Help with shave sticks

[Tomo]

Looking for some pointers in the proper use of shave sticks.

I like the idea of a shave sticks and picked one up for travel. I had my first shave with it this morning. I’m normally a bowl latherer.

The shave was pretty good but there were a some areas that could be improved.

1. Applying the shave stick was not very pleasant. It seemed to stick to and grip my face during application. I started with a damp face and dipped the stick in the sink to add water. Is there a better way?

2. I got a bit of water dripping out of the brush during the initial lather building. Is it advisable to start with a dry brush?

3. I plan to use the shave stick for travel with the intention to create a more compact travel setup. Where do face latherer park their brush during the shave? I set the brush bristles up on the counter but got lather running down the handle. I’m the end I put it bristles down in my shave bowl as usual.

Any tips and tricks in relation to the use of shave sticks would be appreciated.

 

[silverlifter]

I love my Speick stick, but can't comment on other brands. This works well with the Speick:

1. My face is wet, and I will sometimes dampen the end of the stick, but it is not generally necessary. I don't use a lot of pressure, just skid it around on the areas of my face and neck. Probably a couple of figure eights (so, twice over each area at a minimum). The Speick tends to deposit a decent amount of soap that way: more than enough for three passes.

2. I use a synthetic brush and run it under warm water then wring dry, and finish with a flick or two. So it is mostly dry at that point. I do an initial amount of scrubbing, and then add some drops of water to the head of the brush before a final scrub and then move to painting.

3. Bristles up. If lather is running down on to the counter, it is too wet for me. If I do touchups (after a second pass), I wring the last of the lather out and apply by hand. At that point, there is very little soap to rinse out of the brush.

Hope that helps! The Brotherhood Of Optimistic Facelatherers (BOOF) awaits!

 

[MaineYooper]

Silverlifter beat me to it, but said it much better than I would have!

 

[RobD57]

I couple of things I found are, the tip of the stick when it's new is extra dry
and after a couple of uses it starts to glide easier. And it helps to swish your damp
brush around on the tip of the stick to pre-load a little bit of soap. It softens
up the tip to make it even easier to apply too.

Hope that helps a little.

 

[SydneyShaver]

+1 to all of the above. Be more aggressive with how wet your face and the stick are. Re-wet as soon as you feel it dragging/sticking. Once the soap stick has absorbed a bit of water, it'll feel a lot better. (However, some sticks a'la arko/derby might never feel good if you react to the ingredients/scent). I know extended use of either ends up taking a toll on my skin.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Not very proficient with sticks myself but what I can say is:

Rubbing it in is unpleasant and doesn’t work well, even more so if you try to get visual proof that soap is on your face - like I did

Running it lightly over your face on a film of water, like a Hockey puck, does the job much better. You can’t see the soap pickup but it’s there and shows immediately after you start with your brush.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Dampen both face and the end of the stick. You can soak the end of the stick for ~30 seconds with no harm done.

You don't have to press the stick hard into your face. Use your stubble to catch the soap against the grain. Add additional soap by rubbing your brush onto the stick for a few seconds. This will help in the initial lather building. You really don't need all that much soap. A barely visible coating will produce enough lather.

Start with brush just damp. Paint the soap into a uniform layer over your beard. Then, begin adding water in stages two or three times as you build the lather.

The larger diameter sticks, such as Tabac, load much easier. I make my own sticks with Haslinger soap packed into a spare Tabac stick push-up container. Excellent results. The Tabac push-up stick container is the best I've found for travel. You can use your choice of soaps to fill it.

Creating A Shave Stick

Introduction

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[Tomo]

Thanks gents. A wetter face, lighter application pressure and preloading the brush worked wonders. The corners of the stick we’re rounder today too. The DR Harris stick still tried to grab a bit but lighter pressure helped a lot. I also liked the tip about dripping water onto the brush. I normally drip the brush to add water but dripping into the bristles works better.

I am really coming around to the stick format. It’s tidy, compact and efficient. My original concern was that you should run out of lather by the end of the shave. That was completely unfounded. I’m amazed by how much lather there is in the actual brush itself. I now wish that all hard soaps came in stick format. At least as an option. I can’t believe that I used to grate my Speick stick into a bowl. Rookie error.

I don’t know if I’m 100% sold on face lathering yet but for travel it’s definitely the go. It’s certainly a lot better than I remember it. In the beginning I blamed face lathering for some of the irritation I was experiencing. That was probably unfair. Like many things in this hobby it’s a lot better the second time around.

I might have to pick up a few more sticks now. Those little Hasslinger and Klar Seifen pucks are starting to look a lot like sticks to me now too!

 

[wulfgar1976]

I always wet my face thoroughly before applying the shaving stick as part of my preparation. I dip the stick in water for at least five seconds to help soften it. When the stick grips my face in any given area, I know it has enough soap and concentrate on the areas that don't grip.

I soak my brushes before use and shake them out maybe ten to twelve times before I start to lather. Once I have begun to lather, I slowly add water to the brush by dropping water onto the brush as required.

A bit of dripping down the handle isn't unusual and I don't worry about it if it happens. I can always wipe it off. I leave the brush standing as normal ready to apply lather for the next pass.

I only face-lather and use all soap that way whether they are sticks, blocks, square, oval shaped etc.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

I like the idea of a shave sticks and picked one up for travel... I’m normally a bowl latherer.

If this is your travel set up, save some space and leave the bowl at home.

 

[Tomo]

It seems that not all shave sticks need to be a sticks. ot turns out that those stubby little Klar Seifen pucks, that everyone struggles to load out of the tin, make a perfect shave stick. The large radius and generous surface area of the side of the puck make for a great, low friction, application. Maybe that’s how these little pucks are intended to be used.

