I have been in this game for about 18 months. Spent the first 2-3 months trying new things and then broadly kept to the same routine. I face lather with soaps 99% of the time.
However, in the last couple of weeks, I have been trying a few new things and have been astounded at the initial results. So thought I would share:
1. USING ALL SOAP (PUCKS AND STICKS) AS SHAVE STICKS, i.e. rubbing the soap directly on the face rather than loading up your brush on a puck. It is not always easy to load up a brush for lots of reasons: very soft brushtips; very large brush that needs a lot of soap; hard water that needs a lot of soap; very hard soap; etc. Also, I think many people just don't load enough soap on the brush anyway. So what could be easier / quicker than rubbing the soap (in whatever form) directly on your face? Also, you can spend more time enjoying the benefit of your brush on your face
2. ADDING WATER TO THE BREECH OF THE BRUSH (thats the deep centre of the brush when you splay it open) RATHER THAN THE TIPS. When you face lather, many people just dip the tips of their brush directly into a bowl of water if they need to add more water to the lather mix they have on their face. If you add the water to the breech, however, it is absorbed much more gradually into the mix and makes the lather richer and wetter rather than just wetter
3. NOT RINSING YOUR FACE BETWEEN PASSES. I have always rinsed my face between passes (this is wet shaving right?). Well I have stopped doing this, and the quality of my lather is consistently better on subsequent passes (much much slicker and thicker). Its obvious really - the extra water just dilutes the lather. Again if you need more water in your mix, best to add in the breech of the brush where it will be infused in the lather more gradually rather than the tips
4. PUTTING LATHER ON YOUR FACE FOR THE LAST PASS WITH YOUR HANDS RATHER THAN THE BRUSH. If you squeeze the base of your brush from the bottom of the bristles up for the last pass, you will get all the richest lather hidden inside the brush. As its now in your hand, you can also spread it round your face with your hands. As well as feeling delightful, this enables you to feel the parts you need to touch up.
I am very interested to hear your comments on any of the above .. and hope it helps
However, in the last couple of weeks, I have been trying a few new things and have been astounded at the initial results. So thought I would share:
1. USING ALL SOAP (PUCKS AND STICKS) AS SHAVE STICKS, i.e. rubbing the soap directly on the face rather than loading up your brush on a puck. It is not always easy to load up a brush for lots of reasons: very soft brushtips; very large brush that needs a lot of soap; hard water that needs a lot of soap; very hard soap; etc. Also, I think many people just don't load enough soap on the brush anyway. So what could be easier / quicker than rubbing the soap (in whatever form) directly on your face? Also, you can spend more time enjoying the benefit of your brush on your face
2. ADDING WATER TO THE BREECH OF THE BRUSH (thats the deep centre of the brush when you splay it open) RATHER THAN THE TIPS. When you face lather, many people just dip the tips of their brush directly into a bowl of water if they need to add more water to the lather mix they have on their face. If you add the water to the breech, however, it is absorbed much more gradually into the mix and makes the lather richer and wetter rather than just wetter
3. NOT RINSING YOUR FACE BETWEEN PASSES. I have always rinsed my face between passes (this is wet shaving right?). Well I have stopped doing this, and the quality of my lather is consistently better on subsequent passes (much much slicker and thicker). Its obvious really - the extra water just dilutes the lather. Again if you need more water in your mix, best to add in the breech of the brush where it will be infused in the lather more gradually rather than the tips
4. PUTTING LATHER ON YOUR FACE FOR THE LAST PASS WITH YOUR HANDS RATHER THAN THE BRUSH. If you squeeze the base of your brush from the bottom of the bristles up for the last pass, you will get all the richest lather hidden inside the brush. As its now in your hand, you can also spread it round your face with your hands. As well as feeling delightful, this enables you to feel the parts you need to touch up.
I am very interested to hear your comments on any of the above .. and hope it helps
