What are the benefits of bowl lathering?

[TronBonshavey]

Hey y'all,
I've had this on my mind for a bit and this seems like a good place to post. I am new to the forum so feel free to link to any relevant past threads .

Basically I'm just wondering why anyone would bowl lather at all? I have been face lathering since I started de shaving in February, just wet the brush, swirl it on my soap and then bring it to my face once the lather starts to pop, then agitate and add more water if needed.
I guess the only benefit of a bowl I can see would be for a barber who's shaving multiple faces throughout the day, or someone who needs to shave in a room other than their bathroom.

But please prove me wrong! I don't mean to yuck anyone's yum so to speak, to each their own if you prefer bowls, I'm just curious as to the reasoning behind it, are there some real benefits vs face lathering, or is it just something else that you use because you enjoy the process? Everytime I watch a video of someone bowl lathering I just feel like it's a huge waste of time. But maybe I am missing something.

Enlighten me, shave wizards!

 

[BigJ]

Whatever works is just fine IMO. Many here prefer building their lather using a bowl, or on their palm.

For me, face-lathering just works and there is less to clean up!!

 

[RAD patient]

For me, bowl lathering only happens a couple times in winter when I want a luxurious warm lather made in my double bowl.
Other than that, face lathering is the way to go.
Some people here swear by bowl lathering, adding drops of water till they have just the right consistency.
I like shaving but that just takes way too much time in my world.
Do whatever works the best for you I'd say.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

I can think of a couple reasons.
1. some folks's skin won't tolerate that much brush contact, even with a very soft brush (brush burn).
2. potentially less sloppy, especially at first when the water and soap aren't integrated very well. Especially when using a synthetic brush (a lot of them have a tendency to fling lather around because of the springiness). A bowl serves to contain that a little.

I usually start my lather in a bowl and then finish working it and hydrating it on my face. My skin can handle a little brush scrubbing, but not a lot, so I can pretty much dial in how much scrubbing I do based on how my face feels and what brush I'm using. I have a couple brushes that are soft enough that I often do just face lather with them, though. But the brush and the excess lather still hangs out in the bowl between passes.

Do whatever works for you.

 

[DarkMatter]

Has been said before but for me:

I shave daily. My face can’t handle daily brush-scrub.


”Lather control”. It is easier for me to have continuity creating a lather in a bowl.

Warm lather. Some people like to shave with warm lather.

Stuff. Another reason to add stuff to your hobby and the ”ritual”.

 

[brucered]

You get to put that fancy, custom made, ceramic lather bowl with "lather grooves" to use.

Outside of that, there are none.

Ditch the bowl.

 

[Hms123]

Welcome. Great question, though. I switched from bowl-lathering to face-lathering mostly because I enjoy the feel of the brush on my face. I still bowl-lather every now and again just for fun.

 

[blethenstrom]

I started lathing on top of the puck then I moved to bowl lathering, but for the last 1+ year it is exclusively face lathering. I absolutely see some advantages to bowl lathering if you do have sensitive skin and cannot tolerate the brushing. Also, if you want to experiment with uber lather or adding glycerin to shave soap or anything like that, bowl lathering probably works better. There is also something about bowl lathering for the tradition of it and the relaxation of it. However, for practical reasons just do what works for you.

 

[horizon]

I lather both ways, directly on my face and in a bowl, but I definitely like the lather in a bowl better. I only lather on my face when I'm in a rush and find that it never gets the same consistency as in the bowl.

 

[Lane101]

Hey y'all,
I've had this on my mind for a bit and this seems like a good place to post. I am new to the forum so feel free to link to any relevant past threads .

Basically I'm just wondering why anyone would bowl lather at all? I have been face lathering since I started de shaving in February, just wet the brush, swirl it on my soap and then bring it to my face once the lather starts to pop, then agitate and add more water if needed.
I guess the only benefit of a bowl I can see would be for a barber who's shaving multiple faces throughout the day, or someone who needs to shave in a room other than their bathroom.

But please prove me wrong! I don't mean to yuck anyone's yum so to speak, to each their own if you prefer bowls, I'm just curious as to the reasoning behind it, are there some real benefits vs face lathering, or is it just something else that you use because you enjoy the process? Everytime I watch a video of someone bowl lathering I just feel like it's a huge waste of time. But maybe I am missing something.

Enlighten me, shave wizards!

Hi, I only recently added bowl lathering to my technique for certain soaps for greater soap/water ratio precision and consistency. Typically I've lathered directly on the puck for my hard soaps before finishing with face lathering and used just face lathering for my shaving creams.

I've found that bowl lathering works best for my croaps. They are too hard to apply directly to my face and I've found that direct brush loading often doesn't pull enough product out of the soap tub. Note that these are soft Italian shaving soaps.

By bowl lathering I can better ensure that enough product is used to produce my desired lather. I use a small expresso spoon to scoop the soap and press/spread it around the bottom of my 4" lathering bowl. I then build lather with a damp brush adding small amounts of water until all the soap is consumed and the lather has a nice consistency.

