I’d been using the Semogue boar all week and decided on the Atomic Rocket this morning. 15 seconds of loading the brush and then to my face. This sucker can make lots of exceptional quality later.
Lets talk lathering technique
- Thread starter izzybackyet462
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I do a bit of both, depending on soap/brush combination, or the mood I am experiencing, or just flip a coin!
I face lather, I like the exfoliation and the clean up is quick and easy.
I bowl lather.
The reason: I start by using a soap. Then I throw in a cream (usually something that matches or compliments the scent of the soap). I mix in a drop of glycerin. Then I have what some call an "uberlather". It requires a bowl.
The reason: I start by using a soap. Then I throw in a cream (usually something that matches or compliments the scent of the soap). I mix in a drop of glycerin. Then I have what some call an "uberlather". It requires a bowl.
I face lather and build it for 4-5 minutes. I don't use any preshave products and this helps to prepare my face. Plus, I enjoy the process of building the lather directly on my skin.
Pretty much covers it here. I'll use a scuttle during the colder months when any warmth is welcome. I'm not so much focused on exfoliation, I don't use a synthetic to dig down into my pores. And my badgers are all relatively soft tipped with some backbone. This works great for whipping thick lather in the bowl and then building a thickening layer of warm slipperiness. Oh, and for some reason, my boar brushes are great during the summer months; I don't know why, other than they seem? wetter?
Face lather. Unless I’m using TOBS, then i bowl lather then still work it into the face a bit.
I mostly face lather using a stick. I love using sticks. I use a bowl about 30% of the time.
Bowl latherer here. I have a granite shave bowl, which I leave in the sink while it fills, then I take it out and build the lather in it. The granite holds the heat well, so I get a warm, but not hot, lather. Exception: when I use Williams, I also apply Arko stick to my face. I haven't done that in a while since I've been on a Proraso Green cream kick, and that gives a fantastic lather in that granite bowl.
Summer: Face lather*
Winter: Bowl lather* I shave in the morning. Before I shave however, I make myself a nice hot cup oh coffee via my press. After which I go to my den, lather up in a bowl, and then plop the bowl on top of my coffee cup.
When I get out of the shower, that lather is so lovely and warm... nom, nom.
* I reserve the right to do whatever I want in spite of the season.
Winter: Bowl lather* I shave in the morning. Before I shave however, I make myself a nice hot cup oh coffee via my press. After which I go to my den, lather up in a bowl, and then plop the bowl on top of my coffee cup.
When I get out of the shower, that lather is so lovely and warm... nom, nom.
* I reserve the right to do whatever I want in spite of the season.
Face lather only. My 1st couple of years of DE shaving I mostly used a bowl or scuttle with creams. I don't know if it was me or my well water (probably both), but I never could get a consistent lather. Lather would be great one shave, lousy the next. And lather in a scuttle, while warm, seemed to breakdown faster on my face. Roughly seven years ago I switched to face lathering soaps and it made all the difference for me. Just as I could never go back to cartridge razors, I could never go back to bowls or creams.
I'm pretty much 100 percect face lathering now. Used to use a bowl, but since I discovered face lathering, I never looked back.
Just recently have I started to face lather, and I find the soaps being used are leaving my face better hydrated. While shaving, my soaps are much slicker on razor to face. I find face lathering simpler and with less cleanup. Who knows, next month it could be hand lathering.
Face lather. Easy, less cleanup & I enjoy the few minutes of lathering my face.
Both. But I can tell you in the years I've been on this and other forums this question has come up many times and it seems most guys face lather. I'll go even farther and tell you most guys that answer bowl are in Europe and Americans are 99% face latherers I was strictly a face latherer when I started because it was easier ,for me, to get right. Now I'm 50/50
I tried face lathering for the first time a few days ago, then did it again the next day. I liked it, but will continue to bowl lather most of the time. I will face lather when I am not shaving right after a shower. Bowl lathering will be my normal morning routine: lather in the bowl, then shower, and shave right after shower with face still wet.
Bowl/mug. I use a giant coffee mug that I fill with hot water and soak my brush in.
Just a comment about exfoliation, the shave is going to do that so it happens no matter what lathering technique you use.
Whoa! Did a bowl lather yesterday with TOBS Lavender Cream yesterday. I’ve done this in the past, but this time there was probably more water involved. A tiny amount of residual water in the bowl, and only one light shake of the brush before I put a fingertip amount of cream on the brush. In about five seconds my bowl was overflowing with lather. I admit this first lather was too thin for me, but I went ahead with the first pass. The second, and third, lathering was much nicer. My bottom line is that I had much more lather using this cream and bowl lathering than when I face lathered. Of course, this may not be true for others, or even for me next time.
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