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Teach me to bowl lather

Hi all. I've been face lathering for about 4 months and must admit that I like it and have absolutely no problems getting great protective lather on my face. But, LBAD (Lather Bowl) kicked up for a brief moment and I purchased a Captain's Choice lather bowl.
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I think it is a nice addition to my shaving equipment, but for the life of me, I can't seem to get a decent lather when using it. I load my damp brush with plenty of soap and head to the bowl. I swirl around at varying rates of speed, with very little pressure on the bristles, add droplets of water as I go, and end up with a light airy lather that seems to not be capable of providing much protection as I shave. I've tried badger, boar and horse brushes and the only one that seems to have any hope of producing a thick and slick lather is the boar brush. I've tried the picture Omega cream, C.E. Bigelow cream, Stirling soap, Palmolive cream and some other soaps hanging around in my medicine cabinet.

Any tips? I don't want this nice bowl to only serve as a vessel to soak my brush before I face lather and as a nice way to clean the soap out after I shave.
 
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I always notice that when I bowl lather I really have to slow down to match the speed of what I would be doing while face lathering. Also, some pressure is ok. Think about how you splay a brush out on your face while lathering. Some guys use a plunger (up and down) motion, called pumping the brush. It helps out a lot.
 
Soap-Specific: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/21136

Cream-Specific: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...aving-cream-with-a-bowl?p=2125020#post2125020

Follow the Jim's tutorial and you should be golden. It has everything you need and it can easily be adapted to produce a great lather with cream.

From what I can gather, you might benefit from these small changes:

-Using a bit more product. I know, I know, you said you were. Might as well get it out of the way because everyone is going to say it :001_tongu 'Load it like you hate it' is a good way to put it. I start with a lightly damp brush (I squeeze out the majority of water) and usually do 4 laps of 30 (or around 120 swirls) adding a few drops of water every 30. This ensures a ton of product (far more than you might need), but hey... soap lasts forever. As for cream, use slightly more than an almond-sized amount.

-Using enough 'gusto' with your brush. I use medium/moderate pressure, not light. That being said, don't destroy your brush by pushing too hard. The goal is to get the lather deeply embedded in your brush to more or less match that of the lather in the bowl. You may want to lightly squeeze out the lather from inside your brush periodically while bowl lathering in order to make sure this process goes smoothly (at least in the beginning while you're learning). You can also use a light 'pumping' motion to facilitate this, as well.

-Using a drier brush. Squeeze out a bit more water than you're used to. I always reason that you can add more water easily, but adding more product takes more time and, in the case of soaps, is a bit more difficult. You can always add a tad bit more cream to 'rescue' a bad lather, though. Something to keep in mind.
 
Thanks Michael and emt88. Fortunately, I am trying to use up the last bit of Stirling Barbershop I am using for the Soap of The Month Club, so I can go make some practice lather.! Been using that puck since March 24.

Do I need more soap that I normally use for face lathering?
 
I think having more product just gives you a little more room for error. It's harder for me to judge a lather on sight than the feeling when face lathering. Another technique to try is the Marco method. Basically a really wet brush, not dripping, and more soap than usual. Works like a charm.
 
Thanks Michael and emt88. Fortunately, I am trying to use up the last bit of Stirling Barbershop I am using for the Soap of The Month Club, so I can go make some practice lather.! Been using that puck since March 24.

Do I need more soap that I normally use for face lathering?

FWIW, I mostly bowl lather so I can't be altogether certain. That being said, I do a 4-pass shave and easily wash down enough lather for another 2-3 passes. This is just my methodology: make more than you need... just in case. Having too much product is much better than an airy, non-protective, lacking lather that will enable you to cut yourself or have terrible burn.

For cream, slightly larger than an almond will be plenty. For soap, it's a bit more difficult. I mostly lather soaps, so I can give a bit more insight. If you don't load for a minute or two, you probably don't have enough product. I count swirls, just in case: 100-120 in bouts of 30. I've never had a problem with having enough product. Most literally, load it like you hate it.
 
I'm just not sure that all that effort is worth it to build a lather in a bowl when I can actually get a great lather right on my face. It is no problem using more product. That just makes more room in the medicine cabinet!
 
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