Face latherers are gonna face lather but that does nothing to dissuade a dedicated bowl latherer like myself.
As I’ve settled into my wet shaving routine I’ve gravitated mainly towards creams. This has been mainly due to the scoop and go convenience of creams. I enjoy being able to pop a spoonful of cream into my lather bowl and build the lather in one step.
Of course there are many great hard soaps out there too. I’ve kept a few but have used these mainly on the weekends. Loading on the puck and then moving to a bowl is an additional hassle. There’s more stuff to clean and there’s more stuff hanging around the sink while shaving.
Recently I ordered a small 50g pot of Martin de Candre. The pot is way too small to load from directly so I’ve been scratching a little out into my lather bowl each day with a spoon. I bloom the MdC while I shower and by the time I’m done it’s almost completely dissolved. It’s been working really well.
Then I thought of a way to extend the scoop and go convenience of a cream to all refill pucks and sticks of hard soaps. All you need to do is grate a few shavings into your lather bowl. In this way a single serving of hard soap is easily loaded into your bowl. There’s no need to move from puck to bowl. No need to dry the soap. No need to clean the tub. It works great and the increased surface area of the shaving mean that the soap blooms in no time. Some may consider this an extra step. I actually find it to be considerable time saving that streamlines the use of hard soaps with lather bowls.
Now when I say grate I really mean get some small shavings into the lather bowl however you want to do that. I tried a grater and I did not really like it for preparing a small quantity of soap. It works great for breaking down a whole puck but not so well for creating a single use serving. The soap smears on the surface of the grater and the shavings stick to the back.
What does work incredibly well is an ordinary peeler or even a zester if you want to be fancy. These tools can produce very fine shavings and are much less messy. They are also more compact and easier to clean. To save an argument with the wife I bought a dedicated peeler for the save den. I was surprised by the variety of options available at the local kitchen supply store. I settled on a nifty citrus zest peeler and zester combo. This peels a bit thinner than an ordinary peeler and also gives the option of cutting fine strips with the tool on the back.
If you are a bowl latheter that likes hard soaps it’s worth a try.
As I’ve settled into my wet shaving routine I’ve gravitated mainly towards creams. This has been mainly due to the scoop and go convenience of creams. I enjoy being able to pop a spoonful of cream into my lather bowl and build the lather in one step.
Of course there are many great hard soaps out there too. I’ve kept a few but have used these mainly on the weekends. Loading on the puck and then moving to a bowl is an additional hassle. There’s more stuff to clean and there’s more stuff hanging around the sink while shaving.
Recently I ordered a small 50g pot of Martin de Candre. The pot is way too small to load from directly so I’ve been scratching a little out into my lather bowl each day with a spoon. I bloom the MdC while I shower and by the time I’m done it’s almost completely dissolved. It’s been working really well.
Then I thought of a way to extend the scoop and go convenience of a cream to all refill pucks and sticks of hard soaps. All you need to do is grate a few shavings into your lather bowl. In this way a single serving of hard soap is easily loaded into your bowl. There’s no need to move from puck to bowl. No need to dry the soap. No need to clean the tub. It works great and the increased surface area of the shaving mean that the soap blooms in no time. Some may consider this an extra step. I actually find it to be considerable time saving that streamlines the use of hard soaps with lather bowls.
Now when I say grate I really mean get some small shavings into the lather bowl however you want to do that. I tried a grater and I did not really like it for preparing a small quantity of soap. It works great for breaking down a whole puck but not so well for creating a single use serving. The soap smears on the surface of the grater and the shavings stick to the back.
What does work incredibly well is an ordinary peeler or even a zester if you want to be fancy. These tools can produce very fine shavings and are much less messy. They are also more compact and easier to clean. To save an argument with the wife I bought a dedicated peeler for the save den. I was surprised by the variety of options available at the local kitchen supply store. I settled on a nifty citrus zest peeler and zester combo. This peels a bit thinner than an ordinary peeler and also gives the option of cutting fine strips with the tool on the back.
If you are a bowl latheter that likes hard soaps it’s worth a try.
