Ouch! First face lather

[isaac d.]

Does anyone else get an irritated face from face lathering? Yesterday, I received a Duke 2 in the mail from a trade (so the brush should already be "worn in"). It feels nice and soft and I really like it, but I don't think my face can handle the exfoliation.

This is my first face lather btw, and I used Arko and the Duke 2 (after I shampoo'd it of course) to lather up. I got a nice rich lather out of the deal but for rest of the night my face burnt like heck! It felt like it had been rubbed raw. I put on some asb and witch hazel before I went to bed, and it feels a little better today, but it's still a little sore. I guess I'll be sticking with a mug. To bad, because I really wanted to give face lathering a good try. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[lt114]

Some people get irritation from face lathering. You might be one of them. On the other hand, you might want to try to face lather with a brush with less scritch than the Duke 2 (not that the Duke has a ton of scritch), or maybe just give it a bit more time to see if your face adjusts.

 

[Useless shaver]

Some people get irritation from face lathering. You might be one of them. On the other hand, you might want to try to face lather with a brush with less scritch than the Duke 2 (not that the Duke has a ton of scritch), or maybe just give it a bit more time to see if your face adjusts.

Yes. IMHO.

I have facelathered for over thirty years. Never had an issue. Now I'm using a EJ Silvertip, which is a treat.

 

[celestino]

Some people get irritation from face lathering. You might be one of them. On the other hand, you might want to try to face lather with a brush with less scritch than the Duke 2 (not that the Duke has a ton of scritch), or maybe just give it a bit more time to see if your face adjusts.

+1 How hard were you pressing with the brush and how many passes did you do? You may find it beneficial to start with circular patterns to build the lather and massage your face and then do paint-strokes to apply and finish the lather. Best of luck to you.

 

[DiNaN]

I also easily get irritation from face lathering, but only if i rub the soap on my face instead of just loading the brush before lathering!
Did you rub the arko on your skin or load the brush?

 

[cadams122593]

i get a little irritation on my new in that little pocket where my adams apple is but that happens no matter if i face lather or not. used mikes natural soaps this morning tho and not getting nearly as much irritation with a fatboy and gillette silver blue blades (my usual setup)

 

[Sfbagger]

I've had the same thing happen with badgers on occasion; never while bowl lathering no matter what the brush.
I can face lather easily with a silvertip, or with any of my Semogue or Omega boars. And that's with my usual four passes.

I'd keep at it, perhaps it's just that brush. Or say the hell with it, and buy a nice Dirty Bird scuttle!

Best,
Jeff

 

[isaac d.]

This was just a practice lather. Yesterday wasn't a shave day, but I still wanted to try out my new brush. I moistened my face, rubbed some arko on it, then worked up a lather using circular motions. Maybe I just have overly sensitive skin. I'll give it another try though, once my face heals up a bit more.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I have to face lather 3-8 times in a row (Comparing brushes awhile back) to get irritation. One lather even with a very aggressive brush like a Rooney Finest or a TGN black badger never irritated my face unless it was already a bit raw from an overly close shave the day before. I've always figured my face was about average for being prone to irritation, but it's certainly not out of the question for a face to just not like face lathering.

I'd still say wait till you have a weekend off, let your beard get a day or two of growth and try it again... just to rule out that the face lathering was just aggravating residual irritation from a prior shave. I feel it's far more likely that dragging a steel edge over one's face is the root cause of irritation than rubbing hair on it, though hair is especially good at aggravating previous damage.

If that shave goes fine, then adjust your shaving (lower angles or if it's an adjustable DE, turn it down a notch or two).


edit: Also, try loading the brush rather than using a shave stick. Rubbing raw soap onto your face is far, FAR more irritating if you have sensitive skin than starting with a loaded brush. Most soap isn't nice for your skin, it's simply not there for very long or in very high concentrations (particularly in the absence of water), so it doesn't get the chance to bother us. Using a shave stick is nice because it megaloads product on your face and gets your lather started nice and concentrated... this also makes the soaps not-so-skin-friendly properties more noticeable.

