As mentioned above it is not a matter of what kind of hair the knot is made of. What matters though is the shape of the knot. A fan or flat shaped knot is preferable when face lathering since all tips touches your face. A bulb shaped knot is better when bowl lathering.
Bowl or Face Lather. What Brush Suits? Badger vs Boar
- Thread starter ouchyfoot
- Start date
Hmmm... Used to be a fan - fan. Not any longer. Much prefer Bulb or Hybrid for face lathering chores. Bulbs for a give dimension have better backbone and a more controlled knot I think lends itself better to face lathering. I'm weird...
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Face lather with boar
Sorry, my bad . My post was unintentionally too strict. When it comes to brush preferences there's no such thing as wrong or right.
I think that knot loft is my first consideration as to bowl vs face lathering. 55mm or longer is great for bowls. 55mm or shorter is great for face... but that’s not a hard and fast rule.
Synthetics can basically fill any role one has for them, they are just all around good.
Boar is my favorite. face lathering is my preference, but there are times I opt out. With a new boar and a semi touchy soap, trying face lather may lead to too much irritation trying to Get to where you’re going. Once the bristles start to soften then it’s all good. I will admit, that I do not look to my boars when lathering with a shave stick. For some soaps, I prefer my boars over all others because they just load so well and lead into an excellent lather, as is my experience with MWF.
Badger is a trickier topic. So much variation in characteristics among the knots and hair types. Given heat retention of badger, I don’t see why anyone would bowl lather when you can work up that nice warm lather right into you face with a badger. I prefer to lather shave sticks with my badgers, especially the silvertips. I’ve used badger for both face and bowl lather.
Soap and brush compatibility may be the biggest factor for Brush consideration in my den.
Synthetics can basically fill any role one has for them, they are just all around good.
Boar is my favorite. face lathering is my preference, but there are times I opt out. With a new boar and a semi touchy soap, trying face lather may lead to too much irritation trying to Get to where you’re going. Once the bristles start to soften then it’s all good. I will admit, that I do not look to my boars when lathering with a shave stick. For some soaps, I prefer my boars over all others because they just load so well and lead into an excellent lather, as is my experience with MWF.
Badger is a trickier topic. So much variation in characteristics among the knots and hair types. Given heat retention of badger, I don’t see why anyone would bowl lather when you can work up that nice warm lather right into you face with a badger. I prefer to lather shave sticks with my badgers, especially the silvertips. I’ve used badger for both face and bowl lather.
Soap and brush compatibility may be the biggest factor for Brush consideration in my den.
I've only recently found face lathering. The beard won't let me lather my cheeks, but that broken in badger two band does feel good on the neck. Adds a different dimension. But I haven't tried any other hairs.
Whoa Drunkard...
K. I do both depending on my mood.
1) Waste - If I face lather I am rinsing residual soap outta my brush. If I'm bowl lathering I am rinsing lather outta my bowl and my brush. I find the product used/wasted to be really about the same.
2) My application of a bowl lather is a splayed bit of happiness. While I definitely work the brush on my face longer when face lathering I don't feel one is more optimal than the other.
3) Yes
4) The amount of time it takes to fill/dump/rinse my bowl is factored into my rinsing of my brush and I would say it is negligible.
Other considerations-
A) Face lathering is often done with warmer cream/soap. You are omitting a step that will take some time and that time will reduce the temperature of the products before they reach your face.
B) Bowl lathering will allow you to completely control, and learn from, your lather building experiences. Look, if you want to build a supreme buildyourownbowl-addgummybears-dirtysexyphotographable lather then bowl lathering is your method of choice.
I both bowl and face lather. No preference for hair, but definitely a preference for size and backbone.
For bowl lathering I like a large brush. Kent BK8 badger and Semogue SOC boar both excellent. I could face lather with either (and have - once each -just to see), but the SOC badger is smaller and stiffer, which just makes face lathering easier and neater.
And, of course, I could bowl lather with the SOC badger. It would take longer and bring less lather to the face, but would work just fine.
It just depends on how fussy you want to be. You can do anything with any brush. It may take longer, or be messier, but it's just shaving and you have to clean up at the end one way or the other.
And after you've been here a while longer you'll realize we don't have a general agreement about anything except liking it here.
For bowl lathering I like a large brush. Kent BK8 badger and Semogue SOC boar both excellent. I could face lather with either (and have - once each -just to see), but the SOC badger is smaller and stiffer, which just makes face lathering easier and neater.
And, of course, I could bowl lather with the SOC badger. It would take longer and bring less lather to the face, but would work just fine.
It just depends on how fussy you want to be. You can do anything with any brush. It may take longer, or be messier, but it's just shaving and you have to clean up at the end one way or the other.
And after you've been here a while longer you'll realize we don't have a general agreement about anything except liking it here.
I exclusively face lather. And the below brush is the only brush I need, Yaqi Moka Synthetic...as it lathers EVERYTHING perfectly....sticks, soaps or creams.....
Since I do both, please allow me to offer an alternative reality.
It's the same amount of lather either way. If you are wasting too much lather you loaded too long - no matter which method you used.
Using your face as a bowl is definitely good prep - assuming you need more prep at that point in the shave and your skin isn't irritated by all the brushing. Mine isn't, but my prep is finished after my shower, so it actually adds nothing to my shave in that regard.
Less clean up? Maybe, and maybe not. If you use a boar you need to soak it. A bowl provides a great place and uses less water than the sink. After the shave you need to clean the brush. The bowl provides a great place for that. Run the water into the bowl as you swirl the brush. Easily as fast as using your hand - and the bowl gets clean at the same time.
I face lather for my lazy, two pass shaves (lots of them lately) and use the scuttle for all three pass shaves.
