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Hand Lathering

Hand Lathering for me...

  • I don't hand lather and don't want to try

  • I don't hand lather, but it's worth a try

  • I hand lather, and I like it

  • I hand lather, and I get as good or better a shave

  • I hand lather and I dig the massage


Results are only viewable after voting.
I don't mean at all to be sacrilegious - after all, I have prerequisite Italian shaving brush, bowl and Italian soap. But I'd at first bought a 3 pack of Arko sticks, which I might have used once and then "progressed" to chasing the alleged perfect and classic brush lathering and shave with a DE. But then months later and feeling lazy, I needed a quick shave so I picked up the Arko and had at it, first using a brush, and feeling even lazier, my hands.

I LOVED it. Yes, I know, but I loved it. I discovered the following:

1. You don't need the usual mountain of the hopeful, creamy lather.
2. Using my brush after the Arko did foam up a little, but so what.
3. Hand lathering was just fine - I didn't need an 1/8th inch of lather, and my DE rinsed off easier.

But here's the cool part - hand lathering gets you just as good a shave. I can add another swipe of the Arko as needed. And here's the biggie - I LOVED that my face and beard were also getting a nice massage. I may be wrong, but the massage seemed to also soften my beard more and led to - gulp - a better shave with fewer passes. I recommend trying it...
 
Wow the poll was interesting. About half haven't hand lathered, nor wanted to A bit more than half either loved it, got a better shave, or were willing to give it a try. I love to hear from the first - non-hand - group. Can you please share why not? Is it about a commitment or desire to the classic full experience? Do you not like the idea of massaging and toning your skin? Since you've never tried hand lathering, do you doubt it's a better or even equal shave? Or all of the above? Gracias!
 
I don't believe it is massaging your skin, toning your skin or softening your whiskers in any way, shape or form.

To me, it sounds messy and I already own multiple soft brushes, so why would I use my hands (that may have cuts, scrapes and rough spots) when I can use a pillowy soft brush?
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
Face lathering with a small, short lofted scrubby brush, is one of the joys of life, let alone of shaving. I regard face lathering as part of the shave so, by definition, removing it will make the shave worse. I also do not want to reduce the number of passes and I do not care about the closeness of the finished shave. A better shave for me is not quicker and it is not closer or with less irritation. Other than that, hand lathering sounds great 😆
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Wow the poll was interesting. About half haven't hand lathered, nor wanted to A bit more than half either loved it, got a better shave, or were willing to give it a try. I love to hear from the first - non-hand - group. Can you please share why not? Is it about a commitment or desire to the classic full experience? Do you not like the idea of massaging and toning your skin? Since you've never tried hand lathering, do you doubt it's a better or even equal shave? Or all of the above? Gracias!
I massage and tone my skin when I thoroughly wash my face with Pears Transparent (India) just before each SR shave. All traces of the Pears is then rinsed off before face lathering with a brush.
 
I don't believe it is massaging your skin, toning your skin or softening your whiskers in any way, shape or form.

To me, it sounds messy and I already own multiple soft brushes, so why would I use my hands (that may have cuts, scrapes and rough spots) when I can use a pillowy soft brush?

Fair enough. However I must say that if you ever get a chance, get a facial. In addition to using a lotion, they massage your face (with their hands), on the premise "

5. Massaging

In this step, a professional applies a facial cream on your face and massages it gently for about 10-15 minutes. This helps to relax your facial muscles and boosts the blood circulation of your skin. As a result, your skin appears toned, plump, and hydrated.

Bruce, we'll disagree on the softening of the whiskers - think about it - when we shampoo our hair, we use our hands for the same reasons - to scrub, lather and clean. Afterwards, your hair and scalp feel soft, smooth and clean. All I can say is give it a try, and see what happens for you... buen suerte!
 
You missed one. I only had lather when there is little or no choice. At least it works better than canned foam.
 
There is another kind of hand lathering.
Using your palm as a bowl.
Saw a guy doing it with the Cryogen soap, which is difficult to whip into fluffy substance, and it works very well.
Try it. It produces a great lather.
 
The only times I really enjoy using my hands for a shave is when I apply canned foam. That’s a form of hand lathering I’d say. Certain bath soaps like Dove work well hand lathered.
 
I really enjoy the feel of my brushes while face-lathering! I doubt that will ever change.

However, one day I will give hand-lathering a try (most likely while I am traveling).
 
Rennie,

Hand lathering is fine, but I do see one disadvantage: the need to rinse at least one hand after each of the 3 or 4 typical applications to avoid dropping the razor.
 
I use a LaToja soap stick and hand lather when I am travelling: helps me keep the luggage down to minimum.
I don't mind but cannot be compared with the luxury of a big badger brush IMHO
 
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