Face loading vs. mug loading

[dgilman]

I've been using an Arko stick as my go-to soap for a while now, and until quite recently I only used it by rubbing the stick on my face and building the lather right there. Now that I've moved to an apartment with a much bigger bathroom counter, I thought I'd try out Arko mashed into a mug for comparison. I'm a bit frustrated that I seem unable to build the brushful of thick lather that I've grown accustomed to. I feel like rubbing the soap on my scruffy face yields a much higher load of soap to lather than swirling the brush on the soap. Is this what others have found as well? The only other variable that might be in play is water hardness — I believe that the water here is harder than at my last address, although I haven't researched the details yet.

Did I just waste a $1.50 stick of Arko by mashing it into a bowl when I could have kept it a stick and gotten better shaves?

 

[mblakele]

I prefer sticks too, but this is YMMV depending on beard, skin, or squeamishness.

You can always turn the Arko back into a stick. Most of my sticks are ex-pucks, stuffed into round Brut deodorant containers.

 

[mhdena]

You load on the soap and then transfer to face.

You can't really load on your face.

 

[gwav64]

I always use Arko in its natural stick form.

 

[RKG]

Maybe you're not loading enough soap onto the brush when you load from the bowl.
When you rub the stick on your face, your probably loading more soap than you realize.

 

[dgilman]

You load on the soap and then transfer to face.

You can't really load on your face.

Sure you can! When I use a shave stick, I load the soap on my face: I smear soap on my whiskers, and use the brush to build the lather on my face. The brush is loaded only in the sense that some of the lather ends up on the brush as well as on my face. Shave stick 101, my friend.

I always use Arko in its natural stick form.

99% of the time, so do I. Perhaps this was a case of trying to gild the lily.

Maybe you're not loading enough soap onto the brush when you load from the bowl.
When you rub the stick on your face, your probably loading more soap than you realize.

That's exactly what I suspect, Bob. It never occurred to me before that my whiskery face is a more efficient means of loading soap than a brush, but there it is. It makes me wonder why anyone bothers with mugs and bowls, when "use more product" is practically a mantra on this forum!

 

[InHotWater]

The main reason I leave the Arko in stick form, is for storage convenience. It easily fits in the medicine cabinet. There are plenty of people on the forum that prefer to put it into a container, and make lather more conventionally, both methods bring good results.

 

[Mick]

If you want to bowl lather go get some KMF.

Stick your zip code into the Kiss My Face store locator to find a retailer near you and grab a tube ($5) or pump bottle ($8) of any scent.

http://www.kissmyface.com/store

These are amazing creams and one of the easiest to lather. They are sold as "brushless" but stick a brush to it and you will have a lava flow of slick, luxurious, lather to use.

As for your Arko........

Get an empty twist up holder from WSC

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Twist-up-Shaving-Stick-Containers-2-oz_p_649.html

Take the arko from the bowl and start stuffing the twist up. Grab the rest of the arko stick and stuff it in there too.

Then you will be back to a stick of arko in a more convienient holder.

 

[Uncle Brian]

I tried face lathering this morning with my stick of Derby soap which works and smells a lot like Arko ... I got a better lather and will be a face lather guy when ever possible from now on. Will even look for a tube so I can turn my bowl Arko and Tweex back into sticks.
Face lathering is the BEST

 

[takeshi]

I feel like rubbing the soap on my scruffy face yields a much higher load of soap to lather than swirling the brush on the soap. Is this what others have found as well?

It's certainly easier to load more with a stick but you should be able to load enough from a bowl as well. Can you provide more details exactly on how you load? Insufficient loading is a very common problem.

The only other variable that might be in play is water hardness — I believe that the water here is harder than at my last address, although I haven't researched the details yet.

Pick up a bottle of distilled water and try it for comparison to tap.

You load on the soap and then transfer to face.

You can't really load on your face.

You're thinking in terms of pucks. With sticks you definitely load on the face.

It makes me wonder why anyone bothers with mugs and bowls, when "use more product" is practically a mantra on this forum!

Because I have no problems loading from a puck. And MDC doesn't come in a stick. Even if it did, a stick would be wasteful considering how little MDC is needed. And I just prefer pucks. As always, it's a YMMV matter and no one option ever fits everyone's needs/wants/preferences/budget. You don't have to use a stick to use more product.

 

[Renato1]

Did I just waste a $1.50 stick of Arko by mashing it into a bowl when I could have kept it a stick and gotten better shaves?

Yes.
Regards,
Renato

 

[rockviper]

I prefer stick myself, but often use the puck-in-mug for a soap that already comes as a puck. If if works fine as a puck, no problem. If I need to load the brush better, I'll convert the puck to a stick and let my scruff eat up the soap like crazy.

 

[cryhavoc]

I love Arko but not a big fan of sticks unless travelling. My Arko is smashed into a bowl and it lathers like a monster. It is impossible to not have Arko load a brush, perhaps you need more product.