Thread: Foaming at the mouth (a.k.a.-Face lathering)

Last night I went for a quicky shave, no shower, no prep, just a splash of hot water and away I went. So I went without the bowl swirling, and rich lather building portion of the shave and just loaded up the brush (Arlington) and twiddled it around on my face, and cut down my whiskers. Not bad....

So, tonight I decide to skip the bowl (scuttle, actually) again. Loaded up my modded Shavemac with the trusty Tabac and face lathered yet again. It was interesting to say the least. Whereas I'm used to building a nice thick merangue(sp??) and then applying it to my face, my attempt at face lathering yielded a denser lather that really clung to my face, like mayo on a nice deli sandwich, instead of the lighter whipped cream consistancy I usually get from the bowl. Really, great coverage, nice and slick too.

Usually the application of the bowl whipped lather leaves peaks and valleys, some places thicker, others thinner, and you sort of have to chase the lather around your face (or I do anyhow). With my fledgling attempts at face lathering I got a nice, super dense application of lather. It could have perhaps done with a touch more water, but I'll have to work on that.

Any other face lathering gents out there with tips and suggestions?

One of my regrets is that the lather gets cold on the brush much faster than a scuttle full of suds...

Craig,

I am a dedicated face latherer. I can/have dealt with small and large brushes. The BK8 and Chubby 3 being the largest. I have to say that in my case 'swirlling only' doesn't cut it. When I lather up I need some good back and forth 'paint brush' action to mix the lather. In doing so the brush forms a chisel shape that allows under the nose application. I also like to 'turn' the brush to get into areas of the face. I say turn as you would a knob. I only do this when there is some brush splay.

Yes the lather does cool down faster but after a while you don't even notice. And there is nothing stopping you from resting a face lathered brush in a warm scuttle in between passes.

BTW I just face lathered my newest brush just this morning. It is a dear and does a great job.

I'm a face-latherer through and through, and I find that it makes just the right kind of thick, smooth cream that gives a great shave. I have never understood the obsession with mountains of foam in the bowl...if it's in the bowl, it's not on your face, and not doing anyone any good.

I will say, with good pucks of soap, I use a bowl lathering method that results in that same thick consistency, but I still work it a lot on my face to get that nice face lathering feel.

My brush is a big Omega knot in a custom handle, and it give me no trouble. Just make sure you know where your bristles are, and keep the soap/cream deep in the breech so that you get the right consistency. If you leave too much at the tips, then all the lather stays on your face and there'll be none left for the second pass. I splay the bristles a bit, and while I only use the back and forth that Zeth mentions at the end, I tend to pump the brush a bit as I swirl so that the brush gets nice and loaded, and the water gets well mixed.

To get proper hydration, a quick dip of the bristles was always enough for me.

As for a scuttle/warm lather...there's a limit to how much pampering I can take, and that's always seemed a bit much too me. To each his own, and all that, but I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything by having only lukewarm lather. If I want hot, then I get the running water good and hot and dips the tips of my brush.

I bowl lathered once or twice just to see if I could get the same experience that the rest of the bowl-latherers got. I left my bowl swimming in a sink of hot water so the lather would keep warm.

With that said, I much prefer face lathering because you can control the consistency of the foam as you go. If that mayo feel is too thick, you can easily run some hot water on the base of the brush, shake the excess, and re-apply and it will thin it out just right.

At this point I don't think I'll ever see the need for a scuttle/bowl since I do just fine this way.

Face lather all my soaps w/ a Rooney 3/1 Super or an Omega Boar. The only exception to the rule is MWF, which I mix with a shot of KMF to assist with the hard water situation. For creams, I've not been as successful w/face lathering and still go to the scuttle to enjoy these. I feel as though I get to enjoy the scents more with face lathering for some reason.

Joe

Originally Posted by Oglethorpe

I bowl lathered once or twice just to see if I could get the same experience that the rest of the bowl-latherers got. I left my bowl swimming in a sink of hot water so the lather would keep warm.

With that said, I much prefer face lathering because you can control the consistency of the foam as you go. If that mayo feel is too thick, you can easily run some hot water on the base of the brush, shake the excess, and re-apply and it will thin it out just right.

At this point I don't think I'll ever see the need for a scuttle/bowl since I do just fine this way.

I like mayo!


I did add a touch of water from time to time, but the ratio seemed much more finicky when face lathering. If I had added too much while bowl lathering I'd just swirl it up ferociously until I regained the thickness desired. When the lather goes thin on the face lather, it's harder to regain. Well, that's not quite true, as a quick dab at the soap puck restored thickness to the lather.

I face lather with Colleen's soaps. It's hard to beat. Building the lather directly on my face seems to really help work the soap into my whiskers and trap the moisture. The big mug I used to lather in has been gathering dust for months

I too am a face lathering convert. I find it so much more satisfying to build the lather on my face. I think this also gives the lather more time to soften the whiskers. On the weekend when I have more time I use an old fashioned scuttle to keep the brush and lather warm.
This has reminded me, its time for my nightly shave.

Face lather all the way. Had a bowl but it seemed to add more fiddling without any added benefit. One more piece of equipment to deal with. Something to worry about breaking. Brush handle banging on the sides of the bowl. One more thing clean up. One more thing to store somewhere.

One "trick" I learned about face lathering -- use very little water to start with. Soak the brush then gently shake it out. Starting with a wet, but but not dripping, brush and a wet face supplies about all the water I need. As I build up the lather, if it is a tad dry, I just touch just the tip of the brush to the hot water sitting in the sink. At least with the soaps I use it doesn't take much water to make a big difference.

I face lather all the time. Everygreat now and then I'll use a mug or similar, but face lathering win's for me.

The nice thing about face lathering is that too much water is fine (for me). If I pull my brush out of the sink dripping wet and swirl it around on my soap puck, I can take it straight to my face super sloppy and get a great lather. The excess water just drips off my chin back into the sink. The lather starts thin, but I just keep swirling on my cheeks and neck area and 20 seconds later I have a great lather. The longer you swirl, the drier it gets.

Next time you shave, try face lathering with what you might expect to be too much water. I'm pretty sure you'll find it to be fine. Or better.