Bowl vs Face

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 5:05 pm

It would seem that hydrating and working the soap into lather in a bowl would be an advantage for sensitive skin. With face lathering the soap is applied to the face in a more concentrated form, stays on the face longer because of the hydrating time, and requires more scrubbing of the face.

Anyone else thought about this?

drumana · Post by **drumana** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 5:16 pm

Correct! Although, I can say that if you have a nice soft brush and a quality shave soap/cream that is agreeable with your skin chemistry, face lathering shouldn't be much of a problem. But in general, bowl lathering and then applying lather to the face will be easier on your skin. Mainly because of there will be less exfoliation from the brush.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 5:25 pm

matt I think the stiffness of the brush will have more of an effect than the soap/cream, presuming the soap/cream in question agrees with your skin in the first place.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 7:29 pm

Makes sense. If building the lather in the bowl, the bowl is the recipient of all the brush activity required to build the lather, while the face gets all of that energy and motion when the bowl is eliminated from the process. I prefer the latter, because it's so much more fun. Sad to say, isn't it, a guy finding fun in something so brief and innocuous-seeming. Ahh, but it's harmless fun, costs little, and adds to the enjoyment of the shave.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:26 pm

With creams I prefer to make the lather first in a bowl as it seems easier to control the cream to water ratio that way and to get the kind of lather I want. With the English hard soaps I just start the lather making process on the soap cake itself and then take it to my face. Fierce and/or overly prolonged circular lathering on my face has always seemed to cause some irritation so I learned not to do that. I do work the lather into the whiskers but I use back-and-forth 'paint brush' style strokes to do it and am not overly vigorous in the application.
Regards,
Gordon

CMur12 · Post by **CMur12** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:05 pm

I'm one of those who lathers in a bowl because of sensitive skin. I also only shave my neck and I have come to the conclusion that the neck by itself does not make a good surface for face-lathering. At any rate, I tolerate very little action with any brush on my skin.

I have generally found that working the lather a little more on the shaving surface actually causes me to lose glide/lubricity.

- Murray

gil3591 · Post by **gil3591** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:57 pm

you can also try palm lathering and then going to the face once the lather starts to build

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:05 pm

Gil, Well, yes, but that is basically the same process as bowl lathering. With creams I started out with palm lathering and then went to a bowl mainly for aesthetic reasons. It actually took me a little practice to get the bowl lather to be as good as what I was used to making in my palm but after a bit it got there.
Regards,
Gordon

Flash G · Post by **Flash G** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:39 pm

I concur with all the above. I hand or bowl lather creams and face lather soaps and when I use my Chubby in best I notice that I need to be gentler than with my supers when face lathering so I don't cause irritation.

Dapper Dad · Post by **Dapper Dad** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 4:23 am

I must admit that the responses surprise me. I'm in the minority here with Brothers. I view face lathering as a morning massage for my face that is part of the fun experience. Some exfoliation must be good and I'm guessing that it works the lather into the hair better. These ironclad facts were obtained from my posterior after a full 8 seconds of deliberation.

jww · Post by **jww** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:37 am

Hmmm --- good discussion. To be honest, I started in my palm, then moved to a dish, and then directly to the face - and have stayed with face lathering for many years. To be honest, I have never thought about whether my face is too sensitive for one method or the other. I used to change it up just for the sake of variety, then simply landed on what I felt most comfortable with.

I have to admit, that face lathering is by far the most convenient when traveling - which I have been doing more of this year - especially for work. I have already posted before that I now keep a small, pre-packed and TSA friendly kit bag in my carry-on at all times.

The one thing that used to frustrate me with the bowl was finding one that didn't chip easily when I used it -- and old coffee mugs just don't work for me -- they feel clumsy in my average-sized paws.

The important thing, I believe, is getting it right for you -- whatever that means on an individual basis.

SRD · Post by **SRD** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:41 am

I almost exclusively bowl lather. I just prefer it that way.

