Low Carbination

Does this result from simply not adding enough priming sugar or are there other factors that can lead to low carbination?

If you primed with something other than dextrose (corn sugar), then it's possible that there weren't enough fermentable sugars in there. I had this happen to me recently---I wanted to use DME to prime, and so I used laaglander brand DME...which (now I know) has a low fermentability ratio. Turned two batches into nearly-flat brew. Had to uncap, drop in carb tabs, recap. Suxxorz. So that could be it.

It's also possible that you didn't stir the priming sugar into the beer well enough during bottling...and that, while some of the bottles are undercarb'd, other might end up gushing.

It also might just be taking a long time. What happens when you pop the top? A loud hiss? Anything at all? How much carbonation is there? How long have they been in bottle?

I used corn sugar. There is a small his and the beer is lightly carbinated but unless you turn the bottle vertical while pouring into a pint glass you would get almost no head. Upon taste there is carbination in the beer but not what you would expect. I believe it has been a month since bottling and I am pretty sure that the sugar was mixed in well with the beer. I have had a problem with high fermintation temps but doesn't that often result in the opposite, an overcarbinated beer. Thanks for the help.

Shake up all the bottles. Put them in a warmer place (75f+) for another couple weeks.

What was your ABV?

How much corn sugar did you use?

head retention has a LOT to do with the body of the beer, certain adjuncts (like 'flaked' grains) as well as the way you wash your beer glasses. Dishwashers and most dish soaps have rinse agents which totally kill the head on any beers, even commercially made.

Some styles call for less carbonation (Scottish ales, bitters etc) so it could be appropriately carbonated. We need more information...

Last winter I had two batches that were not carbonating properly. I shook them gently and put them in a warmer room and left them an additional 2 weeks and had adequate carbonation.

The hardest part of homewrewing is waiting!

Another thing I discovered, make sure you get your priming sugar stirred into the beer. When you rack from the secondary to the bottling bucket, make sure your hose is long enough to lay in the bottom of the bottling bucket and point it in a counter clockwise direction (unless our in the southern hemisphere) and let the swirling action of the racked beer help incorporate the priming liquid. Then I will take a sanitized stainless steel spoon and gently stir the beer before bottling.