Face vs. Bowl Lathering

[Nando723]

I've only been wet shaving for about a month now and I have been face lathering with a tweezerman brush. So far I've had good results using Proraso, MWF and Col Conk soaps. Today I tried bowl lathering with the Proraso soap and found that the lather was much thicker and held up longer then when I face lather. Think I will keep continue to bowl lather.

What do you prefer to do, Face or Bowl lather and why?

My brother is on vacation in Portugal and I asked him to bring me back a Semogue from the mother land. From what I've read on B&B the Semogue's are better for face lathering.

Is this an accurate assessment? Could I use it for bowl lathering as well?

 

[mftoms59]

First off Welcome to B&B, my first question; were you using the same load time for face & bowl lathering? Most times IME, when using the same amount of product, my lather may be a little richer when face lathering since I'm building lather on a textured surface(facial hair), with a bit less water. Subsequent re-lathers will become thinner with the introduction of some water and less product, Bowl lathers tend to be a bit more consistent on re-lathers since you have additional lather in the bowl to re-load the brush.

I face lather 95% of the time since it's less equipment to clean, quicker & takes up less room, I occasionally Bowl Lather on my weekend or when using a combination of Creams , Soaps or Soap & Cream.

Any Brush can face or bowl lather, mainly it's personal preference on the feel of your knot; scrubby, soft, stiff or yielding/floppy. Another factor is handle size, one that is 45mm or less with a shorter loft, below 50mm, would be considered a knuckle buster on a deep or narrow bowl but easy to use on your face. Handles @45mm or above with knots 53mm or larger would be easy to bowl lather without clunking or knuckle busting, they can also work well face lathering.

I'd recommend a wide, 5" or larger, shallow bowl no higher than ~3", ideally having an angled wall that's wider at the top. Then you could use virtually any brush you might have or want, tall or short.

My personal favorite Semogues are the 1250, 50mm handle, 55mm loft, 22mm knot, 90% Best Tops; or the 1800 for something stiffer, 53mm handle, 55mm loft, 22mm knot, extra 75% tops mixed with Premium 90% Tops, Face or Bowl, Cream or Soaps they work well.

 

[El-a-Menthol]

Nando I prefer face lathering.
I started out bowl lathering, like many.
And I ended up face lathering, like many.
The reason why is simple, multiple reasons actually.
First, when you build lather on your face you have the best preparation for both your skin and your whiskers.
Second, your skin isn't as smooth and polished as a bowl/mug. This means you can build up a lather faster.
Third is that's one less item clotting up precious space and having to clean.
Fourth is you discovered you absolutely don't need a mug or bowl, so why use one?

 

[Mick]

Welcome to the wonderful world of wet shaving.

I bounce back and forth between bowl and face lathering. No preference for either from me.

I do have brushes I enjoy using with one method over the other but for the most part any brush can be used either way.

See if you can get a "selection" of Semogue brushes instead of just one.....

1305
620
830
SOC

These will give you the full range of handle and bristle options to play around with. They should be more reasonable if purchased "at the source"

 

[Luc]

I prefer face lathering because I do not dirty a bowl in the end. I ended up dropping my lathering bowl every ~3 months so it was more a pain than anything else. If I face lather, no more bowl, the brush stand by itself on the counter while I shave no issues.

I bowl lather if I get a new shaving soap or shaving cream. That way, I can make 3-4 batch of lather to test it before I actually shave with it.

For your second question, it depends on the shape of the brush. One or the other, you can face lather and bowl lather with the same brush, it will work. The "proper" shape of the brush will give you a better "performance" to build your lather. YMMV

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Bulb_Shaped_vs_Fan_Shaped

 

[edgerunner]

I didn't know bowl lathering before joining this forum. I had face lathered only for over 26 years. Back in the beginning I started with DE razors and continued with cartridges. I didn't do multipass shaves during all that time - lathered my face and did one single pass with some buffing, that was it. I still believe face lathering is good and makes more sense for quick single pass or single pass with touch-ups shaves. When it comes to multipass shaving, I prefer the bowl lathering. Somebody mentioned it above - more consistent lather for each pass, warmer if using a scuttle, the size of the brush doesn't matter because the lather is in the bowl, I can take as much time as I need or want playing with it when spreading the lather over my face. Face lathering works better when I don't have time and want to speed up the whole routine.

 

[Jclifton]

I usually face lather, but that is mainly because I haven't found a bowl and I haven't purchased a scuttle yet, that I like.
I always get pretty good results when I face lather, even though most think it takes a little bit longer.
I figure the longer the soap has to soften my whiskers of steel the better.
That said I do usually bowl lather my creams, I think that is a little easier.

