Last night I made my first attempts at making a lather. I recently bought a Boar brush and a puck of beer soap I bought from Dirty Deeds Soaps. I chose boar because I prefer the stiffer/scratchier textures on my face, though one day I will get a badger brush to compare. For now, I was plenty happy with the Boar.

So my first attempt was a complete bust. My second I got some lather, but it dried quickly. I was able to use it to shave and I got the best shave I've ever had with a cartridge razor. Less cutting on my face, significantly less razor burn. I still bled a little and I still had some sensitive "burned" areas on my neck. Huge improvement.

I made a third attept and got a much richer lather, but it still wasn't optimal. I believe I'm not using enough soap, coupled with too much water. This is something I know I'll get with practice.

But my question is, which is easier to work up a good lather, cream or soap? It took me a while to get the meager soap lathers I had, though I'm hoping with practice it gets quicker. It just seems that with soap lather there's a huge amount of variables. Is cream the more straightforward option? I'm just trying to decide what to try when this puck is gone...a different soap or a cream?