FACE vs BOWL

Hello there B&Bers.

So, I have been "wetshaving" for the past week now. I don't know if my water is "hard" or "soft" but i live in northern NJ so I assume the latter. In any case, when I started I thought the idea of lathering in a bowl sounded fun, as if you were cooking something up. So when I first got my supplies I got a cheap bowl from K-Mart, a medium-length boar (a Samogue 830) and original Tabac Shaving Soap.

As I used a brush for the first time, the first thing I noticed is that it wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be. I used the method described in the B&B wiki (i.e. soak brush and wet soap for 15 mins, squeeze and rinse brush, load brush, and then lather in bowl). Loading was easy enough. The problem came when I got to the bowl. At first it felt like it was taking a long time to make lather. My arm even got a little tired. Then I noticed when I did get lather it was only enough for 1 pass. So, the next time I added a wee bit more water to make more lather but the consistency was too loose and I could see my skin under the lather. This happened for my first 2 shaving experiences.

A few days later I was reading quite a few posts where people were mentioning the "Marco method" and decided to look into it. This one, as you all know, involved a very wet brush and face lathering. I decided to give it a go and BOOM! It was quicker, I got a more creamy consistency and was able to make multiple passes with it. couldn't see my skin anymore. This leads me to the following question: What do you think is most likely to account for this difference in experience?

On the one hand, I admit that my Tabac is probably a little softer now than when I first got it. I am also sure that my brush is softening up with time but I couldn't tell an appreciative difference from my last shave (when I first got it I did the thing where you leave lather on it overnight and it has been pretty much the same since then). Although these variables may have played a part I feel the difference was too significant from my 2nd shave to my 3rd for these to be the only reasons.

Is face-lathering just inherently quicker (since you're essentially skipping a step)?
Do any of you feel like face lathering is easier than bowl lathering?
Do you think the Marco method uses a lot more soap? It seems like it might do.
Does face-lathering make a scuttle less practical (since you won't be able to warm your first lather)?

I apologize if this topic has been spoken about ad naseum but I am genuinely curious. I know everyone has their preferences but I wanted insight as to whether my experience was a one-off or if there was something inherently different about the two methods.

I think your brush is starting to break in. A new boar does not perform very well and holds little lather - that's why I hand lather 5 times with a new boar and discard those...

I think it's easier to dial in a soap in a bowl when you're new to the soap, or a brush. Easier to dial in a soap as a new shaver too. That said, I face lather exclusively now. But I agree, part of is your brush breaking in too I think.

Do do what works for you, and what you like. You're the one shaving.

Depends on the brush, soap, or cream.

Face lather. Much easier and more fun.

I got an omega 10066 when I first started using a brush. I thought I would like face lathering but I just couldn't get the lather dialed in. I started bowl lathering and kinda adopted my own method (i was in the restaurant industry for a little more than a decade and I used to make a lot of whipped cream) and it worked great. I could really control the lather and water content and my shaves improved a ton. Well I bought a Whipped Dog 24mm badger brush and I felt like my method was too harsh on the brush so I tried face lathering with it. Since I had learned more about water content and soap consistency I now get my best lather from face lathering with my badger brush. Now I bowl lather with my boar and face lather with my badger. Sounds a little backwards I'm sure but it works best for me.

There were a few things that changed your results; 1. As stated before, Boars have a break-in period to soften the tips, and open the knot so it can hold more lather. 2. You probably loaded more soap using Marcos Method, which would probably work for bowl lathering, than you had when bowl lathering. 3. Even building only two lathers, you improved your skill using the brush.

Whatever happened, just enjoy it, and try to be consistent regardless of your approach... it's not how a lather looks, but how comfortable a shave you get with it that really matters.

BTW, that's an excellent first soap to use, lathers great by face or bowl... it also loves water!
I face-lather 98.88% of the time.

I bowl lather. I think it gives me more control over the lather, and more consistent results. And, for me, too much bush action on the face can cause irritation.

Face lather, by far

Vintage Modern said:

I bowl lather. I think it gives me more control over the lather, and more consistent results. And, for me, too much bush action on the face can cause irritation.

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You can quickly control consistency of lather by adding water or product more easily by face lathering. Irritation by brush action on face? Absolutely not. Two thirds of B&B members face lather.

gus1942 said:

Face lather, by far

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+1

jez foster said:

i used to bowl lather, i liked the ritual of it, whipping up a nice thick cream, but, alas, i used to make some pretty rubbish lather and waste a fair bit of soap too. Now i face lather and it's just soooo much easier!, and my lather is great and does what its meant to do.
if you soak your brush in fairly hot water before lathering it keeps the lather pretty warm.

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unfortunately, my sink water doesn't get hot. It's lukewarm at best.

gus1942 said:

You can quickly control consistency of lather by adding water or product more easily by face lathering. Irritation by brush action on face? Absolutely not. Two thirds of B&B members face lather.

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perhaps, that depends on your brush (e.g. stiff boar vs a silvertip)? Also, some people have very sensitive skin. I could totally see how bristles from a stiff brush would irritate some people's skin given enough facetime

mftoms59 said:

There were a few things that changed your results; 1. As stated before, Boars have a break-in period to soften the tips, and open the knot so it can hold more lather. 2. You probably loaded more soap using Marcos Method, which would probably work for bowl lathering, than you had when bowl lathering. 3. Even building only two lathers, you improved your skill using the brush.

Whatever happened, just enjoy it, and try to be consistent regardless of your approach... it's not how a lather looks, but how comfortable a shave you get with it that really matters.

BTW, that's an excellent first soap to use, lathers great by face or bowl... it also loves water!
I face-lather 98.88% of the time.

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I take what your saying on board. I'll try the first part of Marco's method with a bowl next time and see if I get the same result (i.e. quantity & consistency of lather). It may be that just using a wetter brush loads more soap and thereby increases the creaminess/number of passes. I'll post back with the results.

Obviously everyone has there own experiences but it seems like mine is certainly not unique. Some people certainly seem to think face lathering is easier and quicker.

I've recently moved over to a DE razor but have been wet shaving for 30something years. About 15 years ago i dumped the aerosols and got my self the first of many Wilkinson Sword brushes and Palmolive sticks and creams. This was a bigger step than the recent one from cartridges to DE blades which has been seamless. I have only just started using a bowl after 15 years of face lathering, and while the bowl is fun and makes it more ritualistic it seems like a bit of a waste of time too. By lathering on the face i'm already carrying out a crucial part of the prep from the very start. I have been wet shaved hundreds of times in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and all the barbers have lathered on the face, usually by applying an almond sized squirt of cream on my chin and taking the brush to it.
Having said that, i do like my bowl now, and i like to both face lather and wizz the brush around in the bowl too. It's easier to add water to a bowl than to your face as the water can upset the consistency of the lather on the face. It also means that if i wish to go to 3 or 4 passes there's always plenty left in the bowl. If i'm in a hurry i'll just face lather.

Try palm lathering.. just for the experience. It is very tactile, gives you a real sense of what the lathering process is doing , is fast and minimal hardware is involved. Just another way to do things

I bowl lathered for the first few months til I figured what good lather was supposed to b. It was easier to see and get the lather right in a bowl. But then once I learned that I went to the face and never looked back.

I prefer face lathering, but I do sometimes bowl lather just to keep in good practice, you never know when you might have to use an alternate method. As the Boy Scout motto says, "Be Prepared"

I almost exclusively face lather. I have no issue with bowl lathering or scuttle lathering. I just really enjoy the feel of the brush on my face.