Good evening gentlemen (and ladies),
I have an observation on lathering technique I'd like to share with you. Up until now I have been a swirler, that is I used a circular motion in a bowl with more or less high edges and not too wide. A recent brush thread about the outer bristles of Simpson brushes breaking off because of all this swirling (or scrubbing on the face) got me thinking about a more brush-friendly alternative. Since I have experienced this bristle-breaking as well, I figured that a painting motion in the bowl should get the job done as well. I even remeber seeing a Trumper barber doing exactly this on the inner side of the sink. So I replaced my old bowl with a new, much wider one that has lower and very gently sloping and smooth sides(please forgive my crude English). Next step was lathering up some GFT coconut with the Polo 8 best for trial. So instead of swirling I now used a very light and fast back and forth stroke instead. Result: lather explosion. It was incredible! I only swirled one time when I added some extra water to get a more even result. Next experiment: do the same with my cheapo WS pure badger and some hard shaving soap. Result: once more lather explosion. I must say I'm very impressed with the results and I imagine my brushes will stay healthy for even a longer time.
I have an observation on lathering technique I'd like to share with you. Up until now I have been a swirler, that is I used a circular motion in a bowl with more or less high edges and not too wide. A recent brush thread about the outer bristles of Simpson brushes breaking off because of all this swirling (or scrubbing on the face) got me thinking about a more brush-friendly alternative. Since I have experienced this bristle-breaking as well, I figured that a painting motion in the bowl should get the job done as well. I even remeber seeing a Trumper barber doing exactly this on the inner side of the sink. So I replaced my old bowl with a new, much wider one that has lower and very gently sloping and smooth sides(please forgive my crude English). Next step was lathering up some GFT coconut with the Polo 8 best for trial. So instead of swirling I now used a very light and fast back and forth stroke instead. Result: lather explosion. It was incredible! I only swirled one time when I added some extra water to get a more even result. Next experiment: do the same with my cheapo WS pure badger and some hard shaving soap. Result: once more lather explosion. I must say I'm very impressed with the results and I imagine my brushes will stay healthy for even a longer time.