Face-lathering; OK for the brush

[Vespasian]

99% of the time I bowl-lather, and I love it. I am now dog-sitting for two weeks, and I keep forgetting to bring a bowl upstairs for my shaves.

My question: I have to apply quite a bit of splaying power to the bristles in order to raise a good foam from my brush, a WD ST 22 x 50, the only brush I have with me. (The soap is a favorite, Tcheon Fung Sing Bergamotto-Neroli hard soap.) Am I doing any lasting damage to my brush's knot by applying the soap with the force needed to make lather? I'm not mashing it down really hard or anything, but I am using more pressure than when I bowl-lather.

Thanks.

 

[musicman1951]

I don't know this brush, but I don't believe you need to have a great deal of splay - just keep cranking and hope your arm doesn't give out.

 

[DaltonGang]

Don't worry about the foam, it's the slickness that matters. Big lather looks pretty, but it doesn't help with the shave.

 

[SmurfK]

You need to splay any brush to be effective at face lathering. The only one that gave me problems was a Vie-Long horse hair brush, by creating the infamous bird nest by applying pressure and using circular motions. Other than that, in my books, if a brush takes any damage for this kind of usage, it's a poorly made brush. Did not have problems with boars or synthetics until now, and i don't think i'll have in the future.

 

[ks6c]

3 passes, 3 different brush motions to avoid the birds nest - clockwise, anti-clockwise, paint brush...

Oh, and no need for pressure.

 

[Eeyore]

99% of the time I bowl-lather, and I love it. I am now dog-sitting for two weeks, and I keep forgetting to bring a bowl upstairs for my shaves.

My question: I have to apply quite a bit of splaying power to the bristles in order to raise a good foam from my brush, a WD ST 22 x 50, the only brush I have with me. (The soap is a favorite, Tcheon Fung Sing Bergamotto-Neroli hard soap.) Am I doing any lasting damage to my brush's knot by applying the soap with the force needed to make lather? I'm not mashing it down really hard or anything, but I am using more pressure than when I bowl-lather.

Thanks.

People have face lathered for decades ... and knots do wear out in the long run; that's life.

 

[SmurfK]

I don't see how clockwise motions combined with anti-clockwise would help. I think they would actually do the opposite, as the bristles will be stressed from both directions. The same principle when you try to break an soft-core wire. Going just in one direction would take more time than going in two directions. Don't know if it's making sense, but it's exact the same movement.

Anyway, i personally would not do this. I would not modify the way i'm using the brush to make it last longer. It's a tool. Like any other tools, they won't last a lifetime if used. As long as i find tools that i can use how i like, i don't have a problem. Also, there are advantages in using a brush more "powerful" instead of using just the tips. Exfoliation, fluffier lather, the lather gets under all the hairs. I would not give those up just to make sure that my brush will last 50 years. I honestly don't see the point in it.

Thought about how much i would think that a brush should last. Came up with 1000 shaves, or around 3 years of daily use. In my books, if a brush gets pass this number of shaves without breaking, i'm happy with it.

 

[ackvil]

Brushes can last a lifetime if you take care of them and not abuse them. I have one brush that I used daily from the time I bought it in the 1990s to about 5 years ago and that brush is still in my rotation. To get a good lather there is no need to put undue pressure on the brush. Take a look at this post on face lathering.

 

[fella]

I generally avoid a rotational motion and go with a side to side or "paint brush" motion. This is something the good people at Simpson brushes recommend. Not sure how much validity there is to this, but since it works for me, I stick with it.

 

[jcs266]

Don't worry about the foam, it's the slickness that matters. Big lather looks pretty, but it doesn't help with the shave.

Ditto. Lather is a lubricant for the blade/skin. It only needs to be slick to do it's job. I face lather exclusively and don't find the need to splay the bristles at all, just work the brush vigorously around in a circular and left-right sweeping motion (add water if necessary) til I have a thin, slick lather. It takes about 30-45 seconds to have a shave-ready lather.

 

[jcs266]

I generally avoid a rotational motion and go with a side to side or "paint brush" motion. This is something the good people at Simpson brushes recommend. Not sure how much validity there is to this, but since it works for me, I stick with it.

Good point, when I say I face lather in a circular motion it's with very light pressure (very minimal splaying of the bristles) accompanied with paint brush left-right sweeps with the brush

 

[Vespasian]

Thanks for all the good replies; I'm going to take it easier when I face lather.

 

[mftoms59]

Good point, when I say I face lather in a circular motion it's with very light pressure (very minimal splaying of the bristles) accompanied with paint brush left-right sweeps with the brush

Exactly my method, circular to build, paint to distribute. Using my Horse Hair, I use slightly more pressure than it takes to hold the brush to my face, using only the tips to build and distribute the lather. V-L Horse Hair brushes aren't poorly made but sometimes used like a Boar or Badger... it is neither.