al's shaving cream.. is it possible to make bad lather?

i was finally able to purchase a few tubs of al's shaving creams.. i have to say.. they truly amaze me.. no matter what i do.. the stuff lathers perfectly.. it seems as if i can just add water forever and the lather never seems to get runny.. even if it does.. i just keep whipping and it stiffens up again into a perfect lather..

i'm reminded of my time in culinary school when it finally clicked and i started making perfectly whipped egg whites.. al's shaving creams are something out of this world..

so now i ask.. for the sake of experiment.. how can i make poor lather with this product?

Its not just the great lather either. Skin feels great and for me, well conditioned after use.

He makes a superb product. If your ever lucky enough to talk with him, youll learn more than you thought possible. His of true knowledge of the chemistry of why what works, and passion to make superior cream really shows in the end.

Oh yea, not gonna bite on how to make poor lather with it. Have too much fun with the good lather!

true.. the after effect on my face is amazing.. almost to the point where no aftershave is necessary...

for now.. i'm trying using as little product as possible and i'm still getting great results..

i'm facelathering with a wee scot.. i start with a wet face and smear about an 8th of a teaspoon on my chin.. so far it seems to be the perfect amount for a single pass.

as far as everything that al knows about soapmaking.. everything goes over my head about 4 sentences in.

sorry to sound as ignorant as i am but 'aL'S SOAP????
Not familiar

thanks for any info!!

tinkersd

Alraz is a member here .
His creams can be found at Al's Shaving Products

I have the sampler and a little bit goes a long long way.

Ihe only way I know of to create bad lather with the cream is to add something to it or not enough water, but I don't see any reason to do either.

I recently got a tub of custom scented Bomb shaving cream in a "new" formulation. It's even better on the moisturizing properties. My face feels great after I use it. I can't say enough good things about Al's products!

Al makes a very fine cream!
I currently have 4 of the scents, and love 'em all.
I also have the ASB in the same scents, and they perform wonderfully too.
My personal favorite scent is the Saigon.

Some great stuff. My favorite is to uberlather Calypso & SRD West Indies Bay. The Saigon is great mixed with Mama Bear's Gingergrass. You can't go wrong any way you use it IMO.

i have yet to try mixing it with anything.. seems like that would be overkill.. can you actually improve upon the lather you get with just the bomb?

Don't let this go to your head, but I respect your opinion and will follow up on this lead very soon.

Thanx.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vthomlinson

i was finally able to purchase a few tubs of al's shaving creams.. i have to say.. they truly amaze me.. no matter what i do.. the stuff lathers perfectly.. it seems as if i can just add water forever and the lather never seems to get runny.. even if it does.. i just keep whipping and it stiffens up again into a perfect lather..

i'm reminded of my time in culinary school when it finally clicked and i started making perfectly whipped egg whites.. al's shaving creams are something out of this world..

so now i ask.. for the sake of experiment.. how can i make poor lather with this product?

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To answer your question:
"Run out of it"

When you find something that works -- stick with it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vthomlinson

i have yet to try mixing it with anything.. seems like that would be overkill.. can you actually improve upon the lather you get with just the bomb?

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I wouldn't say improve upon, just personal preference. I like to use it both ways, but do prefer to uber... just different strokes. I like to play around with mixing the different scents too. Try it & see how you like it. I don't think you would ever be sorry however you use it.
Enjoy :beer1:

i purchased 4 tubs.. and at an 8th of a teaspoon per session.. i'm guessing either they or my liver will go bad before i'm done using them.

i truly love the fact i'm able to pack these creams with water.. i mean.. it is wetshaving afterall.

I've been using them since he started making them. I still have the original versions. The stuff lasts forever because you use so little. I have found that it reallllly likes a large scuttle. Al told me a long time ago to use a large bowl. I recently purchased a double scuttle off Julie at DB, and there is a difference, I get even more lathery goodness....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vthomlinson

i purchased 4 tubs..

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I see your 4 and raise you

http://straightrazors.me./str8pics/den/alsrack.jpg

The price of soap plus matching balm, still cost me less than many soaps on their own.

very impressive.. with all that goodness.. does the mwf ever get used?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vthomlinson

very impressive.. with all that goodness.. does the mwf ever get used?

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lol i rotate by the sleave, not the tub. I have 5 other soap racks too, like these, not to mention tube stuff.
http://straightrazors.me./str8pics/den/creamsmugs.jpg

to be honest with you.. with a wonderful scent like bodega.. my tobs almond will most likely be given away to my next convert.. it's a good cream.. but why drive your mercedes when you own a rolls?

Uber...
Mixed some Palermo with Mama Bear's Dragon's tears today. I actually finish lathering on my face. So, it gets even better :)

I just got my sampler of Al's in the mail today. The only downside?

I already shaved this morning! :cry:

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Originally Posted by Wortmanb

I just got my sampler of Al's in the mail today. The only downside?

I already shaved this morning! :cry:

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I find this amusing:rofl2: I am so impatient myself with new toys.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wortmanb

I just got my sampler of Al's in the mail today. The only downside?