 

[takeshi]

What do you prefer to do, Face or Bowl lather and why?

Face. Better feedback, more prep time. Don't overlook countless prior threads on the topic either. Really, though, why I (or any other person here) prefer it is irrelevant as my preferences aren't necessarily in line with your own. Try it for yourself and then decide -- same as anything else here.

From what I've read on B&B the Semogue's are better for face lathering.

Is this an accurate assessment? Could I use it for bowl lathering as well?

Better is always highly subjective. Again, you'd need to try for yourself to find out. No one brush -- whether it's a particular type of bristle, a particular brand or whatever -- is universally best for everyone regardless of whether the question is in regard to face or bowl (or palm or other) lathering.

The brush I prefer for face lathering is an M&F. Like anything here, YMMV. Any brush can be used for either. That said, you may have particular preferences when it comes to selecting a brush for one or the other. Again, that's for you to determine based on first hand experience.

 

[Marco]

First of all welcome to B&B Nando and congrats, you just joined the finest wet shaving community in the World. Regarding your question, there is no actual reason to prefer bowl lathering over face lathering. When properly done both systems are extremely effective and none is technically better than the other. It is only a question of personal preference and how you like to proceed. As about Semogue, most of them are multi-purpose brushes and ideal for building lather however you want.

 

[joshua1970]

Both - but it depends on what soap/cream I am using. Generally speaking with creams I usually prefer to bowl lather. Recently getting into soaps I generally prefer to face lather... but I'm not a purist by any means. whatever works

So excited, I have a Dirty Bird scuttle en route - looking forward to that!!!!

 

[blindmouse]

When I switched to DE shaving, I started bowl lathering, after face lathering for years. A few months later, I'm back to the face. I just find I can build a more effective lather. In the bowl, I think I was whipping it too much and it was getting airy and weak.

That said, my buddy who started at the same time as me just loves the 'tradition' of bowl lathering.

 

[ingrownhair]

I've been bowl lathering since switching to DE shaving last year...I'll definitely give face lathering a try now to see if I can tell the difference.

 

[brucered]

I started out bowl lathering everything.

now i bowl lather creams and face lather soaps, just to mix it up so I can stay versed in both lathering methods. seems to work out for me that way.

as for the semogue better for bowl or face, i see not issues when i bowl lather my semogues, they work well for both applications.

 

[retiredguns]

It's O.K. if you need a little help....

 

[BrewCommando]

I had great results face lathering this morning (Simpson PJ2 Super Badger and Mitchell's Wool Fat) and think I will keep the routine for during the week, but I will be getting a scuttle to try for the long Sunday pamper with luxurious warm lather.

 

[PugslyCat]

I did nothing but face lather for the first year with no problems. As a matter of fact, I was kind of put off by bowl lathering for a while because I didn't want the additional clutter.

Back in February or March I came across a thread in which somebody mentioned that if you did bowl lathering you could float the bowl in a sink of hot water to simulate a scuttle. I did that for a few months and really enjoyed the warm lather in the cooler months. Now I'm back to face lathering.

 

[fccexpert]

I only face lather and see no reason why the lather would be any different if initially mixed in a bowl.

 

[bennyblade28]

I get better results with bowl lathering right now because I can keep the lather consistent.

I keep trying face lathering and I am learning, but I suck at it and it seems to take me longer to face lather as I always end up adding more product to the face to top it up, again consistency is lost.

On Monday I shaved for the third day in a row and had literally the WORSE DE SHAVE I HAVE EVER HAD. It was so painful I wanted to quit before the job was done. It was all down to a terrible watery face lather, and I was using a shark blade instead of my usual ASTRA.

 

[TDDO]

Face lather, for sure. I like the immediate feedback on lather condition, the better beard prep, and the lack of a bowl to clean up. However, I am currently looking for a scuttle to use a brush rest between passes. I find my brush (and thus the lather) gets cold by the time I am ready to relather.

No advice for you on the brushes, but I would think perhaps a firmer brush would be better for bowl lathering.

 

[musicman1951]

I face lather on vacations, but use a scuttle at home. I like the warm lather for the third pass. It seems easier to adjust the water content, but that's just because I'm more familiar with the scuttle. I have a really beautiful Robert Becker scuttle and I like the process: getting it out of my den, filling it with warm water, the ease of those ridges in making lather and even rinsing it out and drying it before returning it to it's resting spot in the corner of the den.

There is nothing wrong with a more pedestrian, caveman-like face lathering. Just kidding - try them both enough times to get the technique down and then decide.