What's with the face lathering snobs?

[MuhleShaver]

I used to bowl lather when I first started DE shaving a year ago, but then I tried face lathering and have not wanted to go back. It's definitely not a speed thing as I probably spend just as much time face lathering as I did bowl lathering, but it is easier to determine when the lather reaches that really good stage.

I'm not sure that I've seen the face lathering snobbery on B&B - if it's there it's probably more tongue in cheek. You should definitely try both and then use whichever method works best for you. Just watch out for those few that mention bowel lathering!

BTW - welcome to B&B!

 

[celestino]

Welcome!

 

[PMT]

I do both face and bowl lathering depending on the soap/cream, and mood!

 

[vespergo]

I started bowl lathering for years, but once I realized how much was going down the drain at the end of the shave, I decided to start trying out the face lathering. It took a bit before I was converted to it, but I find it enjoyable to build the lather on my face. Many things change over the journey so just enjoy it.

 

[aldomarino]

I find the quality of the resulting shave to be far superior via face-lathering with my $2 stick of Arko and a horsehair brush, and therefore look down my nose at all the peasants, of whom I see thousands and thousands on a daily basis with their $30 European croaps, and their Vulfixes and their Simpsons and their scuttles, madly spinning away frothing up a lather in a broken porcelain cup like so many laborers in the field...I mean, REALLY. Ghastly. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I approve of happy commoners. Of course.

 

[beowulf]

Yesterday I discovered that while I prefer bowl lathering when shaving with a DE, face lathering is far superior for shaving with a straight. I love learning new stuff.

 

[Temp81]

I choose to face lather only for the fact that you need to spend time working the lather into the beard anyway, so why add another step? Not that I care how long it takes to shave, just makes sense to me to lather where the lather is gonna end up anyway. I wouldn't say I am snobby about it, everyone can have whatever method they want, I pay it no mind really.

 

[ClintonP]

I haven't tried face lathering yet. I'll give it a try when I get a brush that is worth trying it with.

 

[BrianShaw]

I choose to face lather only for the fact that you need to spend time working the lather into the beard anyway, so why add another step? Not that I care how long it takes to shave, just makes sense to me to lather where the lather is gonna end up anyway. I wouldn't say I am snobby about it, everyone can have whatever method they want, I pay it no mind really.

ditto... but it may be that I am ignorant and know no better.

 

[MpMinNY]

I have commented on several posts regarding the advantages to face lathering, that I bowl later, because it is fun. I like the extra step. It is part of my ritual. No one ever came back and demeaned my comments. They simply didn't agree with the extra step.

That is why I like this crew. There are more opinions than ways to skin a cat. One of my favorites was the poster who strops DE blades. I would not even consider it, but was surprised to read through the responses on the hundred ways you can strop a DE blade.
Enjoy the different view points. Engage with your own thoughts and techniques and why you like it. I'm sure you'll come up with your own angle on something that we can all benefit from.

 

[S_Zoro]

If I use my synthetic brush then I have to bowl lather because it has no backbone. I enjoy bowl lathering more because I feel like I get a nicer lather. However I have face lathered and when you don't have time to break out the bowl or don't want to spend much time on the shave that morning or night, it is a nice change and once you get used to it, can be just as effecient as a bowl lather.

 

[jzuzphreek]

Snob!? I resemble that remark!!

Kidding. When I first started, I thought a lather HAD to be started in a bowl, because that's what I saw on tv. However, I've never once worked up a suitable lather in a bowl. When people here started suggesting face lathering, within a month of my entry into traditional wetshaving, I was an exclusive face latherer. It just works for me. Whenever I see a guy having issues with lather he's working up in a bowl, I suggest face lathering. Besides, it does wonders for prepping one's beard without the need for a half-hour of steam, conditioning, and scalding towels.

 

[etakmit]

Definitely a YMMV situation. While learning I started face lathering but found out I don't quite have a solid lather game down yet so I've switched to bowl lathering because it helps me make sure I have a solid lather going. I foresee myself alternating and probably grabbing a scuttle for the cold winter months!

 

[August West]

I tried all the different methods of lathering and found face lathering is the best solution for me.

I think we often confuse snobbery with tongue-in-cheek 'passion' and fraternal jesting.

 

[dpm802]

I bowl lathered for the first year and a half of my wet-shaving odyssey, and invested in several different bowls and mugs and scuttles to try and find the ultimate gear.

When I got my first good boar brush, a Semogue 1305, I tried face-lathering on a whim. Once I did, there was no turning back. I don't think that having a boar is synonymous with face-lathering, but the two events happened at the same time, merely by coincidence.

Now, the only bowl I still have in my den is my green VdH that came in their $10 kit ... I use it to soak my dentures overnight.

If I were to go back to bowl lathering, or even want to do it on rare occasions, the Fine lather bowl looks like a good choice.
https://www.fineaccoutrements.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=FLB

 

[Baconator]

I think most people believe that what they are doing is, at least on some level, superior to other methods...otherwise they would change their method to the "best" way. I have never done anything than face lather, and I enjoy it so much I don't think I'll change. At some point in my wet shaving journey, I am sure that I will give bowl lathering a try, just to see how it compares, and make sure the way I am working up my lather really is the best for me.

 

[dpm802]

We don't hear much about palm-lathering, either.

Another area that a lot of people turn up their noses at is brushless shaving. When I travel, I usually leave my brush at home. There isn't any soap or cream out there that can't be lathered up by hand. And sometimes, even at home, I do it without a brush if I'm in a hurry, or some days it just seems like the right way to go. Neither my razor nor my whiskers have ever complained about this method.

A lot of people are prejudiced against non-lathering creams like Burt's Bees and Cremo ... but these produce a fine shave with all the cushion and glide and slickness you can want, they just do it without the mountains of white foam we're used to seeing. The lack of lather with these products isn't a problem ... they don't lather because they're not supposed to.

 

[August West]

We don't hear much about palm-lathering, either.

Or palm shaving for that matter.

 

[MpMinNY]

Or palm shaving for that matter.

Did a lot of palm shaving when I was younger.

 

[AJ123]

I like both. One of my methods: I scrape some soap into a big mortar bowl and use that for days/weeks - lathering on top of the soap and in the "bowl."

Here's a picture of one of the few soaps that already comes in my ideal "bowl:" Boellis Panama 1924. But Generally, I have about a dozen mortar bowls and ceramic bowls with lids and I just push/scrape some soap into them and lather on the soap/in the bowl and then lather on the face. Yes face lathering too