I just signed up for this forum, and I am looking for advice, not trying to give any out. I have no idea how to navigate this site or create a thread. I thought I would post a few of my questions on here and hopefully get a response here or at least be navigated to the right direction of the site. I just started wet shaving about a month ago, and love everything about it, but I want to master bowl lathering! I can not seem to ever get a good lather when using a bowl. I have used plastic, ceramic, and stainless steel bowls with razorock xxx and razorock xx (suppose to be very slick soaps). I have a cheap van der hagen boar brush, cheap perfecto pure or best badger (can't remember which one), and a synthetic omega s series brush. I have tried everything, but when I apply the lather to my face it is chalky and flaky, and actually flakes off and floats in mid air very shortly after I apply it, but when I am mixing it in the bowl, it looks and feels creamy and rich. Any suggestions based on the equipment I have would be great. Thanks guys.
Sounds like a lack of water. Start with a slightly damp bowl. Swirl your brush in the soap for 15-20 seconds and then transfer to the bowl. Begin working your soap in the bowl, then try adding a few drops of water. Don't add more than that. Work it some more. Then add a few more drops if necessary. This should create tons of shiny, beautiful lather. There are many others who could probably give better advice than me! I face lather almost exclusively but have bowl lathered in the past. Check out some of the lathering videos on Youtube. Mantic59, Geofatboy and Nick Shaves come to mind.
In the old days, people tended to keep a puck in a mug, and work their lather in the mug, on top of the puck. Work it, work it, add very small amounts of water at a time, until you had a mug brimming with lather. This was the way I learned, and I never had any trouble. When I started following these sites, everyone talked about loading their brush, then moving to face or bowl. This certainly works, but IMO is harder than just making lather on top of a puck. It obviously makes sense when you have multiple soaps in small bowls or tins etc, but I think takes a little more familiarity with each soap. Try just building lather on top of a puck, in your bowl or a mug. In this case, it does sound like you need a lot more water. Goopy and slick is a lot better than foamy and airy. Ignore pictures you see of lather porn. What looks best in a picture is not always best for your face.
Welcome! Using more soap has been my key to building a better lather. The idea of using the same bowl as your soap sets in gives this credence. After getting a good load of soap, then moving to another bowl also works. Then it's a matter of slowly adding more water to moisten the soap load. If your bowl doesn't have some texture, seek one. A smooth coffee mug doesn't give the fluff I see from an Old Spice mug. That one has ribs on the walls.
There's a great three part YouTube video set on lathering. Let me see if I can find it... This part 1 of the series I was thinking of but looking for it I see there are a ton of other videos by others I respect as well.
I use a good shave cream to start with, Proraso in the tube (3 color, red, green, blue), maybe 1/2 line in a stainless bowl, with brush start to mix, slowly adding water to my brush, mop (best word to describe) up lather on my brush that builds up towards the top of my bowl, and slap the moped up lather, back into bottom of the bowl, continue mixing rotation, until lather is rich, smooth, and creamy, doesn't take much of this sort of mixing to get the lather needed, Proraso cream in the tube is great, easy to use. A lot depends on the type of brush you are using also, I prefer 100% Badger Silvertip (24mm), but this is up to you own preference of course.
Just wanted to say that I'm still trying to get my lather right sometimes, and those videos were excellent and informative. Thanks for sharing.
In the 3 schools of lathering, bowl, face and scuttle, each giving a great lather, I prefer face lather simply because it seems faster and more jubilating and getting the beard more hydrated. But that's just my choice and it's worked well for me this fifty plus years After you have perfected face lathering, try the face and the scuttle method and choose the one that you enjoy the best. No pun meant for all you bowl and scuttle guys. Happy shaving, Denis
I started with bowl lathering, then progressed to face lathering. I found bowl lathering took too long, and sometimes produced less slick results, even if the lather looked fluffy and thick. I still bowl lather with creams, and my Vie-Long brushes. But, I now prefer soaps, 90 percent of the time, and face lathering, with any number of boar brushes. Face lathering with soaps are fast, and produce a slick lather, not to mention it feels good.
Similar story for me, although I'm getting better at it. Most of my best bowl lathers are pleasant surprises. Face lathering just seems to work. I don't know if it's the immediate feedback or what. It does keep me from adding too much water, because it'll run right of your face.
You're brushes, soap and bowls are fine. You just need to work on your method. Try soaking your brush for a few minutes. Also add a few drops of water on top of your soap. Give the brush a single, good shake then work it on the surface of the soap to load. 15-30 seconds. Go to your bowl and work it until your arm falls off. It's the brush hairs that turn the soap and water to lather. Experiment, back and forth, up and and around. The brush hairs need to whip the lather until you have very fine bubbles and a thick lather.
Face lathering is the only thing that works consistently for me. I just keep dipping the tips of the brush in water until the lather is slick and shiny. I've never had very good luck with bowl lathering.