I already shaved this morning! :cry:

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this happened to me one time when a new razor came in the mail.. i ended up shaving a giant patch on the top of my leg.. when i guy's gotta shave.. i guy's gotta shave.

Well, it must be possible, because the lather I was able to coax out of my first sample was less than stellar. It was on par with the lather I've been able to get from every other soap I've tried, but nothing amazing. I suspect a short-circuit between the floor and the brush is to blame.

Fortunately, I have many more samples, and several goes of each, to work out the technique properly. See, kids, science can be fun! :)

did you see this video?

YouTube - Al's Shaving Cream AKA Bomb Lathering Demo

I did. It's on Al's front page too.

My brush is really too short for my mug and I can't whip up lather without destroying my fingers. That said, I think my water-to-cream ratio was off. Plenty of samples to try again!

try shaking your brush fairly dry and adding just a few drops of water as you go a long..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wortmanb

Well, it must be possible, because the lather I was able to coax out of my first sample was less than stellar. It was on par with the lather I've been able to get from every other soap I've tried, but nothing amazing. I suspect a short-circuit between the floor and the brush is to blame.

Fortunately, I have many more samples, and several goes of each, to work out the technique properly. See, kids, science can be fun! :)

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You know, I had trouble with Al's stuff a while back. For me, a larger scuttle was the answer. I probably tried over 100 soaps and creams, and have maybe 75 on hand right now. Al's was always finicky for some reason. I've read the stellar reviews, but I really wasn't getting results like everyone else, which was aggravating. A few members offered help, and so did Al.

I can get good lather from Al's creams now, no problem, but I sure ain't throw'n away my Caraceni, Xpec, Truefitt and Hill, Castle Forbes, etc...Well, you get the picture.

If you haven't tried Caraceni, you haven't lived...That and Xpec are probably the two best shave creams around.

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Originally Posted by zib

If you haven't tried Caraceni, you haven't lived...That and Xpec are probably the two best shave creams around.

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Glad to see you're still diggin' the good stuff, Rich..... :D

Well I guess I'm going to need to go give AL's another try tomorrow. I was one of the few that struggled with this cream many months ago when first starting out. To be fair between my inexperience and extremely hard water most creams gave me trouble, I've since switch to a gallon jug of purified water to soak my brush in, $2 and I haven't even used half in 2 months, with much better results. Glad I saw this thread as it gives me a reason to try a cream they I never got the hang of the first tune around, hopefully with better results. The video was amazing, I was impressed by the lather's ability to hold up in the mug of water. Hopefully soon, I too will be gushing about how great it is!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wortmanb

I did. It's on Al's front page too.

My brush is really too short for my mug and I can't whip up lather without destroying my fingers. That said, I think my water-to-cream ratio was off. Plenty of samples to try again!

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Consider filling the bottom of your shallow mug
with a puck of Williams or just melt some common
glycerin face soap when it gets empty. If the puck
of Williams is too much grate it down a bit....

My favorite mug, like yours is too deep and this
works for me. Since my mug is wide I put some glycerin
soap in it warmed it up to melt in the microwave
and then pushed a puck of Williams into the molten
glycerin soap and let it all cool.

When it cooled I dropped in a puck of higher end mug
soap with just enough water to let them glue together
after drying.

Right now I have a puck of Cyril R Salter Shaving Soap
on top and am loving it.

that's a good idea..

I'm going to ask my wife to help me shoot a video this arvo and see if it turns up any mistakes in my technique.

The only advice this poor Noob is, ''Badger and Blade" look up their technique for whipping up great lather from a puck of shaving soap, worked wonders for me when I started out having the same kind of problems with the basics, still do from time to time, not my training any more, just those inevetible bad day's.

Keep up the good work, and always remember,

The Journeys the Thing, tinkersd.

I think I figured it out.

Tonight I took a glass bowl a bit larger than my usual SRD mug and gave it another go. I left more water in the bowl than I had intended and lo and behold, it started lathering that great dense stuff. I added a few sprinkles of water on two later occasions and ended up with a nice batch of lather, enough for three passes. With leftovers. :rock:

It really is amazing cream, and I can imagine it only gets better with practice and possibly even more water next time.

the thing with al's products is.. out of the box it doesn't have the consistency of a dense product.. but the more you whip and the more water you introduce.. it just explodes like an atom bomb!

I recently purchased the sample pack from Al's Shaving. Wow, what a lather!! I wasn't being aggressive with the brush at all during my first attempt and I still got a decent shave. I read some posts on building a lather, grabbed my brush with some intensity and forcefully generated way too much!

I was trying the Saigon scent, very nice and soothing. I am nothing but impressed so far with Al's. I used the mountain of left overs to wash my face after shaving and found it left my skin very hydrated. Thanks Al, great product.

i just found out knockout shaving cream...it uses al's as a base and they have their own scents.

coupon code KOnobuyjuly gets 13% discount too

http://www.knockoutshave.com/

seems to work best with internet explorer browser though