I do two passes with a mixture of soap/cream in a thick moist lather. I love my brushes and my soap & cream. The main reason I always do a second pass is so that I get to lather again after the rinse. I like to use my brush and lather so much that I probably would do a third pass but I get irritation with a third pass and have to be satisfied with two. I imagine that I would get irritation with a water only pass but again, I love the lather so much I will never know.