I've used soaps for many years. While in the service I briefly used a tube cream. I lathered by spreading some on my wet face and working it with a wet brush (I was 20 and didn't know anything about technique). I'm interested in trying a quality tub cream -- like TSD's wheat creams. What's the best way to load a cream? Do you just swirl the brush in the tub a couple of times to load the brush? Scoop some out and lather in a bowl or on your face?
Short answer - Yes! I personally put a snurdle of cream, scooped out of the tub with a Popsicle stick, in my lathering bowl and build the lather from there. I find it easier to get the correct water/cream ratio. Some folks will swirl their brush tips in the cream to load the brush, then either bowl lather, or face lather. I have known others who put a small dab of cream on their cheeks and both sides of their neck, and face lather that way. So there really is no "correct" way to lather creams, it comes down to what works for you.
if i use my brush to dip it in the cream i make sure its dry. i usually dont do this unless its a realy soft cream because it never fails i get little bits of hair in the tub and i cant stand that. 99.99% of the time i use a plastic table knife to dip out a bit and put it on my brush then start bowl lathering.
The majority of my creams, in fact all of my creams except for one are in tubes. I put a couple of fingerfulls on both cheeks, then I wet my brush and I make my lather. That is the best way, at least to me.
For creams in a tube, I simply put a decent sized blob (the correct term is "snurdle" of course, but it just sounds dirty to me for some reason) in the middle of my brush than face lather. Hey Jeff- How's life in the Great White Frozen North?
Thanks, all. I'll try all the recommendations! Apparently, quite a few use the method I used for the brief time I used creams.