I’m coming around to face lathering. I think you guys are onto something there. i still like to park the brush bristles down in a lather bowl though. Old habits die hard.

 

[ChriWilson]

Pretty much in agreement with everything posted previously.
My experience is limited to Tabac and ToBS sticks; these work really really well.

Whether it's stick or if I've loaded off a puck, I always start with a wet face. With a stick,
I try to focus on depositing more soap on and around my jawline and the underside of my chin
as this is where I start building lather on my face. It's always a good idea to perform a mini load
on the brush before starting the face lathering.

I have La Toja and Speick but I have yet to use them; anxiously awaiting. I've tried a Mühle stick
with lackluster results - the soap dried out on me fairly quick both times I've used it.

@Tomo - I recently converted to principally face lathering, though there is something to be said about
a bowl full of dense fluffy aromatic goodness. I own a few soaps that for one reason or another
I only build in the bowl. Variety is the spice of life they say...

 

[dotKomo]

I couple of things I found are, the tip of the stick when it's new is extra dry
and after a couple of uses it starts to glide easier. And it helps to swish your damp
brush around on the tip of the stick to pre-load a little bit of soap. It softens
up the tip to make it even easier to apply too.

Hope that helps a little.

Yes. I have a La Toja stick. I actually do both - I dip the end and apply to my face and then swirl the brush around the end as well. I leave the brush pretty wet as I like a thinner, slicker lather. YMMV.

 

[haggis]

i still like to park the brush bristles down in a lather bowl though. Old habits die hard.

I exclusively face lather and always use a bowl for parking my brush. I also like to soak my brushes (while I shower) for the feels, regardless of whether it's needed or not. It's a smallish sturdy plastic bowl and though I don't travel much it has always accompanied me when I do. No inconvenience at all. I tried standing my brush on end one time and thought this is for the birds. Lather on a brush handle is one my pet peeves so any "inconvenience" of having to cart a wee bowl around is completely worth it to me.

 

[steveclarkus]

Looking for some pointers in the proper use of shave sticks.

I like the idea of a shave sticks and picked one up for travel. I had my first shave with it this morning. I’m normally a bowl latherer.

The shave was pretty good but there were a some areas that could be improved.

1. Applying the shave stick was not very pleasant. It seemed to stick to and grip my face during application. I started with a damp face and dipped the stick in the sink to add water. Is there a better way?

2. I got a bit of water dripping out of the brush during the initial lather building. Is it advisable to start with a dry brush?

3. I plan to use the shave stick for travel with the intention to create a more compact travel setup. Where do face latherer park their brush during the shave? I set the brush bristles up on the counter but got lather running down the handle. I’m the end I put it bristles down in my shave bowl as usual.

Any tips and tricks in relation to the use of shave sticks would be appreciated.

I use ARKO sticks almost exclusively and have no problem. I just wet my face and rub it in then lather with a wet brush. Couldn’t be more simple. I use a thin very wet lather.

 

[Tomo]

I exclusively face lather and always use a bowl for parking my brush. I also like to soak my brushes (while I shower) for the feels, regardless of whether it's needed or not. It's a smallish sturdy plastic bowl and though I don't travel much it has always accompanied me when I do. No inconvenience at all. I tried standing my brush on end one time and thought this is for the birds. Lather on a brush handle is one my pet peeves so any "inconvenience" of having to cart a wee bowl around is completely worth it to me.

This might be a straight razor thing. When you’re holding an open blade with a couple of fingertips the last thing you want is soapy hands. The DE guys may have more of a tolerance in this regard.

I’m glad that I will still have some use for my bowls. I gave a quick lather refresh in the bowl mid shave this morning and the lather just exploded. I’m under the impression that bowl lathering may give a fluffier more aerated lather. Both seem to work just fine.

I used a puck of Hasslinger Aloe Vera as a stick this morning. I loaded way too much but otherwise it worked great. It seems like stubble is extremely efficient at loading soap off the puck.

 

[Tomo]

I use ARKO sticks almost exclusively and have no problem. I just wet my face and rub it in then lather with a wet brush. Couldn’t be more simple. I use a thin very wet lather.

Exclusive use probably helps to keep the stick in good condition. It’s a classic soap that’s on my list to try.

 

[PintoPlain]

I can only echo what has already been said. Especially a wetter face and light pressure when applying the soap to the face. Harder sticks might benefit from dipping the end in water before application to help release the soap.

It is surprising how much lather you can get with seemingly very little soap.

 

[DG109]

I love my Speick stick, but can't comment on other brands. This works well with the Speick:

1. My face is wet, and I will sometimes dampen the end of the stick, but it is not generally necessary. I don't use a lot of pressure, just skid it around on the areas of my face and neck. Probably a couple of figure eights (so, twice over each area at a minimum). The Speick tends to deposit a decent amount of soap that way: more than enough for three passes.

2. I use a synthetic brush and run it under warm water then wring dry, and finish with a flick or two. So it is mostly dry at that point. I do an initial amount of scrubbing, and then add some drops of water to the head of the brush before a final scrub and then move to painting.

3. Bristles up. If lather is running down on to the counter, it is too wet for me. If I do touchups (after a second pass), I wring the last of the lather out and apply by hand. At that point, there is very little soap to rinse out of the brush.

Hope that helps! The Brotherhood Of Optimistic Facelatherers (BOOF) awaits!

Posts like this are why I love this site. They make me look forward even more than usual to my next shave to deploy new pleasurable tactics.

 

[JeffJ]

I went through a multi year phase where I turned all of my pucks into shave sticks. Here’s a link to a few methods. Creating A Shave Stick - http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Creating_A_Shave_Stick

I settled on the third (slices into a stick container).