Soap: where to generate lather?

New brush, new bowl, new technique, a little bit of difficulty.

With shaving soap, are you supposed to generate lather in the bowl or on your face? Yesterday I tried the latter (couple of times), and never quite felt that the lather was thick enough. (It was always a bit semi-transparent, and at least initially felt more like wiping a bar of soap on my face. I tried to make sure that the brush had plenty of water in it. Not writing-off the possibility that I'm screwing up the technique somehow, mind you.)

Looking around the web, I have seen instructions for both methods. (I also saw one place mention that you should never use a circular motion with the brush, since it supposedly causes the central bristles to break prematurely. Am curious about folks' opinions on that as well, since I've never seen that mentioned anywhere else.)

Thanks,
-Ivan

I usually make some of the lather in the bowl, then make more on my face. There are lots of right ways to do it.

If it's a hard soap (like Williams) then I will run hot tap water in the mug & let the brush soak while I shower. Then I dump the water out of the mug, let the brush drain so there's not too much water, then begin to make the lather. Softer soaps (like Classic Shaving) end up with a short lifespan using this method.

Lots of people use the circular motion, myself included.

I have the same problem Yan. My shaving soap routine leaves me with puny results. I have been using cream mostly which makes life easier.

The way I look at the circular motion thing is... I don't expect my forty dollar brush to last well into the century. If I had one of those $1000 Art of Shaving brushes, I might have a different opinion. I guess it's all relative.

The problem is in the water.

At home, i make lather on my face, plenty of it. I swipe the brush for 5-7 circles in the soap bowl, and procede working on my face. I get plenty of lather for 2-3 passes.

As i went at vacation is Corfu island(Greece) i noticed that it is much harder to make nice lather. It was constant relathering, and all I got was that semitransparent lather...

Luckily, our water here is pretty soft (so foam and suds are usually not a problem). If this were a hard water area (lots of minerals), I could see an easy reason for thin lather. I suspect that it's likely due in large part to technique.

I guess that one thing that throws me about the "create lather on the face" thing is when viewed in comparison to the shaving cream and "lather machine" methods. In both the cream and machine methods, lather is made prior to application. If the motivation is to conserve soap, then I can see the reason for the difference. Likewise, if the chemical composition of the soap lather is that much different than that created with cream, then I can see that as well. Beyond that, it seems that lather applied with a brush is lather applied with a brush, and there should be no obvious advantage to creating the lather on the face versus in the bowl.

Think that I must be missing something here...

Pick up a couple of bars of Williams Mug Shaving Soap at Wal Mart for less than a buck a piece. Then, practice making lather! Your technique should improve and you won't be wasting more expensive soaps or creams.

Randy

There are alot of variables at work here that affect the kind and amount of lather you get. The hardness of the water, the type and size of the brush, the type and brand of soap you use and your technique for brushing. All other things being equal I've found the type of soap to be most critical. I've found brands like classic shave, trumpers, taylors and haslinger to produce copious amounts of rich lather and brands like conk, williams to produce little or weak lather.

I usually produce most of the lather in the bowl and expand on that on my face. I don't think the type of motion you use matters as long as you get it going and it covers your face. You don't need three inches of lather on your face anyway just a light coat.

Tried again today, and it's getting better. (I spent a little more time in the bowl, and didn't worry about keeping all of the water in the brush.) In all fairness, so far the worst application with soap has resulted in a better shave than the best application with "gel in a can".

Randy: I like your practice soap idea. I might just try it for the hell of it. (A day or so later: "Help me! I'm lathering, and I can't stop!")


-Ivan