Question on face lathering soaps

I usually don't use soaps, I use creams. I usually bowl lather both. I had a wild hair this afternoon when I shaved, and decided to try face lathering a soap. I really had no idea what to do, so this is all I did:

1. Loaded my brush with the soap for about 8 seconds.
2. Wet my face.
3. Swirled the loaded brush on my face.

I didn't get the foamy lather I'm used to with bowl lathering, but I did get a nice thick and slick layer of soap on my face and had more than enough for 3 passes and a touch up. The shave was good, so I'm happy. It was also quicker since I didn't spend a minute or so bowl lathering and didn't have to rinse the bowl afterwards.

My question is, did I actually face lather corretly? I was happy with it, and will likely do it again. I've done cream that way in the past and had a similar result. Really, I guess I'm just curious if this is the same thing people who say they face lather soaps do, and if there was some beneficial step that I missed.

This may be how I do soaps from now on.

 

Try doubling the amount of soap on the brush.

 

That's how I do it, I don't measure time spent loading. I just load until I feel I have enough =)

Sometimes it's more than enough, sometimes I need more.

 

I got a good amount on it, I think. I'll try that tomorrow though since I'm trying to finish off this sample puck I've got hahaha. So I'm guessing I'm right, you're not going for the big foamy lather you get by bowl lathering.

 

I usually don't face lather. But I do when I am doing a "clean up" shave before going out at night and I do a face lather (without shaving) to cleanse my face every night.

I use a lot of soap and a brush that is dryer than usual. I wet my face before applying. Then, am I am rubbing it in, I will dip my brush in water to add water to the mix.

No - I believe you are incorrect. A big foamy wet dense slick lather can easily be obtained with face lathering. You should have enough onj your brush for a full three or 4 passes, depending on your habit. It is my preferred method of mixing two soaps - one spread on the face and one on the brush - with creams or 1 soap and 1 cream, I mix in a bowl

To my way of thinking, it is almost certainly a lack of soap, because you originally said "thick and slick", which leads me away from thoughts of lack of water.

 

P.S. My method of making an uber-lather on the face is as follows:
Spead glycerin on face
Spread cream on face
load brush from dish of soap
add water and swirling motion.

 

Interesting. I've been doing uber lather to get rid of the last of my canned shaving cream, as well as to get better shaves while I learn to lather soaps better. I always just assumed it needed to be done in a bowl to work properly.

 

I've been learning to lather properly for about two months now and I still get better results from face lathering than from a bowl when working with just soap. I think it comes down to time and water ratio. It sounds like you've either got too much water in the mix, or just enough water but it was added in a little too soon. Try slowing down just a bit and spending a little more time working the lather on your face and I think it will thicken up a little.

 

I think lack of water may be something. I had plenty of soap I believe. It did 3 and I probably could've done 2 more out off of it.

 

Oh no, it was very thick and slick. It just wasn't foamy like when I bowl lather.

 

For many years I only did creams with badger brushes. Got gobs of great lather and great shaves. However, after acquiring the Barbear Classico brushes (Cerda/Mistura/Texugo), and reading how good these guys are for face lathering, I am just about exclusively in to face lathering with wonderful artisan soft soaps such as Jabonman/Barrister and Mann/Strop Shoppe/Tiki/Cold River Soap Works. There was a learning curve. I was not spending enough time loading the brush before going to the face. Once I learned to slow down and have a little patience, I am getting nice face lathering lather and great, comfortable shaves. I love the feel of the brush on my face.

I am happy I picked up the Barbear Classico brushes because they got me in to face lathering. Now that I have the hang of it I am getting nice face lather results with my other Semogues (830, 1470, 1200, 1850, 1438). I guess one could face lather with the badgers but I like the "scritchy" feel of the boars.

Ed

 

Sounds like with bowl lathering, you're getting more air in the mix than with face lathering.When you face lather, you have so many options open to you.

 

Yeah, I think air may be part too. I think I'm going to do face lathering with soap for a bit to see if I can get a handle on it. I think I may like it better than the bowl. Creams, I still like the bowl.

 

I know what's best for everyone and you will no longer face lather. You prefer bowl lathering ~you just didn't know until I told you.

But seriously, I usually load my brush for about 30 seconds and if I find that the lather is too thick I just dip my brush in a little water. I do however try to avoid face lathering because the brushes tend to irritate my chin area quite badly.

 

Gotta love lathering directly on your skin. I head lather and love it.

 

At least I don't have to go back to canned goo. Canned goo's got to be the best, because it's already lathered for you.

 

give it more than 8 seconds on the soap. I like to get mine almost done on the puck and then lather in circles on my face.

 

Which is why I prefer bowl lathering.

But as I say,
It's your shave. Enjoy it your way.

 

I like to get a slick and shiny lather on my face. I have a hard time duplicating this in a bowl or scuttle. The bowl lather seems a bit more "fluffy". It seems like I need to use more soap when I bowl lather than when I face lather but I am sure that is entirely subjective.