Thread: Lathering up certain creams

have you tried a snurdle?? seems to be all the rage.

CF depending on the scent can be a true cream or a hard, almost soap like. Either way it takes very little of the stuff to make a huge amount of lather. For the true cream a pea sized dollup creates enough lather for 5 shaves and the other type tkes a few light swirls. It's one of the easiest preps to make lather out of.

When lathering Castle Forbes I will smear a snurdles worth on the bottom of my lather bowl, too. If you don't you'll end up chasing that little dollop of cream around the bowl with your brush. For comparisons sake think of cracking an egg and trying to pick out a tiny piece of egg shell out of the raw contents.

And as other members have noted, CF likes water. So when you think you've added enough water then add some more.

Could age have something to do with creams that don't lather very well? I bought some Truefitt & Hill Sandalwood cream in a tube, and found that it lathered ok, but just didn't seem to have any umph. I bought it from a place where I could imagine this tube not being part of it's high-turnover stock. I had to reach way in the back of a crowded, not very well organized shelf (not that I have any beef with the shop -- I think they're great.). I bought another tube of Taylor of Old Bond Street sandalwood. This was in an area that was right up front, and more prominently displayed. This stuff worked perfectly, with little effort, just like many of you experts described, and just like one sees in many of the demonstration videos. I suspect my tube of Truefitt & Hill is just old, and has lost something -- the effect being a mediocre lather.

I'm a novice, and could be wrong. Just thought I'd throw this out there.

Cheers,

Jack

Originally Posted by jackslimpson

Could age have something to do with creams that don't lather very well?

Technically, creams (and soaps as well) have an expiry date. If you look on your jar or tube there should be a small picture of a jar w/ open lid, and a listed number of months - usually 12m.

The jury is still out whether or not these products actually expire, but that could probably be discussed in a separate thread.

I think I noticed that someone else touched upon this, but if you've got a hard cream there's nothing wrong with loading directly from the tub with your brush (just like it was a soap), and then building the lather in a bowl or on your face afterwards.

You'll need to experiment with how much water you need in your brush, but you don't need to worry about undissolved particles of soap in the bottom of your bowl.

Originally Posted by tlittle

I think I noticed that someone else touched upon this, but if you've got a hard cream there's nothing wrong with loading directly from the tub with your brush (just like it was a soap), and then building the lather in a bowl or on your face afterwards.

You'll need to experiment with how much water you need in your brush, but you don't need to worry about undissolved particles of soap in the bottom of your bowl.

I enjoy my Castle Forbes creams (Cedarwood and Sandalwood and Lime), and yes, they're "stiffer" -- even more than the Cyril R. Salter products (which I love). I'm a "face latherer", and have always twirled my brushes a few times in the cream container, to transfer the product. It might be that your brush is overly soft -- mine are short-loft and "scritchy" (a couple of Rooney 1/1 in Super and Finest, and a Plisson pure black #22).

Good point about the water. Don't be afraid to add more, a bit at a time; if your lather gets too thin, another swirl -- perhaps a twirl -- in the cream container will thicken it up.

Smooth shaving!