 

[jojoc]

I've had the same thing happen with badgers on occasion; never while bowl lathering no matter what the brush.
I can face lather easily with a silvertip, or with any of my Semogue or Omega boars. And that's with my usual four passes.

I'd keep at it, perhaps it's just that brush. Or say the hell with it, and buy a nice Dirty Bird scuttle!

Best,
Jeff

Try loading the soap on the brush rather than applying soap to your face. the reaction may be to the soap rather than the brush.

 

[isaac d.]

Thanks! I'll try loading on the brush instead.

 

[Loric]

This kind of (potentially) painful skritch is why I stopped buying Simpson best. I had a couple that might as well have been clipped pure, and to be fair one that could have been silvertip.

 

[merkur59]

Had this problem when I started face lathering. Disappeared with experience (less pressure, and face got used to it - unless it is a real scritchy brush)

 

[Mad Man]

+1 to the above regards scritch, reaction to soap etc.

Also, a possible alternate cause of the irritation - when I first started face-lathering I got some irritation (felt like razor burn). Investigation and process of elimination revealed that it wasn't the brush, or the soap, it was the QUALITY of the lather that I was (or in this case WASN'T) creating. I went back to using the same brush, same soap, but bowl lathering and guess what - no reaction. Applied said lather to face, using same motions as I usually did for same amount of time - no reaction. Instead, I focused on really working the lather properly, getting the hydration right and ensuring the "mix" was spot-on. Took a bit longer than when I first face lathered but hey, guesss what - no reaction! So as well as all the other advice, check your lather is up to scratch - mine wasn't.

 

[Chadtheguru]

I have to be very careful when face lathering, especially when trying to use a shave stick to the face. My beard is very coarse and my skin is apparently a little sensitive. If I face lather I can't take a lot of time to work the lather or else I get red-faced.

 

[cessnabird]

I have the same issue with certain hair types, such as Simpson's best. Simpson's super, M&F, Rooney, and especially Thâter all feel soft and wonderful on my face when lathering. Don't give up! Try some other brushes and hair types to find which one works right for you.

 

[vocalistbob]

I'll be following Claus's advice today - and for a while. I am putting aside, for the time being, my wonderful two-bands - or will use them only for bowl-lathering until I get a better "handle" on face-lathering.

 

[isaac d.]

I gave it another shot last night, but this time I loaded on the stick (arko again). I didn't get quite as much irritation but still some. The brush must be a little to scritchy for face lathering when you have an easily-irritated face like myself.

 

[Str8 Shaver]

my Duke 3 Best can irritate my face at times, but I've found it varies depending on which soap I use.. so try it with different soaps/ creams... also you may find that after you have built your lather, that you use a painting motion rather than a circular one, that can help to cut down on the scritch.. yeah, it's a learning curve that we've all been on, and still are at times....

 

[finotti]

Welcome to the club!

Well, maybe you are not in the same situation as me, but I mostly can't really fully face lather. I tried softer brushes (Semogue 1305, then TGN Silvertip, then Rooney Heritage 2-band and then HIS synthetic) and it helped, but not solved. (The HIS, though, is extremely soft and helped quite a bit. It's my favorite brush.)

I then usually start on the bowl (unless it is a soap/cream that gets the proper lather quite quickly) and finish up on the face. Some of my soaps, most notably MWF, won't get thick enough in the bowl (for me -- YMMV and all), so I palm lather. (I actually like to palm lather quite a bit.)

When face lathering (after bowl lathering for a bit) I tend to "slap" the brush on my face (learned from TheVez2 in here) instead of circular motions, which helped me also to be able to face lather for longer and works quite well to thicken the lather.

I hope this helps. Just know it is OK if you can't face lather: you can still get just as good lather. And you are not alone...