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I use both bowl and face lathering, but am able to get more lather using the bowl rather than the face. This is true using a comparable amount of soap. I think it's because using the bowl, I can get much more aggressive with the brush. I have no idea where I'm going with this. Happy post Thanksgiving.
Face, every time..
No muckin about :chapeau
I'm with JOB15. Face lathering is just so much more efficient and I really don't notice much difference in quality.
Like the above, face only.
I started out using a bowl to whip lather but as my expertise built, I went to strictly face lathering.
Starting new people out with a bowl is probably wise as they can more easily see what the lather is like. But, after a bit the bowl becomes one more thing to manage (or possibly break - as I did) so face lathering was just more efficient.
I can understand why some prefer the hot suds from a well made scuttle; It feels good. A warm or room temp shave works well for me.
Another for face lather only. I did try scuttle and bowl lathering but in the end it was just more stuff to clean up after the shave with no added benefit to me. If you like warm lather then a modern scuttle is the way to go though. Leaves me out as I cold water shave.
Bob
Nope, bowl
Attachment 250702
I do face because it is quicker and I ordinarily do one pass and call it good. I get better results using bowl if I'm going to do multiple passes. OTOH, if I do multiple (as in 2) passes with face, I can always dip back into the soap for more product. If I'm doing cream, or hard soap/cream I always do bowl.
Bowl here, I just like the thicker lather I get with the bowl
mostly do bowl lather with my SWK xl scuttle or a shave bowl with scratches on the inside.
Only facelather when I am on a holiday.
+1. I started making lather in a bowl and since have moved to face lathering and haven't looked back. No muss no fuss. Takes about 30 seconds to lather up. I use soaps, creams, and sticks. Boar and badger. I get lathers so thick you would think they came out of a can.Quote:
Originally Posted by rolodave
I like a scuttle but if I'm in a hurry, face lathering is the way to go.
Most of the time I face lather with hard soaps. I do on occasion break out some cream and bowl lather. Usually if i am taking the time to bowl lather I am lounging and really taking my sweet time and really in that kind of a mood.
Having a large, domed, bald surface on the top of my head provides an excellent workspace for lathering.. but i do pull out the bowl on occasion.
My poor scuttle just sits on the shelf lately.
Face lather for me. A good brush, wonderfully scented soap; just a pleasure.
I do face lathering. Towards the end of the shave if the lather starts to get thin I'll whip up the remainder of the lather in the scuttle.
I face-lather, exclusively, as it allows me more time to massage my skin, and I also find it less work, especially, for my wrist! :)
I initially stated or as a bowl lather guy but have since moved to face lathering. I get a great lather and t helps save time. I think if I had a nice bowl or scuttle I would bowl lather more often but for now I'm happy.
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bowl for me. my water is extremely hard. and i have dry skin. no matter how hydrated my face my lather dries very quickly when applied. my speed is getting pretty good but i still need to lather in sections otherwise the lather gets too dry.
Bowl for me.
I get way too messy when I face lather. It ends up everywhere.
I also get a nicer, thicker lather when I whip it up in a bowl.
Pete <:-}
I heat the lather up in my scuttle bowl, but then go straight to the face. Feels so good!
Used to be a face lathering, now it's warm scuttle to lather only as I find the scent and body of the lather develops so much more robustly when allowed to warm and develop via slowly building the lather. Also, I've come to hate putting a brush full of cold lather on my face, you just can't beat warm lather that's been allowed to brew for a little while.
As always, YMMV....
If you face-lather with warm water, there isn't an issue with a cold brush meeting your face. :)
+1. I use hot water to face lather and, much like Bob, I add water to keep it hydrated each pass (when I don't do a 1 pass multi directional shave). My lather is warm every time. Never a cold brush.Quote:
Originally Posted by celestino
Face-lathering using very hot water. There seems to be less waste for me this way.
I face lather soaps, lightly hand lather creams and finish on face.
Why? Because the longer that soap/cream/lather has to soak in and work on my beard, the better the shave. A Campbell Latherking would be the ultimate warm, thick lather, but it's only one step removed from canned goo in my opinion because it simply doesn't have time to work into the shafts of your beard.
My dad used a Latherking in his barbershop, but he would also lather first, then wrap a steaming hot towel around a customers face.... after a while, the towel comes off, lather removed and then another steaming hot towel and only after that second towel did a second round of lather appear and the shave began. To me, face lathering is much the same, giving plenty of time for the water and soap to do it's work.
