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Face Lather convert?

Hi all!

I recently went away on a job and stayed the night in a B&B. I took my shaving gear (HD and TOBS Rose cream). Since I was travelling I didn't bother taking bowl and decided to try face lathering.

I had an absolutely awesome shave (the first with Taylors Rose)!

Have now been face lathering with all my soaps and creams and have been getting great shaves.

Things I like:

- Less equipment
- Easier to clean up
- Tactile feel when lathering allows slickness to be judged on the face
- Saves time as you're lathering up and applying the lather simultaneously

All I need now is something (a small scuttle?) to keep the loaded brush warm between passes.

Has anyone else started out using a bowl and converted to face?

John
 
Actually oddly enough I went the other way... I started out face lathering and then switched to using a bowl. Once I got the technique down pat I suddenly realized that I dreaded face lathering...

Most of your points are right on to some extent.

It is less equipment I'll give you that.

As for clean-up though, honestly how much clean up is there really? You still have to rinse out your brush with either method, and that's honestly the most time consuming part. The bowl doesn't have to be cleaned, just rinsed since it's already soap! ;) The only other thing I use is a cordless electric kettle. I just dump out the water, refill it, and sit it on it's base waiting for the next days shave.

Judging the slickness is also a point of contention for me. When I lather on my face I can gauge how "thick" it is, but not really how "slick" it is... And a quick dip with the fingers is all it takes to check slickness with either method.

As for saving time... I'll agree it might save time in the sense of pulling out the equipment, but not in the actual time it takes to lather, at least not in my opinion... If you're face lathering you STILL have to spend the time getting it lathered up, rather you do it in a bowl or on your face. In fact, in my experience lathering in a bowl actually tends to come along quicker simply because I can whip/pump the brush much quicker and with much more abandon than I can on the face.

There frankly are all sorts of other points that could be made... For example lathering on the face gives more time for the lather to work on the beard... Though there are many methods for achieving the same results with a bowl... For example, I also wipe down my face with a "soupy lather" after a few swirls in the bowl... This works on my beard while I'm whipping the lather... I find I like a steaming towel over the lather if I have time anyway, so again either method would prove out the same...

Now don't take this as a "No No No, bowl lathering is better"... Much like everything else in this hobby it seems everyone prefers things a little differently. What works best for one may not work at all for another... :biggrin:
 
Had the same experience recently (traveling, no bowl, etc.) and got a great shave face lathering with some Trumper's Rose soap. I may be in the middle of a conversion. :001_smile
 

Alacrity59

Wanting for wisdom
I'm turning out to be a kind of omnivore of lathering techniques. There are some soaps/creams I will gladly lather on my face and some others that my face can't handle this way but that if I use a bowl and swipe on gently I still enjoy. (might even use shaving oil first for extra softening/slip) If I were traveling I'd bring a cream and lather in my hand or on my face.
 
My opinion . . . building the lather on my face gives me that much more time to be working the water and soap into my beard. Working it in is what softens the whiskers. Softening the beard is what allows that comfortable, "can't tell there's a blade in the razor" type of shave. I just don't get the same result by building the lather in a bowl or on my hand and then just painting it onto my face. If I were to make the lather in a bowl or elsewhere, I would still want to spend the time to work it into my beard.

I've tried every imaginable method but after about 55 years of shaving with brush and blade, I'm convinced that building the lather on my face renders the most comfortable and best shave.

The scuttle is another story . . . it is great at keeping the brush full of lather nice and warm for subsequent passes after the lather was originally built on the face. It is just a nice luxury, in my opinion. I do use one when I'm shaving at home.

Regards,
Tom
 
For creams I've started face lathering, but soap is still in the bowl.

Exact opposite here---I always face lather with soaps, but Proraso (the only cream I've found that I really like) I whip up in a bowl . . . then still work it into my whiskers pretty good with my brush, rather than just "paint" it on.

That and a hot shower seems to be all the preshave prep I need.

NANP™
 
Hi all!

I recently went away on a job and stayed the night in a B&B. I took my shaving gear (HD and TOBS Rose cream). Since I was travelling I didn't bother taking bowl and decided to try face lathering.

I had an absolutely awesome shave (the first with Taylors Rose)!

Have now been face lathering with all my soaps and creams and have been getting great shaves.

Things I like:

- Less equipment
- Easier to clean up
- Tactile feel when lathering allows slickness to be judged on the face
- Saves time as you're lathering up and applying the lather simultaneously

All I need now is something (a small scuttle?) to keep the loaded brush warm between passes.

Has anyone else started out using a bowl and converted to face?

John
That's an interesting take. I started out w/ hands, and switched to a mug.

When you say "less equipment and easier to clean up," though, for me, the "equipment" consists of only a big coffee mug, and it just takes about 5 seconds to rinse it out.

I simply think it's more efficient to use a mug for mixing cream and creating a lather versus my hands, but that's just me.
 
I bowl lather just about everything, but hardly just "paint" the lather on after working it in the bowl. I work it in rather intensely.
 
I'm a convert to face lathering. I started with creating the lather in a bowl for both soaps and creams, then went to face lathering with soaps and now face lathering for soaps and creams. For me, the time spent creating the lather on my face seems to better prep my beard for the shave.
 
I have never face lathered. Two things I can't figure. 1) How do you keep the lather/brush warm while shaving, and 2) Is there enough lather stored up in that brush for four passes?

I'm not opposed to giving it a shot. Those two items need to be hammered out first however.
 
I have never face lathered. Two things I can't figure. 1) How do you keep the lather/brush warm while shaving

Sometimes I set it in the mug, and set the mug in the sink of hot water. Sometimes I touch just the tips of the brush to the hot sink water before lathering for each pass. Sometimes I don't bother . . . it's not like it gets ice cold or anything. But frankly, if you're used to a scuttle and really like your lather hot, face lathering probably isn't your thing.


2) Is there enough lather stored up in that brush for four passes?

Well, that depends on a lot of things, I'd guess, from size of your brush to how much you loaded it up in the first place to how thick you like to put your lather on. I usually only do three passes myself, but there's almost always quite a bit left over.

I break out the Proraso and bowl for my 4-pass "Sunday shaves." Not a purist, here. :biggrin:

NANP™
 
I'm a convert to face lathering. I started with creating the lather in a bowl for both soaps and creams, then went to face lathering with soaps and now face lathering for soaps and creams. For me, the time spent creating the lather on my face seems to better prep my beard for the shave.

+1

Especially since I started shaving in the shower and yes I use a straight more often than not and yes I am very careful as to not drop the straight, bad bad bad bad things could I happen if I dropped it in the shower.....I could chip my blade :wink:
 
I like working the lather directly on my face.....really work the brush onto my face; I love the feel of the brush and watching the lather come up. I can tell when it's just right for me. There is usually plenty still in the brush for me to do a second or third pass on my neck.
Actually I still have not gotten the knack of the mug. So who knows maybe another time!
 
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