Lather on soap or in bowl?

[Potter4077]

Do you lather right on the soap cake, or in the bowl? Why?

I use MWF soap and have always lathered directly on the soap cake that I just leave in the bowl. I see people just putting small amounts of a soap cake or cream in the bowl and lathering from that. I can see why you’d do that with something soft like cream, but MWF is fairly hard, so I haven’t tried “shaving” some off into a bowl to try it.

 

[dotKomo]

Welcome to B&B!

I don't leave a puck in the bowl; rather, I pick up soap from the container and build a lather in the bowl.

You can also face lather instead of building a lather in the bowl. I used to do that, but I seem to have developed a sensitivity to "brush burn", so I don't face lather much these days.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I do not bowl lather, but if I did, then after loading the brush I would transfer to a separate lathering bowl to build the lather. Or I would transfer a small amount of soap from the puck to the lathering bowl. I would certainly not develop the lather on the soap puck itself as this would surely be very wasteful of product and difficult to control the soap to water ratio. To my mind that would be a totally incorrect lathering technique although as with everything else, if you like it and it works for you, then keep doing it

 

[KW Driver]

Load the brush, face lather.

I used to load the brush, then build a lather in a bowl when I did use them, for all soap types

 

[AlphaFrank75]

Hard soaps get lathered directly off the puck. If there's a logo or anything like that on one side, I only load from the opposite side. Before I started using pre-shave, I rubbed the puck across my beard like a shave stick. That method seemed to be the most economical use of the soap.

By the way, Welcome to B&B @Potter4077

 

[Jayson74]

I build my lather on the soap, hard soaps as well as soft soaps. I start with a damp but not dripping brush and keep adding water till it looks right. Thick and glistening is the best description I have...I just kept trying till I figured out what look was best for me.

Then take the brush to my face and finish with painting and adding more soap from the tub/container, add water if needed. I prefer a fairly thick almost goopy lather, basically the consistency of sour cream or yogurt.

I have so much soap I don't even pretend to conserve.
Jay

 

[losing]

Welcome to B&B

I try to whip a lather if my hands/fingers cooperate enough. I have to whip a lather in a bowl and most of the soaps i have or get are samples so a little comes out and put in my copper bowl. I have a couple of larger samples that i cut a piece off or put the whole sample in my bowl. My bowl also helps make lather faster and keeps most things lather free...

 

[pipingtenor2570]

I use different techniques for different soaps. Typically my best lather with hard soaps is made from developing proto-lather directly from the puck and then transferring to a bowl to infuse the proto-lather with air and water. However, I find a few of my soaps do better for me using the so-called Italian method: soap into the middle of my boar brush, add hot water as needed, and lather directly on my face.

 

[Big Jim]

Generally I lather on the soap puck in a mug. When using a cream I use a lather bowl. Whenever the soap becomes difficult to lather in the mug, I move to a lather bowl. Basically if I have trouble transferring the right amount of soap using the mug, either too much soap wants to transfer to the brush or too little wants to easily transfer to the brush, I move to the lather bowl, moving back and forth between the mug and the bowl to control the soap to water ratio. Works for me. It's nice to have developed the skill to use either depending on circumstances.

 

[MichaelSch]

I use MWF too and like any other soap, I start by working the brush on the puck, getting the tips filled with as much soap as possible, then work my lather in my lathering bowl. I used the green proraso lather bowl / mug.

 

[Lane101]

Do you lather right on the soap cake, or in the bowl? Why?

I use MWF soap and have always lathered directly on the soap cake that I just leave in the bowl. I see people just putting small amounts of a soap cake or cream in the bowl and lathering from that. I can see why you’d do that with something soft like cream, but MWF is fairly hard, so I haven’t tried “shaving” some off into a bowl to try i

Welcome to B&B!

