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Hi everyone,
I just started using proraso and was wondering if some people had some proven advice on building the perfect lather from this bad boy. I know there is alot of die hard fans out there of this product.....my lather comes out pretty decent, just wondering if anyone knows any Prorarso specific tricks that really make it burst. Thanks in advance guys.
Hey Hyena,
Good to hear from another Canadian!
Proraso is actually one of the easiest soaps to lather, especially due to its softness and easy to hit soap-water ratio. That's why it's perfect for lather newbs. If you are getting good lather from it already I'm not sure what else you're looking for. Proraso makes great lather, but it doesn't really "explode" like some other soaps and creams of higher quality.
That being said, what I do is soak my brush while I shower, then shake most (but not all) of the water from my brush. I then load the brush really well, so the brush tips are coated all over. Since I'm a bowl latherer I then start whipping the soap in my lather bowl, slowly adding water with my finger tips until I get my desired consistency. No real special tricks involved, I just rely on visual cues. Maybe try adding a little more water and see what happens. The two most common lathering mistakes are a) not loading the brush with enough product, and b) not using enough water. Just do some some experimenting and tell us how it worked out for you.
I find I make the best lather with my proraso by using a seperate bowl. I soak the brush and bowl in hot water while I shower. I put a couple (4) drops of glycerin in my bowl first, then get a little water out of the brush. I do the circular motions on the bowl of soap then transfer the brush to my lather bowl and start whipping.
At first it is a little watery, but after a few more seconds whipping, I add even another touch of water on my brush and continue whipping.
What I end up with is a massive amount of warm lather that lasts for at least 2 passes, sometimes 3 if I need it to.
I even use a very soft silver tip brush. I can't hardly keep this stuff from lathering well using the technique I described. It doesn't hurt to have a monster lather bowl to work with either.
I used to just use the proraso bowl to soap the brush, then take it straight to my face, and it still performed perfectly, made great lather on the face straight from the soap bowl.
Like Ryan said, experiment a little more, and you'll find that perfect blend you just love!!!
Good luck,
M
Thanks for the input guys......I know this topic has been touched on recently in other threads but is it the general rule of thumb that boar brushes make it easier to produce good lathers from soap versus badger or does this just fall into personal preference?
Anyone with a Neil Young quote and picture is a friend of mine, Thanks Ryan
I'm not convinced that it's a rule.... certainly some guys feel that way. I use badger myself, and haven't had any problems at all, though some report that really soft silver tip brushes aren't that great with hard soaps.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyena
I think, if anything, the "boar is better for soap" rule is geared more towards hard triple milled soaps rather than soft soaps like Cella or Proraso. But in the end, yes, it does fall into personal preference.
I use the cream by CO Bigelow. Great stuff. My method is a dollop in the hand, palm lather to get it started. Apply the palm product to face manually then add water to the brush and then face lather. The lather just explodes from there. Although that's the cream and not the soap you're speaking of. I haven't tried the soap yet. But as Ryan82 said, gotta add enough water. Good Luck.
You can also use it to enhance ordinary shave soaps.
A puck of Williams in the bottom of a bowl or shallow
coffee mug plays well with a pea size bit of Proraso.
A $1.75 puck or two of williams will make a $9.00 tube of
Proraso last three times as long when used together.
Proraso like many soaps peaks with an specific amount
of water. If you dribble the water bit by bit and
keep working the brush the amount of water it will
take is astounding yet the lather still holds up.
Thanks for the input guys
My personal preference in the Proraso world is the soap rather than the cream. The cream was great when I was DE shaving only, but the soap has that extra layer of cushion that makes learning to use a straight much less painful.
It's dead easy to lather: I soak my badger in hot water while I shower, shake off the excess, swirl and swirl, and lather on face. Don't be shy to go back to the soap and reload. If your lather is thin, your shave is useless.
I don't know why some people on forums are gung-ho about using the smallest amount of soap/cream to make the biggest amount of lather. You end up with a big fluffy pillow that's full of air and no protection.
I got some proraso about 2 months ago and have been using it during the summer heat. What a refreshing way to start the day! About 3 weeks ago I was watching a guy make lather on a video, can't remeber which one. But he said when you think you have enough water add some more, if the soap doesn't rinse off of your blade easily you don't have enough water. After taking that advice my shaves have been fantastic due to the extra water content in the lather! BBS all the time. I also use the pre/post cream and it helps too. Just can't say enough good stuff about these two products. Oh yeah, I use the soap.
I have mixed it with some shaving soap for a rich lubricating lather. Just be careful in the water amount, you don't want it too dry or wet. Experiment and also I found that whipping it fast with the brush produces an excellent lather.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyena
It's basically a matter of what works good for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyena
Good point mboschm, everyone is different and the nice thing about this forum is the fact that folks share knowledge, tips, and techniques to help build a foundation of straight razor techniques that will create an unique technique to the individual. Another benefit is that since a lot of members are quite honest about their mistakes, we all can learn from them.Quote:
Originally Posted by mboschm
Yes, yes, yes....Quote:
Originally Posted by MHV
Make the lather exactly the way YOU want it.
Try it thin, hot, cold, thick, wet, dry.... make it
in a mug, in a cup, on your face... all the ways you want
and shave test on your face.
I like mixing the Proraso with SRD Essential Oils shaving soap and I'll mix Proraso with VDH for some really great lathers! Great razor glide and some really smooth shaves!Quote:
Originally Posted by niftyshaving
I bought a tube to take on vacation and tried it tonight. Wow! From the experience, I don't think I'll be whipping up cakes of shaving soap any longer. It was awesome. Thumbs up.
Cheers for the post, I thought there was something wrong when room temp tap water wouldn't wash the lather/hairs off my blade! Half sliced my finger trying to clean it off. So simple a solutionQuote:
Originally Posted by JoeSomebody
I am having an issue keeping the lather warm for my clients. I am attempting to switch from a hot lather machine to brush and bowl and my lather gets cold very fast.
Here is my process:
1. Make lather and apply to face
2. Hot towel over the lather to prep for the shave
3. Reapply lather and begin the shave.
by the time I go to reapply the lather is cold. Is this just something I have to deal with or is there a better way that someone knows so that I'm not slapping cold lather on clients heads/faces?
I find the Proraso soaps to be very easy to lather.
I just wet the brush, load up, and onto the face it goes.
I was just at Shoppers, grabbed the last 6 boxes of the Proraso's Red, the sandalwood and shea butter, haven't tried it yet, but it smells great.
I've tried Derby citrus (was ok), Williams, for a $1.50 it works, Col Conk's line (nice, like the glycerin), just ordered MWF to give that a try.
But I really like the Proraso, it's cheap, I like the results, can't wait to try the red proraso later today...
But in str8 shaving, am always willing to try something different and new, and if I see a new soap come my way, I'll give it a try...
If you want to keep the lather warm you will want to invest in a scuttle for building your latherQuote:
Originally Posted by Barber2012
Wow - just shaved with the Proraso Red, incredible!
The scent is amazing, the lather rich, feeling on skin awesome. For $8.50, that's a pretty hard to beat price vs. performance.
Really impressed with it.
And next shave, I'll break out my old UK Scuttle, and give the tube of Proraso blue a try.
Going to be interesting, I don't have any experience with the higher end soaps, so when my order for MWF arrives it will be interesting to compare.
But so far, out of the Proraso soaps, the red with sandalwood and shea butter was awesome!