With creams, I like to whip the lather in a secondary container then work it onto my face. Never been very good at building the lather on my face, especially shaving every day. For this very reason, I prefer tubes to tubs. I know it sounds cheesy, but I like to drop a little cream into a small gladware plastic bowl, then whip the hell out of it with a wet brush. It looks like I sprayed a can of Barbisol into it, and with little more cream than the normal amount of toothpaste one might put on a toothbrush, I can do 3 passes easily, sometimes with a little to spare. If there's any left that got brushed into the corners of the bowl, I pop the lid on it and have a head start the next day. Plus my lathering bowl is portable. With soaps, I never let hot water sit on them, as long as the brush is hot and wet, it'll be plenty. Maybe just take a few more swirls to get where you want. As to shortening the life of a soap, I'm sure it would have some effect................................Jeff