Considering using a shaving stick...

[Martin]

Just seen this video on youtube, seems even less messier than what I currently use ie load a puck of soap then face lather.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znk0Hi3YszU

Anyone else face lather using a shaving stick?. What are your thoughts compared to soaps in a bowl?.

Cheers

[JRTASTER]

Martin,
My use of shave sticks (DR Harris Lavender and Arlington, actually) was largely limited to when I travelled. Mostly, I lavishly applied the
stick to a washed face and face lathered, primarily with a good boar brush (boar being my travel choice because it tended to dry faster and
also because if I left it in a hotel bath I was only out $30, compared to losing a $100+ badger).
Anyway, that worked pretty well until last October when my DR Harris Arlington really let me down and pretty much failed to give me the
kind of rich, slick and protective to which I had become accustomed. I was greatly puzzled but struggled nonetheless over the course of my
6 week, four location trip.
Posted my problem here at SMF and was advised to bolster lather production by running a brush over the stick and lathering THAT over a face
to which I had already applied soap from the stick. It worked pretty well... surely the lather output improved a lot and my shaves were once
again back in the groove. Nonetheless I had lost confidence in taking the stick along on any trip over 3-5 days. TOBS Rose Cream in a tube now
resides in my travel kit.
From what I've read here, sticks get plenty of love, especially for travel use. but the Harris, Valobra ,Speick , La Toja and Palmolive shave
sticks also seem to be mainstays in some guys' daily shave regimen. All of them should be readily available in the U.K.
In theory, and I guess in practice for most guys, sticks are a less messy alternative to pucks. Now a days, my sticks are used mostly for touch
ups along my jawline and on my chin, places which are difficult for me to get a smooth shave. I just apply the stick to the "problem" areas and
shave over the stick without any additional lathering.
Gosh, sorry for the overly wordy response... talk about making a short story long1
Let us hear more about YOUR shave stick experiences!
jr/John

[brothers]

For a while I "built" my lather on my face but nowadays I prefer to load the brush on the soap, build the lather in a bowl, and paint it on my face. At one time I had all my soaps in stick form, even MWF, Williams, and MdC. Splash water on face, wet stick under the tap, rub stick vigorously all over the beard, take a wet brush to the wet soapy face to create the lather right on the face, bypassing a lather bowl and eliminating any "loading" other than the wet brush on the soapy face. This is known as using the face as a lathering platform before shaving it. Imagine the wear and tear on the face if the chosen soap decides to be reluctant to explode into a usable lather as soon as the brush hits it. There were some days my face was sore, and I finally figured out why.

While it would be very easy to do the same thing with any lathering shaving cream, I haven't seen anyone posting that they do it like that. Maybe they're posting about it, but I'm just not seeing it. Putting unlathered shaving cream on our face and building the lather on the face in the exact same fashion described above is somehow looked upon as almost shocking to imagine. Who would dare to suggest such a barbaric practice! It seems common that those who use creams build their lather in a bowl before applying it to the face. Maybe some cream users who skip the lather bowl will post about their experiences.

[LookingGlass]

Gary,

For the life of me I cannot remember but I read on one of the shave forums in the past few days where someone said they put a dab of tube shave cream on each cheek and then the chin and face lather. First time I ever heard of this. I may or may not give this a try.

Concerning your post, I have face lathered using a stick with good results. However, when I try to face lather by loading the brush from a soap, I am getting inconsistent results. Either too much soap (thick lather) or too much water (runny lather). However, lathering from a mug (soap) or a scuttle (cream) I get consistent results. Therefore, I think I will stick with the mug/scuttle.

I'll have to admit I do enjoy the face lathering with a stick so I'll continue. I have La Toja, Irisch Moos, and Lea. One of the nice options of our hobby...we get to do what is best for us and experiment on the side. Never know what you will discover.

[jww]

Stick and face lathering works fine for me. I use sticks exclusively when I travel for work and most times when I travel for pleasure.

[brothers]

Now that I've had the thought, I think I really should practice what I preach and face lather with some of my few remaining creams. Yes, why haven't I thought of that before!

[ShadowsDad]

In the past I used sticks, but at the same time I also used soaps in tubs. I actually liked using sticks except for one thing. It should be loaded onto a wet face. I didn't care for the mess on the hand and fingers holding the stick. Now I just shred all of my sticks and press them into tubs.