I use a scuttle and the second pass lather is warmer than the first. The third pass lather is warmer than the second. Wonderfully so. Talk about feels fantastic!
- Thread starter
- #32
And for those of us who are retired, time spent on prep, lathering and cleanup is irrelevant.
I get better lather on the face. I think the bit of skin oil thrown into the mix helps get everything going.
Also, I consider the exfoliation a plus. Save your walnut scrubs and Glycolic acid peels... give me some boar and badger hairs.
Bought a few bowls and scuttles in the past. The heated lather was nice and all, but lather stability was a tradeoff. As the lather cooled and heat started to transfer from the scuttle to the lather, it definitely compromised the lather quality.
Also, I consider the exfoliation a plus. Save your walnut scrubs and Glycolic acid peels... give me some boar and badger hairs.
Bought a few bowls and scuttles in the past. The heated lather was nice and all, but lather stability was a tradeoff. As the lather cooled and heat started to transfer from the scuttle to the lather, it definitely compromised the lather quality.
I mostly mug lather with pucks and face lather with sticks and creams. That is how my Father and Grandfather did it, so that is how I learned. I have always thought the whole beat in in a bowl step was unnecessary.
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Here's my theory. For many years I used the scuttle 360 days a year and face lathered the rest. My lathers with the scuttle were always better - easier to add water and more consistent quality lather.
For the past three months I have been almost exclusively face lathering. Now my lather is the same quality as the lather I make in the scuttle.
I believe it's just a matter of experience. A year ago I would have sworn the scuttle lather was better (because mine was), and now I know there is no difference in the lather with either method done well.
I use MdC and WK and there is absolutely no compromise in the lather quality over the 3 passes with my scuttle. I do remember that years ago with Proraso cream it would dry out with the heat and require a few added drops of water. If you're using something on the cheaper end you may want to consider how much trouble you think it is to add a few drops of water before your last pass if your lather dries out.
I have a nice 2 tiered badger, and an Omega 45 boar. I bowl lather, then face lather. I find that if want a nice lofty lather on my face, the boar works best. But I have also discovered that I can get a much better shave and longer blade life if I have thinner, slicker lather that I can “ grind into” (for lack of a better term) my face. For that, the short stiffer bristles of the badger work best for me. Since thinner lather also tends to dry out more quickly, I also finish with a final face lather, or application of more lather to protect the bottom layer of lather. I’ve found I can use almost any lather method ( thick or thin) for the first week of my blade. So if I threw out my blades more often, and enjoyed the aesthetics of a fluffy lather, I’d switch to the boar. (Although I also notice that most of the time I have an easier time bowl lathering with the badger, the boar seems backward to me.) But since my main goal is a thin close lather, my go to brush is almost always the badger.
(YMMV. I see that some others have posted very different experiences with their brushes.)
(YMMV. I see that some others have posted very different experiences with their brushes.)
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I only use synthetics and find them fine for both face lathering and bowel lathering. I've never tried badgers or boars so maybe I'm missing out on something 
.
.My above post, auto correct changed awkward to backward. I still struggle a bit with bowl lathering with my longer bristled boar.
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
Pro's of bowl lathering over face lathering.
1/ you are not changing the base of the soap at all by just taking a scoop out of the main puck pressing into the bowl.
2/ you can formulate just the kind of lather you like as where face lathering you can be brushing for about 2 to 3 minutes irritating the skin just to make a great lather.
3/ bowl lathering is just as fast or faster as face lathering with hardly no waste.
4/ depending on water used to pre-soak brush you could be adding contaminated water source to main soap base.
5/ winter months I get warm lather to add to my face if I want by just heating ceramic bowl under hot water for 20-30 seconds.
6/ I have never run out of lather where face lathering doing a 3 pass with pickups is pushing lather starvation when face lathering.
7/ any left over soap can be used in ubber lather with a nice cream of choice on next shave session.
8/ any left over soap with a nice fragrance soap in bowl can be used as bathroom fragrance until next session leaving a nice welcome when entering the shave den.
9/ wet soap from the tub does not have to be turned upside down to dry over night before putting the lid back on to seal the soap.
10/ less chance of losing soap fragrance from face lathering leaving soap out to dry from using a wet brush while loading from a tub for over night drying. Bowl lathering the tub can be sealed right away with minimal fragrance loss.
11/ you still have to clean up the soap tub before storing IMO.
12/ Do not have to bloom the hard puck for extra loss of soap down the drain!
13/ bowl lathering can be very rewarding for a individual IMO.
14/ you can add other ingredients to bowl lathering easier like glycerine or herbal oils easier than to a brush for more even disbursement of added ingredients for richer lather & user enjoyment.
15/ I think bowl lathering is superior to face lathering and especially if you have sensitive skin.
16/ less chance of brush burn from dwelling to long creating lather!
(Some old archived photo's, Click to enlarge)
(L-R) soap pressed in bowl.........................seeing is believing for results..................... warm lather in winter months.
Have some great shaves!
Cons
1/Certain bowls can break and can be expensive, but a lot of bowls are anti breakable(plastic, stainless steel, silicone, wood.....)
1.2/Takes about 30 seconds to load a bowl from base soap & about the same as a brush loading out of a tub IMO.
2/ slightly less clean up possibly face lathering but a brush still needs rinsing regardless if using a bowl or face lathering to keep the brush in good shape for longevity.
3/ It might take slightly longer (depending on bowl lathering experience)to use a bowl for lathering but worth it if time is not pressing to get to work. I can make great lather from bowl lathering in about 1-2 minutes regardless of soap, cream or croap from my experiences.
4/ you do need to spend $ money on a bowl, I bought my ceramic shallow bowl for $1.00 at a second hand store. Best bowl I have ever owned so far.
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