave I've ever experienced.
I've tried it four times total... same result every time.
I tried lathering with my fingers on my face.
I tried lathering with very wet hands/fingers on my face.
I tried lathering with a wet brush on my face.
I tried lathering with a brush in a mug...
Any of the above build a good lather... but even when I put just one cheeks worth of lather on the face... it's dried to a tacky consistancy before I can do the four strokes necessary to clear the cheek. (And no... I'm not that slow... a full shave with SRD soaps take less than 15 min for two passes) Also, the blade I'm using is sharp... it shaves fine with standard soap.
The only way I've found I can shave with it is to lather about a blade-width at a time.... so put it on and shave it off within seconds. Not acceptable to me for a cream to dry this quickly.... Help!
What am I missing or doing wrong with Proraso?
And Update... just finished another shave....
As an update...
Thanks for all the advice. I believe my prep is fine... I shave directly after a nice hot shower. (I take HOT showers... usually end up nice and pink from the heat.)
I made a lather that FINALLY lasted the entire shave with Proraso... it only took about twice the water necessary as to build the same lather from a cake soap. :rant:Not at all what I had expected from a cream product... I would have assumed cream products would require a bit less water for the same lather.
I did get a good clean shave, an entire pass was just about done before I had to relather the soulpatch area as it had started to dry there... so greatly improved.
I can see why Proraso is liked, but I'm not 100% that it's right for me... I'll give it a few more shaves before I decide.