Why is face lathering so magical and great?

[Doctor]

I hear all the time on B&B. " face lathering was the best thing i've ever done in my wet shaving career". " there's noting better than face lathering". etc... I'm sure everyone has seen those posts and threads. So my question is this:

Why is face lathering that good? I mean ya it can save you a min or two in time, but how about the lather and the shave you get from it? any difference?

 

[BroJohn]

Why is face lathering that good? I mean ya it can save you a min or two in time, but how about the lather and the shave you get from it? any difference?

Yes, best lather and face prep you can get.

-- JOhn Gehman

 

[tbress]

I like face lathering because whatever effort you put into whipping up the lather also goes towards massaging your face and prepping your beard. As one B&B'er put it (can't remember who), "I face lather because I'm not shaving the bowl".

 

[Absolute Mustard]

Extra face time with the soap, and no extra bowl to worry about

Win Win

 

[ackvil]

I'm one of those folks who both face and bowl lather. I don't find face lathering any better than bowl lathering. Of course, when you use a shave stick, you face lather.

 

[jtb]

I like face lathering because whatever effort you put into whipping up the lather also goes towards massaging your face and prepping your beard. As one B&B'er put it (can't remember who), "I face lather because I'm not shaving the bowl".

+1
I find it really helps soften the skin and beard, it gives the soap time to do it's magic.

 

[scott81425]

I use both face and bowl lathering techniques. Like em both. My lather doesn't stay very warm when I face lather, as compared to when I bowl lather- and I like a warm lather. But I like the was the brush feels on my face so I face lather sometimes too. It all works.

 

[Doctor]

Wouldn't it irritate your skin? perhaps you should have a silvertip brush if you want to face lather?

 

[Blondie]

My thoughts are that all the time spent lathering in the bowl could be time spent preparing the beard. It's faster, less cleanup, and I get great shaves. I still bowl lather on the rare occasion, and then halfway through ask myself "why"?

 

[takeshi]

Why is face lathering that good? I mean ya it can save you a min or two in time, but how about the lather and the shave you get from it? any difference?

Why not try it and see for yourself? Best way to answer any such question.

Saving time isn't even a consideration for me. It's a matter of getting more feedback (from my face) while building the lather. It's about building better lather. Better lather definitely leads to a better shave. Better prep (in that the beard is exposed to lather and moisture longer) does as well.

It's a YMMV matter like anything else. Not everyone prefers face lathering. Trying it out is the way to determine for yourself.

Wouldn't it irritate your skin? perhaps you should have a silvertip brush if you want to face lather?

Again YMMV. You have to determine what works for you. There are certainly those that face lather and don't use silvertips.

 

[Doctor]

Why not try it and see for yourself? Best way to answer any such question.

It's certainly not just a matter of time savings for me. It's a matter of getting more feedback (from my face) while building the lather. It's about building better lather. Better lather definitely leads to a better shave.

Hi takeshi
I did try it a few times, but it made my skin very irritated and red. I'm using a pure badger brush. Does face lathering work best with very soft bristles?

 

[scott81425]

Hi takeshi
I did try it a few times, but it made my skin very irritated and red. I'm using a pure badger brush. Does face lathering work best with very soft bristles?

Guess everyone is a little different. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I can't face lather with my soft brushes with much success. With my Omega boar, and my eshave pure badger are a little "rougher" and make my face feel awesome while face lathering.

 

[gus1942]

I hear all the time on B&B. " face lathering was the best thing i've ever done in my wet shaving career". " there's noting better than face lathering". etc... I'm sure everyone has seen those posts and threads. So my question is this:

Why is face lathering that good? I mean ya it can save you a min or two in time, but how about the lather and the shave you get from it? any difference?

1.Cheaper 2. Faster 3.Instant adjustment of lather consistancy on site. 4. Better travel option

 

[Cheapogit]

Extra face time with the soap, and no extra bowl to worry about

Even when I face lather, I still use a bowl... I use it to soak the brush, and then place the brush into while first pass, 'extra bowl'(?), when I bowl lather, I soak the brush, then use the same bowl to lather up.

I'm one of those folks who both face and bowl lather. I don't find face lathering any better than bowl lathering. Of course, when you use a shave stick, you face lather.

+1,

I like both! , Shaving every other day I have half as much experimentation and enjoyment time per week as daily shavers, and vary face/bowl (or even hybrid Bowl-face lathering) according to what I feel like doing...

Maybe I need to do it more to get to know that 'Magic feeling'.

 

[Nova316]

I bowl lather to get it worked up to a nice consistancy and then face lather the rest just to work it in. The problem I have with pure face lathering is even with a silvertip and supersoft brush the scrubbing action seems to irritate my skin.
So I try to minimize the amount I face lather by bowl lathering first.

 

[skleice]

I also do both. Face lathering save time, gives you tactile feedback in regards to your lather, massages your face, and also forgoes the need to clean the bowl afterwards. I def recommend trying it.

 

[jsj_297]

Face lathering is > than bowl lathering. Your lather gets worked into the beard wayyyyy better than bowl lathering. (unless u spend the extra time whipping/lathering into face).

 

[bennyblade28]

I have tried both and got pretty decent shave using a Palmolive shave stick and my pure badger brush. I am still learning tho so pretty much suck face lathering and bowl lathering.

Currently I get better lather with a bowl, I plan on face lathering tomorrow morning as I wont be going for a close shave, just a few gentle passes before work.

 

[Philuk]

I started DE shaving 8 months ago and at the time I was a bowl lather guy because:
- using cream
- follow the guidance on the web
- had never used soap before
- don't like to have the lather all over (ears, nose...)

then, I tried a soap out of B&B's reviews and comments.
- you will not screw up the lather when face lathering
- it's faster and yes it's nice to massage the face
- i use a big boar brush so I get tons of lather

What nobody told me is that it has sex appeal, the girlfriend hated it when I was acting like a chemist in the bathroom with cream and bowl, now in 10 minutes the job is done and she said she finds it sexy to see me face lather.

 

[Parallax]

I'm still way better with the bowl. The other thing about facelathering is the first pass seems to get the most luxurious lather and each subsequent pass is a bit more skimpy. I do it when traveling but prefer to use a bowl. With the bowl, I feel much more control over the consistency of the lather and it stays the same all the way through the shave.