Regards
Christian
I have loved the feeling of warm lather ever since I was old enough for the barber to trim around my ears with a real SR. I guess that dates me. I want copious amounts of warm lather available throughout a three pass shave. I find that I can most easily achieve that with a combination of bowl and face lathering.
To get nice warm lather, I purchased an electric candle warmer with a flat top. For safety, it is plugged into an outlet protected by a GFCI.
For my bowl, I use a Corelle deep cereal bowl that has a flat bottom. Often mugs and bowls have a rimmed bottom that limits the contact between the heater surface of the candle warmer and the bowl.
Since it takes a while for the candle warmer to heat up, I turn it on before I shower. I rinse the bowl in hot water and place it on the warmer. If lathering a cream, I will place a dollop of the cream along with a similar amount of water so they will heat up while I shower. My brush goes into a mug filled with hot water.
After showering to clean and hydrate my beard, I am ready to start the process of lathering. By now the bowl and its contents will be very warm. I shake excess water from the brush and begin lathering in the bowl. I bowl lather only to the point of having a soft lather. Then I complete the lather development on my face to exfoliate the beard. Once the lather is shave ready, the brush goes back into the bowl on top of the warmer so I will have additional hot lather for subsequent passes.
My process with hard soaps is a little different. I keep my soap pucks in flat bottom ramekins. Before showering, I will add just enough hot water to the ramekin to cover the puck. That will bloom the soap while I shower. I then place the ramekin on the candle warmer. After showering, I will rinse my shaving bowl in hot water and then pour the bloom water from the soap into the bowl. After loading the shaving brush with soap, I then proceed to develop a soft lather in the bowl and then complete the lathering process on my face, just as I would for a cream.
While this might seem a little cumbersome to some readers, the extra process insures I get lots of nice, warm lather for all the passes. If you like warm lather, check out a candle warmer.
Face lather for me. Usually a cold water shave. I use a glycerin pre-shave soap and it seems to not only clean up the skin, but boost the lather a bit as well.
Shaving and Mixing bowl for me. I like a nice warm whipped lather that emulsifies the face. Either way will work but this is my personal preference.
Face. I enjoyed my Dirty Bird Scuttle but just one more thing to clean and if I'm not paying attention, my soap likes to dry out.
I'm partial to bowl-lathering. Whip up enough lather for two passes plus touch-ups. Leave it at that and not have to futz with it afterwards--concentrate on the shave itself instead. Oh yeah, and Portuguese lanolin creams in old-school metal tubes rule in this regard.
Bowl loading and lathering for me.
Allows good control of the amount of soap and the amount of moisture.
Some soaps/creams that I could not get to lather well on my face, like Cremo, work much better in a bowl.
Face lathering, only; for both soaps and creams. I don't like extra steps -- not before, not during, not after, and I hate wasting product.
I use a White Dog pottery scuttle for all my creams. Soaps, I load the brush and go directly to my face.
Face lathering all the way. The scuttle just sits on the shelf mostly.
I AM lazy, as you all know! ;)
Face all the way. I never saw the utility in bowl lathering.
I'm still using my Dirty Bird scuttle. It's relatively cold for much of the year here and it's nice to have the warm lather. Plus it's part of the shaving process for me now.
I went for the grid pattern on the inside of the bowl and I wonder how much it affects the lathering (i.e. if I'd be shocked if I tried a normal bowl). We've got hard water here.
Ooo yeah, the grid pattern works fairly well for using a shaving stick in the bowl, although the spinny-pattern that DB also does would probably also work quite well.
Soap face, cream bowl. I put hot water on soap and wipe up the later. Cream, a forefinger of cream on a badger and mix in bowl.
Well if that scuttle just sits on the shelf, have you ever considered parting with it? I may have something (I think) of value that I'm willing to trade for it. Got lots of old stuff....Quote:
Originally Posted by sharptonn
Mainly bowl or scuttle use. I use a marble spice mortar heated with hot water, or an ordinary bowl floating in the lavabo. I find that this is a part of the shaving ceremonial like there is a tea ceremony in Japan.
I load the brush, start a bowl lather, face lather; wander around for a couple minutes, while making the bowl lather perfect, rub the first face lather in,
Hot rinse it off and apply the perfected bowl lather and shave. Apply more if needed.
Why not, I have all day!
~Richard
