I am thinking of trying face lathering. I have never attempted it so I need some help. Do you do this with just soaps, just creams or basically anything? How do I know if I have used enough water and how much water do I use? Do you dip the brush in water or hit it with water under the sink? How do you make enough lather for 3 or 4 passes? Do you just keep hitting the soap or it an initial loading of the brush all you need? Is burnWood good to use for face lathering?
I have face-lathered with both soaps and creams with equally good results. As for getting the consistency right, I think it's best to start kind of "dry" because you can always add water. I will typically dip a corner of the brush in water to add more moisture to the mix, and I just kind of know when the lather is right for shaving. As for having enough on the brush for 3-4 passes, you would be surprised how much lather you can get with one good "load up" of your brush, but if it doesn't look right to you, go ahead and reload -- if you're like the rest of us, you already have more soaps and creams than you can use in a lifetime. Face lathering is quick and easy, and you will probably use less product than lathering in a vessel. Plus, I think the extra lathering time sets the beard up better to meet its demise. Some guys here will only face lather -- I am still about 50-50 between that and using a vessel.
Thanks for the info Rick. I think I will try it tomorrow. My only worry is the water to product ratio. I assume the final product should look like what it does in the bowl? BTW I was wondering if the the extra lather time would help with beard prep and you answered my question.
I face lather soaps primarily, although it has started creeping over into my creams. I still have to start the creams in a bowl though. I soak my brush while I'm in the shower, and drizzle a little water on top of the soap du jour at the same time. I squeeze and shake my brush so it is very, very dry to start. Then I load the brush, get a really good load on. Then put brush to face and swirl away! Once you get your face covered with an initial layer of thick soap, dip the tips in water and work it some more. Keep dipping and working until you get it to where you want it. Shave, rinse, repeat. I've never run out of soap in my brush. Mantic has a video that demonstrates it, too. I think it may be part of one of his lathering vids where he goes over different types of lathering (soap, cream, face, etc..)
Okay so here is another question. Once you get the ratio correct for the first pass do you have to keep adding water for 2,3 or 4th pass or is the mixture correct like bowl lathering?
Thanks Fuzzy, I just watched it. I think I will try this technique tomorrow. I have been thinking I need to do more prep work to the beard to soften it and this may just do the trick.
I can usually get 3 passes from the brush, sometimes I have to squeeze the brush to get the last bit of lather out to finish up. Sometimes I do need to reload the brush, but as Rick said, face lathering allows more time for the brush/lather to do it's magic in standing the hairs up to mow them down. Plus not needing a lathering bowl one less thing to keep track of on the bathroom counter.
I seldom face lather much.. but i do like to put a little pre lather slather on. Learned that from Shep.. so I guess that part is like face lathering. It works really well. If you do not fall in love with face lathering, at least doing the pre lather thing may help the prep. Fuzzy
I only face lather. Why scrub a bowl with your brush (and some of you have fancy luxurious brushes) when you could be scrubbing your face with it?
Darn it guys, now I can't wait to try it in the morning. Gonna have to use my Connaught cream so I ensure a good shave even if I screw up the lather. Thanks for the info guys I will keep you posted on how it goes.