EL Alamein · Post by **EL Alamein** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:42 am

Yes, I have pondered this many times and have made a few observations with regards to my own reactions. I face lather my soaps and the trick for me is to get those badger tips loaded with soap sufficiently enough that I don’t feel them when lathering on my face. I don’t use a lot of pressure when lathering so the brush only splays out a little. The result is that lathering is like having a pillow on my face. Some soaps do this much better than others and the distinction falls along the tallow/veggie lines within the top performers – the tallow or potassium stearate based soaps produce that pillow easier than their veggie counterparts. My mitigation technique for this is to load the tips a bit more when using a veggie based soap. Another observation is that no matter the base of the soap a new cake lathers much easier than one in it’s last throws. I very much like face lathering because I can feel how the lather has formed on my face and how slick and protective it is versus is being to dry and sticky.

It is amazing how little product is needed with some very good old soaps to make a superior lather. Their modern counterparts don’t even come close or should I say perform much differently.

With creams I bowl lather or rather Moss scuttle lather. I have tried face lathering with them and they irritate me in this way even though they are very pillowy. I perceive this to be, as the OP mentioned, a function of their concentration. Since creams have what I believe to be unsaponified glycerin in them (as well as a higher content of it) I think that is the main culprit in my case. My skin does not like raw glycerin and in the case of hard soaps I am not bothered because it is saponified. Once the cream is fully combined with water it’s usually mild enough for me to shave with and not have any irritation.

For all lathering products I use a very soft brush – Vulfix made T&H black turnback equivalent to the 2234 model and this makes a very big difference for me in eliminating irritation. I’ve had the high end brushes and for me this lathers the best with the mildest touch. The only high end brush I like as much is Kent. I have a BK12 and I don’t use it nearly as much anymore but when I want a bigger brush this satisfies my requirements for a soft touch just like the Vulfix.

Chris

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:12 am

The scrubbing from the brush doesn't seem to be the problem for me. It is more of a chemical sensitivity thing. I have this one shave soap that I really like. Works really great for me in all ways except it burns just a tad on my skin. When I face lather I can feel the strong "paste-like" concentration when I bring the loaded brush to my face. Then I must build the lather which gives more time for the burn to build. On the contrary, I noticed when bowl lathering that the hydrated lather feels much less caustic. Also, it is on the face for less time.

franz · Post by **franz** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:25 am

I get a lot of joy out of face lathering. The fact that I have sensitive skin means I have to use either boar or very soft tipped badgers -- otherwise I get the dreaded brush burn. I had one soap that behaved the same way yours did; innocuous enough whipped up in a bowl but uncomfortable when lathered directly on the face. I think the friction of the brush can only add to whatever sensitivity you might be having to some ingredient in the soap.

Sounds like you need a new shaving soap. Your face doesn't deserve to be subjected to that kind of thing.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:38 am

DD I can come up with a half posterior conclusion in just under four seconds.

gil3591 · Post by **gil3591** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:08 am

i will get a skin burn from execssive face lathering. such as when i face lather 3-4 times a day (it's my weakness

). i have found when using a shave stick, and hitting an empty brush against the skin , that my omega boar is the easiest on my skin and my 2 band polo the roughest against the skin. 3 band badger seems to be in between.

marsos52 · Post by **marsos52** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 10:10 am

I almost exclusively bowl lather. I just prefer it that way.

me too....and less mess...

marc

druphus · Post by **druphus** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:49 am

marsos52 wrote:
I almost exclusively bowl lather. I just prefer it that way.

me too....and less mess...

marc

Me three...its easier to get the lather just right that way....Although, some times, with hard soaps, I'll build the lather right on the cake and not need a bowl, except for the soap bowl itself (which I always buy).

gil3591 · Post by **gil3591** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:12 pm

druphus wrote:
marsos52 wrote:
I almost exclusively bowl lather. I just prefer it that way.

me too....and less mess...

marc
Me three...its easier to get the lather just right that way....Although, some times, with hard soaps, I'll build the lather right on the cake and not need a bowl, except for the soap bowl itself (which I always buy).

when i bowl lather i don't know what the lather will be like till it hits my face. i think we need a poll!