Face Lather vs Bowl Lather

Hocky27

Hocky27

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2015
Location
NSW
So what does everyone here prefer? Do some soaps simply lather better one way or the other?

I prefer bowl lathering. There is something satisfying about creating & seeing a full bowl of lather.

What I have personally noticed though is that it doesn't work for all soaps. Dr Jon's for example I cannot get to bowl lather properly. I can never get the volume I'm looking for & when I do its just an airy mess.

I've read comments where people say you have to face lather with it to get the best results. I will certainly try this for the next shave.

What are your thoughts?
 
I palm lather using cold water. The colder the better.

I used to face lather but changed out of necessity when I got my Omega S-Brush (an absolutely brilliant brush). It is very springy (as many synths are) and also very large. These two factors conspire to make face lathering impossible. So I started palm lathering and painting on by a happy accident. It was good fortune as I probably never would have done so otherwise. Now there is no going back.

Palm lathering/painting has improved my shaves in a few ways:

i) Getting the perfect lather is easy. I add a few drops at a time and my fingers can feel when the slickness is just right.
ii) Developing the lather in the palm minimises the time that the soap is touching the skin. This is quite important as shaving soap is pH 10.
iii) Painting on is an extremely gentle way to apply lather to the face. Again, this helps reduce irritation.

I used to believe that the whiskers needed to be lifted by swirling strokes and that the soap had to soak in to work best but I'm getting the best shaves of my life using this method.
 
I face lather - because I love it. If you have a nice brush and a great soap, why would you want to waste any of that precious brush time on a piece of porcelain :D :D :D

On a more serious note: I really don't believe the actual quality of your lather should be any different, no matter which method you use. I also don't believe you need the newest high-tech scuttle to get to that same result. It might make life easier, but your 10c plastic bowl should give the same result...
 
I generally go by what the soap maker recommends (or face lather if there isn't anything specified). Sometimes with the tallow blends that take heaps of water I find it easier in a bowl.
 
Why would a soap maker recommend a method for making lather? That's like Toyota telling me how I should drive.

That's the sort of hipster shit you get from some of these 'artisans'. How to make lather is a preference. If people want the ritual of using a bowl, fine. But to say one method will work better than another, is crap.
 
Don't know why they would recommend one over another, and the stuff I have seen thus far does not justify their reasons (don't know the impact of ratios of NaOH to KOH on the way soaps lather). It doesn't worry me either way, so just figured if they've gone to the effort of making it, why not just run with it.

@Anthony do you have any input on why a soap maker would recommend one method over another?

 
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Drubbing said:
Why would a soap maker recommend a method for making lather? That's like Toyota telling me how I should drive.
Click to expand...

Actually where appropriate, car manufacturers do post driving restrictions in their manuals.
If you violate that, and try to claim, they can cut off your warranty (and no insurance etc)
e.g warning you shouldn't drive off-road in a car that looks like an SUV, but is just a jacked up sedan.

I believe that was in the manual of a RAV4 (or a similar model name), that my brother rented to take to these remote power stations but found out there was insurance restrictions on what vehicle could go down these roads (and this rental didnt qualify ... so he had to swap it).
 
That's legal stuff for warranty - to legislate for the fkin idiots. That said, I took my old RAV4 sand duning and it creamed al the heavier pajeros, Landcruisers etc that kept getting bogged cos they were too heavy.

Where's the soap warranty if I face lather instead of use a bowl?
 
Some may be able to command the dunes in a Rav4, but it's not what they were designed for and a few may experience some hassle if they try (yes, a number of fleet vehicles at work I'm aware of have been bogged on Moreton from time to time).

Same as face vs. bowl, no one said that it can't be done either way. People may have more luck and easier performance if they choose certain tools (according to some artisans, which I am following up).
 
@Korbz - for me this is not bowl lathering but building your lather on the puck. The big difference being the soap in the bowl...

I think people recommend this method to avoid under-loading. I read this on a different forum - but it has been my belief for quiet some time as well: every time I read of troubles with getting lather - the answer is: LOAD IT LIKE YOU HATE IT!

If you build your lather on the puck like in this video, you won't have this issue, because your brush will be more or less saturated with product
 
Drubbing said:
That's legal stuff for warranty - to legislate for the fkin idiots. That said, I took my old RAV4 sand duning and it creamed al the heavier pajeros, Landcruisers etc that kept getting bogged cos they were too heavy.
Click to expand...

A friend of ours took us "Bush Bashing" in his RAV 4, which consisted on following a dirt track and crossing a small stream
It really had to push hard getting over a hill. He said it was a lot better without passengers ;-)

We used to go sand duning in a Baja Bug ... they were the best (also awesome skimming the water at low tide).
I don't think your typical garden variety 4WD is made for dunes unless modded.
 
Nightguard said:
Depends on what soap or cream I'm using. Typically face lather soaps and bowl lather creams.
Click to expand...
This. (Mostly)

For some reason, I find creams work better being lathered in a bowl. Not all occasions I do this, and sometimes I have a sample I stick in the bottom of a bowl. But face lathering is simpler (not having to clean hand or bowl). I do palm lather on occasion, but mostly with new soaps or a new brush. I find face lathering is my preferred way of lathering.
 
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