For softer soaps, that can be scooped, bowl lathering enables much better precision than other methods of lathering. While you can also do this for shaving creams those are soft enough that you can either scoop or, if in a tube, squeeze out the right amount of product and either spread it on your face or apply to a damp brush for face lathering.

 

[TronBonshavey]

Very interesting array of responses here.

Thank you all for the input so far!

The overwhelming response from the pro bowl crowd seems to be about lather consistency here which I guess is not something I've really considered. Also the brush irritation , but that makes perfect sense.

I think I could see potentially trying a bowl for a more leisurely shave, maybe on a weekend when I can take my time but probably not early in the morning before work every day.

I feel like I do get a fairly consistent lather at this point a few months in. I have tried 3 different hard soaps so far and have mainly been using Stirling unscented beeswax for the last month, which I find gives me the easiest lather of the 3. But I could see for those of you with more of a soap collection that using a bowl could help you see/feel the consistency more and this adjust more seamlessly between soaps.

Fun discussion, keep the comments coming gents!

 

[Lockback]

I do both but as a daily shaver, I prefer bowl lathering.
I have better control over the lather. I might add a little soap or add a little water to get it the way I like it, whereas face lathering, what with different brushes and soaps, it can be a bit hit or miss. I also use a cheap dog food bowl with nubs on the bottom that help activate the lather, I think (Stirling Soap has them but you can find similar ones at pet stores). My technique is to wet my brush, shake it once or twice, then swirl it on the puck for about 30 seconds then transfer it to the bowl which has a little water in it and the lather usually comes up pretty well.

 

[cryhavoc]

I found bowl lathering to be extremely helpful when I was learning how to make a lather. I gave me more control over the water content and to learn what kind of lather I preferred. As said above it is helpful to folks who get brush burn easily or keeping a lather warm.

After I learned how to make good lather I moved to face lathering and found it worked better for me.

 

[sternej]

1)In a bowl, you get really consitent lather precisely how thick you want it. 2)I have sensitive skin and just don't care for most splayed brushes on my face. 3)I only paint lather on, minimal contact.

 

[DEgeezer]

The main reason I use a bowl is because I prefer warm lather, even in the summer.
When traveling I face lather because of the impracticability of bringing my bowl. But coming home I always look forward to my first warm lather shave.

 

[NorthernSoul]

I usually face lather, but there are just some products that seem to work better when bowl lathering.

For instance, I have some older shaving creams in tubes where the cream works well, but kind of dried out and too thick to face lather. No problem, put a few blobs of shaving cream in the bottom of the bowl and press them in place. Now, bowl lather and a rich lather develops as the cream gradually dissolves. The lather is actually improved if you let it rest for a few minutes and stir it up again. It can hold an enormous amount of water.

 

[FarmerTan]

I've got skin like an old rhino, so I have found that rubbing a puck on my incredibly handsome face and face lathering is the way to go for me 99% of the time. I like the scritch of the bristles too.

 

[musicman1951]

I can think of a couple reasons.
1. some folks's skin won't tolerate that much brush contact, even with a very soft brush (brush burn).
2. potentially less sloppy, especially at first when the water and soap aren't integrated very well. Especially when using a synthetic brush (a lot of them have a tendency to fling lather around because of the springiness). A bowl serves to contain that a little.

Do whatever works for you.

I was going to say the same thing. Lately I just face lather, but I like the scuttle in winter. The scuttle (which is just a bowl sitting in another bowl of warm water) is definitely neater.

3. It provides a great place to soak a boar brush. My G12 is small enough that the handle never gets too close to the water.

4. When building lather, adding water mixes with the entire lather almost immediately. When face lathering it's not quite as easy to mix a few drops of water into the lather across my whole face. It's not the end of my world, just not as efficient.

5. With a scuttle each pass has warmer lather than the last - the opposite of face lathering.

6. I clean the scuttle and brush at the same time, running the water into the scuttle while swirling the brush - so that's a wash.

It does have some disadvantages. You've got to get it out and put it away, and while that only takes me 5 seconds (wall cabinet one step away) it's still a thing. I've got a Shopsmith in my woodworking shop and it takes less than a minute to convert the tablesaw into a drill press - and I complain the whole time.

The biggest disadvantage is for shavers who don't complete their prep before they get to the lather. If face lathering gives you a better shave you're one of those people and you should continue to face lather. In the end DS got it right: do what works for you.

 

[Mojo88]

I went through a scuttle/ bowl phase for quite a few years. I like warm lather and that was the reason for the scuttle. However, I found a technique before starting a face lather. I run my brush under hot water after soaking it. The lather is just as warm if not warmer than a scuttle plus it makes a really slick cream.

 

[WThomas0814]

I thought I wanted to bowl lather. I watched numerous videos and it looked so good. I bought a few bowls, tried it with several soaps, and was always disappointed.

I love face lathering with big, stiff boar brushes. I shave daily and the scrubbing action always feels so good to me. It is truly the best part of my daily shave.

I get a thicker, slicker, and more consistent lather. Building the lather on my whiskers softens them and makes for better cutting. For me, it's the only way to go.