what am i doing wrong?

[rwebb1683]

my cream is not lathering the way i want, and seems to be drying out on my face it feels kind of gritty at times im sure im using to much water or not enough anyway im puzzled definitely the hardest part of shaving for me as i took to the razor pretty quick. having said all this the cream is still hundreds of times better than the can stuff i was using before i was awakened to the real deal.

thanks,
ronny

[Str8nSharp]

If it's drying on your face and has grit in it then you don't have enough water. When you make your lather don't think of Cool Whip topping, think of wet yogurt.

[niftyshaving]

my cream is not lathering the way i want, and seems to be drying out on my face it feels kind of gritty at times
....snip....

There are three things.
shave cream, water, air.

If you are not getting what you want experiment.
Add too little water, too much. Add water in one dump
or drip it in dribble by dribble.

For me using enough shave cream was an issue. Measure
the cream each time.

I like to add water, I soak the brush, shake it almost
dry and then start building my lather dribble by dribble.

If it is wet but drying on your face do some face lathering. The
odds are that the lather is thin and not full of air. I tend
to adjust my lather after trying it on my face. If it seems
thin I work the brush in a mug and keep reworking the lather
on my face: mug, face, mug, face,,,,, Since I know it drys this can improve a
thin watery lather after a bit. It also adds air and adding air can make
a thin lather overflow a mug with goodness. It can
help to borrow a 3 min sand egg timer and take a full three
min building a lather.

By all means practice... making a lather then washing it
down the drain will not give you a razor burn. Shaving with
a less than ideal shave prep can.

You are a shave cream user but there is nothing wrong in
practicing with a $1.50 puck of Williams or VDH soap will
teach a lot for a small price. Take an hour and a puck of
inexpensive soap and play. Too much this, too little that
hot, cold, more time less time, more soap less soap....
Start with too little water and drip by drip work more and
more water into the lather with a brush to the point that
the lather begins to slide down your elbow.

When you get to where you can get a lather from Williams
try adding a pea size bit of shave cream... to the puck of
Williams.