Face lather vs bowl lather

[ShaverUK]

What are the benefits to each. I religiously face lather however sometimes have dry skin perhaps due to too much exfoliation during face lathering. I have always thought face lathering to be the best way to get the cream in my hairs however I have never bowl lathered then applied as I am unsure how to.
Any help appreciated

 

[njpaddy]

I started off bowl lathering creams. Maybe it was me or maybe it was my well water, but I could never consistently get a good lather in a bowl. Once I switched to face lathering, then eventually went to soaps, softer brushes and a drier lather, I found what worked best for me and stuck with it. The best part of wetshaving is experimenting and finding what works best for you.

 

[ajkel64]

I have always face lathered. I tried bowl lathering soaps but I found no benefit to loading a brush from a tub of soap and then lathering in a bowl. However I do find that lathering a cream in a bowl does seem to give me a better lather. Many religiously bowl lather or lather from scuttles. All you can do is give it a go and see what you think.

 

[Invicta]

I have never bowl lathered then applied as I am unsure how to.
Any help appreciated

Get a soup or rice bowl (or similar) from the kitchen and try it and you will have a good idea if you want to go down that route. For creams I prefer to put a large almond sized snurdle into a scuttle and lather up as you get consistent results. For soaps I load on the puck for about 25 seconds and lather in the scuttle. I still work the first lather into the stubble for about 3 minutes anyway.

 

[horsetrails]

For my soap most I will face lather. For my creams I like to use the bowl best. I have a scuttle I like made by a lady that makes small pieces of pottery. She had it for sale on her table at the artist market in my town. She only had this one and told me she had it for sale for two years. No one ever bought it but asked about it what it was, a tea pot?

 

[musicman1951]

I face lather once or twice a week when I am doing less than 3 passes. Most days I use a scuttle.

Advantages of face lathering:
1. You don't need to buy a scuttle/bowl (or steal one from the kitchen).
2. If you don't do adequate prep the lather building process can fix some of that deficiency.
3. You don't need to find a place to store your scuttle.
4. You can take a certain amount of manly pride in not complaining about the cold lather for the 3rd pass.

Advantages of the scuttle:
1. You have a handy place to soak your brush that doesn't take much water.
2. If you've done adequate prep (or have sensitive skin) you don't need to irritate your face by using it as a bowl.
3. The lather gets warmer with each pass.
4. You have a handy place to clean your brush.

There is absolutely no difference in the shave, so just do what makes you happy.

Bowl lathering is exactly the same technique as face lathering - only the swirling on your face becomes the swirling in the bowl.

 

[Frozenshades]

Face lathering works just fine but I tend to get a fluffier lather using a bowl. For creams I most always bowl lather, for soaps often bowl but sometimes face. Depends on the soap and my mood.

 

[DMT]

I use both methods depending on the circumstances. If I only have time to give my face a quick wash at the sink I will face lather as it helps to make up for the lack of prep/hydration. If I am shaving after I have a shower or have had time to wash and soak my face with a flannel I'll use the bowl.

I that bowl lathering doesn't work well if the brush hasn't had sufficient time to soak beforehand where as a short soak is usually fine for face lathering as your face is wet when you start working in the cream. The flip side is that I tend to get enough lather for 4 passes when bowl lathering but face lathering only generates enough for 2 and maybe some touch up.

 

[SolidSnake03]

I've got fairly tough hair and sensitive skin which seems to be pretty common on here. I've actually found face lathering to do a better job of lightly exfoliating the skin and working the lather into the hair overall resulting in a better shave. Granted it's not like night and day difference but I find it more ckmforcomfo to face lather with something like the Omega Mighty Midget or a small boar brush. Synthetics work great for this too although a bit less scruby. Don't have much badger experience to be honest, find that I do this with both soaps and creams, just smear a little cream a couple places and go.

Interesting I still have a bowl but I use it to soak my brush and for clean up

 

[davent]

Face lather creams and shave sticks because i apply those directly to my face from the container. A tub of soap, load the brush from the tub then bowl lather in a hot mug so the lather gots to my face warm which is not the case if i face lather with the cold soap even when loaded onto a warmed brush. Summer time that becomes a moot point and just face lather everything.
dave

 

[mr_houston]

I always bowl lather. However, I probably build the lather to 70% complete in the bowl, then take it to my face and finish it up. I could do 100% bowl lather, but that's a waste of time and I like to scrub some.

The primary benefit is that I can build the water-to-soap ratio just right and rarely have to add water to the lather on my face. It helps me dial in most soaps. Secondarily, I can use smaller brushes (24mm) and don't have to worry about running out of lather - there is more in my bowl.

 

[emwolf]

Like many bowl latherers have said, I really do a combination. I don't spend the amount of time building the lather on my face, but I do spend some time applying the lather and building it just a bit further.

 

[Merle]

Learn both, use either when the mood suits. Be proud of the fact you have 'leet skillz and can offer your opinion of each when next the question arises! Depending on your diligence you could be consciously competent within a day or so. Unconscious competency will arrive before you know it!

 

[shoshani]

I start in a bowl, either swirling on soap or a combination of swirling and pumping for a dollop of cream, until I just reach the small bubble stage. Then I work it in and over my face across, up and down, in circular motions, and then across both directions again. This is after years of experimentation as to which works best for me. (The exception is shaving sticks; it's hard to do anything with those except face lather.)

Old ads for Mennen and other creams used to tell the reader to wet the brush and then put the cream on the tips of the brush and face lather. I've tried that, but have found I get better results if I start the lather building in a bowl. Actually a 1 cup Pyrex glass storage bowl, which is the perfect size to fit inside the medicine cabinet. Inexpensive, to boot.

 

[bberg100]

Bowl lather here. I don't like the mess I make face lathering. I will fine tune on my face as need be, but 95% of the time I get it just right in the bowl.

 

[sharktown]

What are the benefits to each. I religiously face lather however sometimes have dry skin perhaps due to too much exfoliation during face lathering. I have always thought face lathering to be the best way to get the cream in my hairs however I have never bowl lathered then applied as I am unsure how to.
Any help appreciated

I bowl lather. I use a small desert bowl I stole from our kitchen - wife was not happy. I use a puck of Williams and soak my boar brush while I shower. Then whip up some good lather, add a dab of Cremo and "wham" get great lather for an awesome slick shave. YMMV

 

[Dilettante777]

Face lather all day, tactical feedback

 

[cyberdog]

I used to always bowl lather, have a couple of nice bowls too, and a scuttle. My copper/tin plated bowl works better than the scuttle, if you either set it on top of one of those click the disc gel heating pads, or a small coffee warmer, with the click disc being more convenient and safer. I also have a nice heavy ceramic ridged lather bowl, and a scuttle from PAA.

That said, I face lather more often than bowl any more. It's quicker, and gives the face even more add'l prep, along with nicely exfoliating the skin, while working the lather down into and between the growth. The growth also acts like the ridges in a lather bowl, aiding the lathering process. There's also a bit less cleanup, as there's no bowl to rinse out for those rushed mornings, when heading to work. (Ok, less clean up, unless you manage to get carried away and fling the lather across the room....hey, it happens on occasion, when the amount of lather way over fills even my 30mm synthetic).

Given the time on a cold morning, I do enjoy that warm lather shave, but alas they're not as frequent as they used to be. I think warm lather does aid in the shave, if there wasn't sufficient prep, although 99% of the time, I've just stepped out of a hot or warm shower.

 

[dmshaver]

+1 with @cyberdog.

 

[Dtwitch19]

I face lather because it's faster.