Thread: Lathering Up

I have this shaving mug. I have been keeping the soap in the bottom of the mug and with my brush I load it up and mostly use my face to lather. I have recently seen that many folks actually keep the soap somewhere else and use the mug solely for lathering up. I really like this idea because the soap dries on me and warming up the mug ahead of time and keeping the lather moist in the mug seems to make alot of sense.

However, is this correct? I mean these mugs talk about the shape of the soap fitting into the bottom of the mug. Well if I go this other direction, the shape of the soap really shouldn't matter right? What do you guys do? Thanks.

Hello ESL;

Sorry, but your user name got me chuckling!! Here's a video of Lynn Abrams loading a brush and then lathering on his face. You can just as easily load the brush as he does and then go to a bowl, scuttle, mug, etc. and lather there. That's how I usually do it. Sometimes I may face lather, but usually in a mug. Hope it helps.

Regards,
Howard

Ps: I don't keep my soap puck in the mug I lather in.

YouTube - Building a shaving lather with a brush directly on your face.

First of all, welcome to SRP. If the soap is drying on your face then you'll need to use more water. Some people use bowls to lather, others use mugs, some use scuttles, and others face lather. It really doesn't make a difference, just do what feels right to you. If you're interested in lathering in a mug or bowl then try it out and see if it works for you. Whichever you choose you'll need to figure out the amount of water being used in your lather so that it doesn't dry out on your face. Practice and you'll eventually get it right.

Enjoy!

I had this problem when I started out. I am also a face latherer. What I found is that I needed to soak my brush a little longer to get the proper amount of water in the bristles. Boom problem vanished. What I did to accomplish this was I got the Dirty Bird Brush Scuttle and fill the top portion with water and set my brush in it so that the bristles have time to soak. I do in fact load from a mug with the puck at the bottom and build the lather on my face. I don't use a separate bowl.

I keep my soap in whatever containers, either the ones they came in or others and load up the brush in those and then face lather. Sometimes I use my Oskar scuttle but it's really to keep the lather warm.

I'm a scuttleler (is that even a word?). I use a scuttle to keep the lather warm, sometimes I use a soap or a cream so my scuttle is a lather bowl. The problem I seem to have is using boiling water in the scuttle, it tends to dry out the lather so I have to add some water for the second and third pass.

I noticed when looking at scuttles that Dirty Bird Pottery has a warning on her website that using boiling water actually breaks down the lather. I have my water heater set on 135 and that gets me a nice warm lather.

Originally Posted by Scookum

I'm a scuttleler (is that even a word?). I use a scuttle to keep the lather warm, sometimes I use a soap or a cream so my scuttle is a lather bowl. The problem I seem to have is using boiling water in the scuttle, it tends to dry out the lather so I have to add some water for the second and third pass.

thanks guys - sounds like there are several options. I'm looking forward to trying to lather in the bowl without the soap in it.

Looks like you are pointed in the right direction. I face and bowl lather. I also have a mug w/ puck and sometimes I lather directly on the puck. Sounds like you probably need a bit more water - you can just wet the tips of your brush as you lather on your face to add moisture. Do it as much/little as needed. You should have a nice moist, yogurty lather. If it's too foamy, it'll dry out quicker.

What I've been using is a Surabachi as a shaving bowl for the past number of months. Photo

By rubbing the round, or the stick, or the cream into the indentations in the bowl I'm able to get the right amount of soap for a shave, and I'm able to keep the dry soap in its original container. Seems to work well for me.