For my triple milled rock hard pucks like MWF, Williams or Pdp I lather on the puck first and finish via face lathering. I refer to this as the "mug soap" method using a relatively wet brush as these are thirsty soaps. For more malleable soaps like Arko or Tabac I'll load with a damp brush and then face lather. For my soft Italian soaps or creams I'll scoop out the required product and either bowl or face lather.

Posted on this in the thread linked below where you can see more detail and the various method used by fellow B&Bers. Bottom line is I've found it best to tailor my lathering technique to what works best with each product.

Can Great Lather be Generated from Any Reasonable Quality Shaving Soap or Cream?

At their core most shaving soaps and creams consist of saponified fatty acids. Can any reasonable quality shaving soap or cream generate great lather with the right technique? Over the past two years I've added a number of good commercial shaving soaps and creams to my rotation. This rotation...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[NorthernSoul]

I just load the brush with the soap and face lather most of the time. Loading the brush only takes a few seconds. If I tried building lather on the soap it seems that would just keep adding more soap to the mix which would use more soap than needed and make it hard to dial in the right amount of water for the lather.

If I use a bowl it would mostly be for shaving creams or samples. Even then, it would probably finish with face lathering.

 

[Dave himself]

I use a damp brush load it with soap from the puck and face lather.

 

[SillyShaveMinister]

I use Arko stick and so, a bowl is the best option for me. Scrap a bit of soap, press that in the middle of the bowl, a bit of water, brush swirl and lather galore!

 

[isomrat]

ou should choose the method that's most convenient for you. However, to get the most out of your shaving soap, we recommend building the lather in a bowl or mug before application, as it yields the maximum amount of lather per shave, which is best for a large area of shaving needs.

 

[musicman1951]

Honestly, it doesn't matter how you do it as long as you end up with the lather you like. I would not build lather on the puck because it's messy and the brush is constantly picking up more soap, so it seems harder to be consistent.

I have put a dollop of soap in the bottom of the bowl and then both loaded the brush and then build lather from there. The advantages are that the puck stays consistent because it's never wet and it's pretty easy after a few days to guess exactly the right amount of soap for the lather you desire. If you don't mash the soap in the bottom of the bowl as thin as is reasonably possible it takes to long to load the brush - but it does leave your thumb very slippery, so you have to deal with that.

I find the best way is to load the brush on the puck and then go to the bowl. It's very neat, but it only takes a few seconds to clean up a messy puck, so not really a deciding factor. It's also the way most people face lather, so it has the advantage of being the same process if you decide to try that.
Do what works for you.

 

[cranewarrior]

I do it differently based on the soap. For example on my lazy days, I do as OP does with a dedicated mug that I keep a puck of hard soap in. When I use a soft soap or a creme, I put a portion in a bowl and lather there. With shave sticks, I lather on the face.

 

[Brutus]

Load the brush, face lather.

I used to load the brush, then build a lather in a bowl when I did use them, for all soap types

Having face lathered for twenty odd years, I recently (re-)discovered the bliss of a scuttle, which in essence is nothing more than a shaving bowl with a warm water mantle.
It is a thoroughly enjoyable experience during the cold season, whether I continue using it in summer remains to be seen.

To answer the OP’s question; I load the brush with soap from its container, then whip up the lather in the scuttle.


B.

 

[shave/brush]

I use MWF too and like any other soap, I start by working the brush on the puck, getting the tips filled with as much soap as possible, then work my lather in my lathering bowl. I used the green proraso lather bowl / mug.

This is the same method I use. I've read here on B&B, that if you lather right on the puck, you waste more soap.

 

[KW Driver]

Having face lathered for twenty odd years, I recently (re-)discovered the bliss of a scuttle, which in essence is nothing more than a shaving bowl with a warm water mantle.
It is a thoroughly enjoyable experience during the cold season, whether I continue using it in summer remains to be seen.

To answer the OP’s question; I load the brush with soap from its container, then whip up the lather in the scuttle.


B.

Yep, and I have this brush scuttle as well for a warm brush between passes. I'm not a fan of cold shaves or cold weather.