I usually face lather and get consistently good results at this point.
However, when I get a .5 oz. or less sample I’ll smush the soap down into a thin, even layer using one of those collapsible slow-feed pet bowls. Every time I get a foamy bullshit lather.
I’m unsure how to get an equally wet and slick lather with the bowl. Do I just need to keep adding water? Move to the face sooner? Give up and grow a beard?
The slow feed bowls have big nubs that just get in the way. Foamy lather is usually a sign of not enough soap, and my experience with that style bowl is it’s hard to pick all of the soap up.
Is there usually soap left when you’re finished rinsing out the bowl? Try spreading the soap on the sides of the bowl where the nubs ding get in the way of your brush.
Another method is using the lid from another tub of soap to do the brush loading.
Firstly. You’re right face lather is best lather. That means for samples it’s about how to load so you can face lather properly.
DJ and Walden make good points but my tuppence is the most important because it has a cheese based bonus.
You see the lid from another tub will workbut what works just as well is the little ceramic dish that comes with baked Camembert. It’s a good size, and the glazed ceramic is nice and smooth and easy to load from. Plus you get the added benefit of having to eat a baked Camembert to get one.
The slow feed bowl doesn’t work for me either. The nubs get in the way of picking up the soap. It’s me general criticism of most lather bowls. The ridges are counterproductive.
I suspect that if you use a smooth-bottomed bowl to create a big surface of soap (like in the tub), then you’ll load just fine
