What's with the face lathering snobs?

I face lather 99.9% of the time, I just can't make bowl lathering work. That said I just ordered a Dirty Bird Scuttle. I hope I can master the bowl, the hot lather will feel good this winter.

I like to start in a bowl and finish on my face. Everybody has their way.

There are a few true snobs around B&B, but most of us are just well accomplished smart assess. 😃

I have been face lathering for over 45 years. Before I found B&B, I had never heard of "bowl" lathering. As BSAGuy said, there are no shaving police, so do whatever you prefer and don't worry about how others do it.

Who are you calling snob!??


Just kidding! Do whatever you like and have fun!

From what I've read, and from personal experience it seems that with face lathering it is quicker and easier to produce the perfect lather. I love whipping up lather in a bowl but that doesn't trump rubbing an alum block on my face after a face lathering shave and feeling minimal sting.

I will probably only ever bowl lather again if I buy a scuttle and there is an actual benefit aside from making pretty "I want to eat this stuff" lather.

I didn't know I was a snob!!!
Now I'll have to add that to my signature!

I think I bowl lathered about 3 or 4 times before trying face lathering. Since then, I haven't picked up the bowl. It just seems to work for me and cuts out an extra step and additional clean up.

I mostly do face lathering as it works well for me.

Didn't realize I was snob until just now

I didn't pick up on any snobbishness. The only soap puck I have so far is cheap locally acquired Van Der Hagen. It's OK but I also now have some C.O. Bigelow Premium Shave Cream from BBB so pretty quickly started face lathering that as I find it quicker and easier with the cream. Today I face lathered Barbasol Aloe out of a can, would take some big brass ones to be snobbish about that!

First off, Welcome to the Forum

Second of all:

DANG!!! Another subject where I am a Swinger!!! I actually do ALL THREE, Face, Palm and Bowl lathering, it really just depends on the mood I am in that day. Sometimes I even do Two at a time LOL

I completely agree with the above mentioned statements, it is ENTIRELY up to the individual what they prefer, or you can be like some of us who do it every which way and enjoy each one in their own right The Most Important thing though is that YOU and You Alone, enjoy what you are doing no matter what process you use to do it.

Shave sticks and hard soaps i face lather and prefer a Vie-Long Horse brush. Soft soaps and tube creams are lathered in a perfectly palmed mug with the thumb through the handle- like it was designed for the job, using either the horse or an Omega boar brush.

Variety is the spice of life, mix it up, keep it interesting!

dave

Even though I do not have "sensitive skin", I have picked up an uncomfortable burn with at least some face-lathered combinations of brush and soap/cream. Other times, face lathering worked fine. Stiffer brushes are the worst for that kind of thing, though they make a good bowl lather with little or no discomfort. On ceasing the face lathering, the irritation went away. Face lathering seemed practical for travel, but it turns out there are small and inexpensive bowls that take up considerably little room compared to the old canned goo. Unlike the face, the bowl does not have nerve endings. Soap sticks are represented as ideally suited for face lathering, but they bowl-lather well if they are dispensed in small fingernail-scooped flecks. Regardless of snob value, I do traditional shaving for the superior result and the comfortable experience, not for any masochistic drive to bring pain.

I about blew beer through my nose when I read the title of this thread.

kansaskyle said:

Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated!

(Fixed that for ya!)

Just kidding.

At the end of the day, lather however you like. There are some guys on the board that are die hard fans of bowl, scuttle, or face lathering, and sometimes they let their enthusiasm get carried away. I have seen some face lathering love threads where guys comment on how great face lathering is compared to bowl and scuttle, but I suspect you can find just as many enthusiastic guys for the other methods.

I recommend giving all the methods a try, and finding the one that works best for you.

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I started off bowl lathering, bought a few boars and a Chubby 2 and have only face lathered since.....


marty

JaredB said:

I about blew beer through my nose when I read the title of this thread.

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Actually, it took me a lot of time and trial and effort to figure out bowl lathering. Eventually I want to learn to face lather, but right now I'm just too lazy to learn a new skill, and bowl lathering works great for me.

Snob eh? I just thought I was lazy. Face lather all the time unless I am using cream and then I need to bowl to mush it around in.

Seriously though, don't take it so serious. Just enjoy the shave experience.

It seems almost like the face latherers (you wild bunch) appear superior because they don't need a bowl to work up a lather. I find it funny as well. I personally enjoy lathering in a bowl - it's 'fun'. I want to buy a scuttle for this reason.

brianlg said:

It seems almost like the face latherers (you wild bunch) appear superior because they don't need a bowl to work up a lather. I find it funny as well. I personally enjoy lathering in a bowl - it's 'fun'. I want to buy a scuttle for this reason.

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I'm just cheap, lazy and usually in a hurry,

Cheap in that I have yet to splurge on high quality shaving soap pucks that would require bowl lathering
Lazy in that the bowl is one less thing to deal with & clean up after.
In a hurry in that I find face lathering creams faster.

This is the finest collection of gentlemen and ladies on any forum. I don't think they're snobs - just convinced with a kind of religious fervor. I think this is often a problem for people who use their face for a bowl.

For years I did both: bowl for creams and face lather for soaps. I found that I enjoyed face lathering less and less and I almost never do it any more. But that's what works for me. You have to try both and see what you like.

The reasons I use a scuttle:
I shave after my shower and my face is already hydrated to the max, so no advantage to face lathering there.
My face does not like the extra exfoliation of face lathering.
My soul does not like the cold lather of the third pass when face lathering.
I find it easier to judge the amount of cream/soap with bowl lathering.
I like big, soft brushes (SOC and Kent BK8) which work better in the scuttle.
I need to soak the SOC while I shower and the scuttle bowl is the perfect place.
I need to clean the brush after I shave and the scuttle bowl is a most efficient place to do so.

I like romance. I'm definitely a romantic at heart. But I don't heat my house with wood, don't drive a car without air conditioning and don't face lather. Take that you snobs!

toddmog said:

I think I bowl lathered about 3 or 4 times before trying face lathering. Since then, I haven't picked up the bowl. It just seems to work for me and cuts out an extra step and additional clean up.

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+1

I like shaving bowls and scuttles, but the small amount of extra cleanup is just enough to make me into a face-latherer most of the time. Actually, I first started face lathering whilst traveling, and just found the process very quick and easy along with the thought that every minute the lather is in the bowl is a minute that it's not on my beard softening it -- when I got home I just found myself reaching for the shaving mug less and less often.

I don't feel in the least snobbish about it though -- whatever pleases me is what I do, and so should you!