bowls and soap?

scribble · Aug 26, 2015

I am learning everything I can before making the jump and have a question that I can't seem to find an answer to.

I see that most soap is in the form of a cylinder or disc and that it looks like it will fit in most mugs/bowls. The question is for using. To me it appears that you get the brush wet then swirl it around over the soap that is in the bowl until you have a good lather. Once done shaving is were I get confused as to what happens.
Do you just leave the soap and the remaining lather in the bowl, do you rinse it out and leave the soap in the bowl/mug?

TheDude82 · Aug 26, 2015

Check out nick shaves on you tube. He does some really good beginners videos and a lot of lather videos. He's a big help.

shave/brush · Aug 26, 2015

You can do it either way. Sometimes I give it a quick rinse and sometimes I don't. There is no right way or wrong way.
Don't forget there are also shave sticks. You just wet your face and rub them on. Them make lather with a wet brush. Here is a picture of one.

NesOne · Aug 26, 2015

I rinse it out when I'm done, and place the bowl upside down to let any excess water drip out. I melted my VDH puck into the bowl.

tromboneliness · Aug 26, 2015

You're describing "lathering on the puck," which is how most gents did it in the past--myself and my father included.

Most gents these days load their brush* on the puck--either in the container the soap came in, or in their own--and then build their lather in a bowl or on their face.

Many gents still lather on the puck, and that's perfect for those who only keep one soap (or a few) going at a time. For those with a larger "soap rotation," it's much more convenient to have mutiple containers for brush loading and just one bowl (or face!) for lather-building.

*Loading your brush means taking a damp-to-wettish brush (this is a matter of preference) and swirling it on the soap for a while. That "while" may be anywhere from 15s to 90s. (It depends on the brush, soap, hardness of the water, etc.) Then, generally speaking, you build your lather in a bowl by adding a few drops of water at a time or, if you face lather, occasionally dipping the brush tips into the water and going back to your face. After a while you get a feel for a soap and you tend to load the brush with nearly the right amount of water already in it. It sounds much more complicated than it is. :laugh:

TheVez2 · Aug 26, 2015

Doesn't matter. Some rinse off the excess lather, some leave it. I've done both depending on my mood, but I usually just leave it.

Dog Whiskerer · Aug 26, 2015

scribble said:
To me it appears that you get the brush wet then swirl it around over the soap that is in the bowl until you have a good lather.

I load the brush from the container or mug that the puck resides in and work up a lather either on my face (face lathering) or in a separate bowl (bowl lathering). Youtube has many good videos on both methods. The reason to not use the soap mug to build your lather is because it is difficult to get the water/soap/lather proportions right when you are continually adding product to your brush as you are swirling it around in the soap mug.

Ad Astra · Aug 26, 2015

Scribble; welcome.

I actually do the "smear" technique another member came up with ... shallow stainless steel bowl/plate, smear with soft soap and a (usually different daily) scented cream, lather wickedly upon it. Easy to control water content.

Leftover lather left on the plate looks like snowflakes the next day; springs back to life like Frosty when the wet brush hits it.

AA

captp · Aug 26, 2015

As said above, no reason to rinse the soap off after use, it just wastes lather. But, it's your soap so do as you please

Maritime Storm · Aug 26, 2015

I generally have 2 soaps on the go, my daily driver is lathered in & stays in the mug, after the shave, the mug is moved from the sink to the shelf and left alone until the next day. My weekend soap lives in it's container, sealed after each use, stored in the cupboard until used then returned to it afterwards. The mug is washed out after every puck is done before starting the next.

PMT · Aug 27, 2015

captp said:
As said above, no reason to rinse the soap off after use, it just wastes lather. But, it's your soap so do as you please

This!

AbbyW2 · Aug 27, 2015

Personally, I überlather so I load my brush with soap before I build my lather on my cream in my scuttle. In any case I would load the brush and then build lather elsewhere, whether face or bowl/scuttle.

FWIW, I also find that after building my überlather in my scuttle, I find I do best by beginning to lather my face briefly as if I was face lathering, and the moving on to spreading in the lather from the scuttle.

BSAGuy · Aug 27, 2015

Do this below. Wipe outside and stow for tomorrow.

topcatman said:
no need to do anything more then wipe the excess off the outside. Non sensical to rinse the puck off. All of that lather dehydrates againa nd is reconstituted into lather the next time you shave with it. Its like tossing out koolaid when you don't get the ideal water amount to powder ratio.

IMightBeWrong · Aug 27, 2015

Just a small aside - You don't need to rinse out the lather remaining on the soap but you'll want to rinse the lather out of your brush.

H4nk · Aug 28, 2015

I like to wet the soap. Put a little warm water in the mug and then shower. Dump the water and then lather up with a squeezed out brush that has also been soaking with the razor in warm water in a stadium cup(up to just before the knot). Then load up and face lather. I'm trying a pyrex "scuttle" off and on but not having any luck.

jlindy · Aug 28, 2015

I just lather on the puck... Gives me a reason to have a shaving mug collection. Plus it makes it a bit easier to get your lather just right.

GoneRetroInOH · Aug 28, 2015

tromboneliness said:
You're describing "lathering on the puck," which is how most gents did it in the past--myself and my father included.

Most gents these days load their brush* on the puck--either in the container the soap came in, or in their own--and then build their lather in a bowl or on their face.

Many gents still lather on the puck, and that's perfect for those who only keep one soap (or a few) going at a time. For those with a larger "soap rotation," it's much more convenient to have mutiple containers for brush loading and just one bowl (or face!) for lather-building.

*Loading your brush means taking a damp-to-wettish brush (this is a matter of preference) and swirling it on the soap for a while. That "while" may be anywhere from 15s to 90s. (It depends on the brush, soap, hardness of the water, etc.) Then, generally speaking, you build your lather in a bowl by adding a few drops of water at a time or, if you face lather, occasionally dipping the brush tips into the water and going back to your face. After a while you get a feel for a soap and you tend to load the brush with nearly the right amount of water already in it. It sounds much more complicated than it is.

I remember watching my father shave back in the early 1960s, long before cartridges came along. He had one Old Spice mug, I Old Spice soap, one brush, and one razor. He lathered on the puck. It always worked. I emulate that method by keeping a puck of Arko in a vintage mug. After Arko, there was no reason to try anything else but for some sticks of other Turkish varieties that I received as gifts. Only Arko fills the mug.
After the shave, I rinse out the mug just to be reasonably neat.

strop · Aug 29, 2015

As the old saying goes, "There is more than one way to skin a cat"! Everyone eventually develops their own preferred method to get soap to the face. Don't overthink it, and for heavens sake, don't wait! Just get some soap and a brush and get started.

I started using brush and soap years before I found B&B. I had one puck of soap in my Grandfather's mug and just loaded on made lather on the puck. I usually face lather now, but still am more comfortable loading just a little bit from the puck before each pass. Just do what works best for you.

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bowls and soap?

scribble

TheDude82

shave/brush

NesOne

tromboneliness

TheVez2

Dog Whiskerer

Ad Astra

The Instigator

captp

Pretty Pink Fairy Princess.

Maritime Storm

PMT

AbbyW2

BSAGuy

IMightBeWrong

Loves a smelly brush

H4nk

jlindy

GoneRetroInOH

strop

Now half as wise

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