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What is the 'correct' way to lather up shaving cream from a tub please?

Good afternoon all.

What is the absolute best way to loading a brush with shaving cream please? I don't have a shaving bowl so what I have been doing is taking a small amount of cream with my fingertip, then lathering the cream on my hand with the brush before applying it. Or am I supposed to load the brush when it is dry then add water? Or vice versa?

Sorry if this sounds like a daft question but I am still a newbie in certain areas when it comes to using 'proper' shaving techniques. As always any advice is most welcome.

Jason.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
When I used soft creams I scooped some out with my fingertip, rubbed it on my face, and then face lathered with the brush. You could also apply the cream to the brush or dip the brush in the cream, there is no right and wrong way. I have seen people building the lather, as opposed to loading the brush, in the soap or cream bowl and I think that is incorrect. If you bowl lather then in my opinion you do so in a separate lathering bowl and not the bowl which contains the soap or cream. Whatever you are doing now, if you like it and it works, then that is the 'proper' method.
 
I don't think there's any single "best" way to do this, you just have to find what works for you. When I was using cream from a tube I would put an almond sized bit of soap in the palm of my hand and, using a damp, but not soaking wet brush, palm lather the soap into a sort of toothpaste consistency. I would brush that on my face and add water by dipping the tips of the brush in water and swirling the brush to face lather, adding more water as needed.
 
If you don't mind face lathering, i would take a small dollop of cream and place it somewhere inside the brush tips and just face lather. You could also rub the cream direct onto your face and then proceed to face lather. If face lathering bothers you, just take a teaspoon worth of cream and place it into a bowl and whip up your lather then paint it on your face.
 
For face lathering with cream from a tube, I take a small amount of the cream and rub it around my face and neck. I then use a damp brush to make the lather.

With a tub, I take a damp brush and rub it around the cream and then apply it to my face.

From what you describe you are doing a version of palm lathering.

You don't need a special shaving bowl to use. You can use any mug or bowl that is large enough to allow the brush to work the cream. When I travel I use a salsa bowl.
 
You don't need a special shaving bowl to use. You can use any mug or bowl that is large enough to allow the brush to work the cream. When I travel I use a salsa bowl.
+1- I also use the inexpensive IMUSA plastic salsa bowls; got mine from Amazon. On Amazon they were $4 for three when I last bought them in February 2021, but I just looked and now are over $8- wow, inflation. Walmart also seems to still sell the IMUSA salsa bowls, although only in black, for $1.10 each. IMHO- these make a really good, very low-cost option. I'm sure I saw the tip about using these somewhere here on B&B.

I rub the smooth inside with some sandpaper when I first get them to add a bit more texture to the inside surface, which comes pretty smooth. If only they made these salsa bowls with the pebbling that's on the outside also on the inside, they'd be just about perfect lather bowls. As they come, they're also fine.
 
I don't think there's any single "best" way to do this, you just have to find what works for you. When I was using cream from a tube I would put an almond sized bit of soap in the palm of my hand and, using a damp, but not soaking wet brush, palm lather the soap into a sort of toothpaste consistency. I would brush that on my face and add water by dipping the tips of the brush in water and swirling the brush to face lather, adding more water as needed.
I do the same, I scoop out a bit with a spoon, put it in my palm, load the brush and start lathering on my face.
 
Whatever way works for you, man. Experiment
I soak the brush bristles for 5-10 minutes, squeeze (not shake) out *most* of the excess water. From there you can scoop some cream directly onto the brush to lather on the face. You can lather in a bowl or even the palm of your other hand.
 
There's not really one right way, just variations on a theme. I try to avoid loading the brush in the tub directly. This tends to load too much cream and also add water to the cream in the tub.

It's better to just spoon out a dollop of cream. You can apply this to the palm of your hand and build an initial lather in your hand. Alternatively, take 50% of the cream to apply to the beard area and 50% to massage into the brush, then face lather directly.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
For cream, I use a lather bowl, but I don't bowl lather.

I wet the inside of the bowl a little (scoop up water, and dump it straight out), then add roughly 1ml of cream ( imagine a 1cm or 3/8" cube). I then load the brush in there, as if I was loading from a soap. As others have mentioned above, it can be done in the palm of your hand. I then face lather as I would with anything else. Note, the lather is "built" on the face, not in the bowl.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
If your using a natural hair shaving brush you should soak it for at least 2>minutes in warm water to make bristles more flexible and then squeeze brush gently to remover bulk of excessive water and then start loading the tips of the brush from the puck seems to work. Apply to face and then apply a little mist or dip tips in water to reach quality hydrated lather you wish. Bowl lathering is a very similar process but the bowl takes the brunt of the aggravation of bristles if you have real sensitive skin and then apply to face either painting the lather or a gentle scrub. I usually like to have a gentle scrub on first pass and rest of the passes are painting lather . Seems to work for myself.
 
Hello Jason I'm also a newbie in many ways but after finding this video i seem to get a perfect face lather every time
But i guess i should answer your question, i would probably just dip my brush in the tub with a damp brush and go straight to the face, less fussing around that way.
 

Dave himself

Wee Words of Wisdom
I face lather with shaving cream i just get a damp brush spoon about an almond size amount out of the tup and put it into the middle of my brush and push it down into the brush a bit. Then I just start to face lather adding water by dipping the tips of my brush as I go along intill I get the consistency that I want. Thats just what I've found works for me plus it keeps water out of the tub of cream. But as others have said try a few different options until you get the one that works for you best 👌
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
I used to wet my brush thoroughly, not bothering to soak it. I'd then touch the wet tips lightly
to the lather, picking up a tiny amount, and face lather. If a bit of water got in the cream, it poured off easily, not taking any noticeable amount of cream with it. I used the past tense because now I am strictly a hard soap user. Good luck!
 
I’ve tried several different methods of using cream from a tub (or from a tube), and have now settled on my favorite ….. a nice dolllop of cream pushed lightly into the bristle ends of a wet brush, then building the lather in a scuttle or bowl. Final face lather, then a nice smooth shave. And to the OP —— you don’t need a dedicated shave bowl, as any bowl you can find in your kitchen cupboard will work well. Have fun and enjoy experimenting !
 
Cream in a tub - a wet brush lightly across the surface for a few strokes
From a tube - an almond sized dollop in the scuttle
Note: I mix a soap with a cream when I shave. I will load a cream in the scuttle, wipe off the excess, dip brush lightly in the warm sink water, apply Arko or another soap to my wet face and work up a lather.
 
Shave bowls are quite expensive, so the advice of using something from the kitchen is a good idea. I did, and this works pretty good. I was doing it with my hand, but this is good... 20211227_153847.jpg20211227_153938.jpg
Small enough to fit in my hand, and not too deep...rinse and dry after use.
 
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