Two that you'll probably have no problems finding, and work great, are Boots and Palmolive. As I wrote I shred them and load them from a tub, but at one time I used them in stick form. With my raspy beard I had absolutely no problem getting enough soap loaded onto my face.

FWIW, even a puck of soap can be used like a stick. The soap can be rubbed on the beard to load the face, then lathered.

No matter how the soap is loaded though, onto the face or onto the brush, I always face lather. It just makes more sense to me since the time spent lathering is also time prepping for the shave. The "soak" that the whiskers undergo softens them. I actually like the sensual feel of the brush and lather on the face too.

[GA Russell]

Martin, my experience with sticks has been that the first pass has been great. But with the whiskers mostly gone at that point, the stick doesn't deposit much soap on my face for the second pass.

[ShadowsDad]

Martin, my experience with sticks has been that the first pass has been great. But with the whiskers mostly gone at that point, the stick doesn't deposit much soap on my face for the second pass.

What happened to all the lather on your brush from the first lathering?

Depending on the size of the brush I can generate enough for many passes. Even the Wee Scot generates and holds lather enough for 3 passes.

[brothers]

I'm thinking that if the soap being face lathered is a weak or sparse lathering soap, or if insufficient brush work is done when it's time to build the lather for the whole shave, one might have to apply more soap between passes, and then having to do more brush work to create the second portion of lather. Seems like a rather inefficient process.

[Martin]

For a while I "built" my lather on my face but nowadays I prefer to load the brush on the soap, build the lather in a bowl, and paint it on my face. At one time I had all my soaps in stick form, even MWF, Williams, and MdC. Splash water on face, wet stick under the tap, rub stick vigorously all over the beard, take a wet brush to the wet soapy face to create the lather right on the face, bypassing a lather bowl and eliminating any "loading" other than the wet brush on the soapy face. This is known as using the face as a lathering platform before shaving it. Imagine the wear and tear on the face if the chosen soap decides to be reluctant to explode into a usable lather as soon as the brush hits it. There were some days my face was sore, and I finally figured out why.

While it would be very easy to do the same thing with any lathering shaving cream, I haven't seen anyone posting that they do it like that. Maybe they're posting about it, but I'm just not seeing it. Putting unlathered shaving cream on our face and building the lather on the face in the exact same fashion described above is somehow looked upon as almost shocking to imagine. Who would dare to suggest such a barbaric practice! It seems common that those who use creams build their lather in a bowl before applying it to the face. Maybe some cream users who skip the lather bowl will post about their experiences.

Do you use a bowl to lather soaps or just creams?

[Squire]

Russ you can load the brush directly from the stick.

[GA Russell]

Russ you can load the brush directly from the stick.

That's true, Squire. But with that route, wouldn't it be easier to use a regular bowl of soap to load the brush?

[brothers]

For a while I "built" my lather on my face but nowadays I prefer to load the brush on the soap, build the lather in a bowl, and paint it on my face. At one time I had all my soaps in stick form, even MWF, Williams, and MdC. Splash water on face, wet stick under the tap, rub stick vigorously all over the beard, take a wet brush to the wet soapy face to create the lather right on the face, bypassing a lather bowl and eliminating any "loading" other than the wet brush on the soapy face. This is known as using the face as a lathering platform before shaving it. Imagine the wear and tear on the face if the chosen soap decides to be reluctant to explode into a usable lather as soon as the brush hits it. There were some days my face was sore, and I finally figured out why.

While it would be very easy to do the same thing with any lathering shaving cream, I haven't seen anyone posting that they do it like that. Maybe they're posting about it, but I'm just not seeing it. Putting unlathered shaving cream on our face and building the lather on the face in the exact same fashion described above is somehow looked upon as almost shocking to imagine. Who would dare to suggest such a barbaric practice! It seems common that those who use creams build their lather in a bowl before applying it to the face. Maybe some cream users who skip the lather bowl will post about their experiences.

Do you use a bowl to lather soaps or just creams?

Martin, I have been using a bowl to lather both soaps and creams. I really do think it makes a better lather than just using the face on which I work the suds into a lather.

[Squire]

That's true, Squire. But with that route, wouldn't it be easier to use a regular bowl of soap to load the brush?

Oh sure it would, or grate the stick up for that matter.