We bet many of you don’t know how to use a shaving scuttle, especially if you are a newbie. But don’t worry. Today, we will walk you through all the steps.
If you’re into men grooming, you might have heard of a shaving scuttle.
But knowing how to use a shaving scuttle at home isn’t something everyone grasps – it isn’t common knowledge after all.
Thus, if you’re also one of those thinking of getting a scuttle yet don’t know much about the tool, today’s post will clear things up for you.
What Is A Shaving Scuttle?
Shaving scuttles are an advanced variant of shaving mugs. It is a ceramic container with two walls that retains the warmth of soap lather so that you can utilize it more than once.
Generally, all it requires is to add lukewarm water to the base compartment and lather up with soaps or creams in the upper one.
As a result, this design generates a rich foam by leveraging the water’s warmth and any interior channels in the basin. Moreover, it also keeps the lather decent and toasty, which makes the lather ideal for users to reapply for any further rounds.
The shaving scuttle looks like a mug featuring 2 separate compartments.
Nowadays, a few scuttles feature a big enough aperture for the water at the base to keep your shaving brush toasty and moist as well, although this is uncommon.
The most common material for a scuttle is ceramic, which has excellent heat conductivity. These tools are typically 3.5 inches in diameter and 2.5 inches deep, although the dimensions vary greatly depending on the potter’s models and layout.
There are also whole scuttle sets available, including 3 compartments: a basin to maintain your brush moist, a scuttle for creating and keeping lather, and the final container to hold a puck to stack the brush.
How To Use A Shaving Scuttle (5 Key Steps)
1. Preheat the scuttle and other tools
First of all, warm up your scuttle by pouring hot water (not too boiling) into the upper scuttle’s basin and external section.
Then, place the shaving brush into the filled bowl for 3 mins to soften the brush bristles and preheat the scuttle. It also gives you extra time to prepare other necessary tools, too.
Take the brush out and shake off any remaining water before draining both water chambers.
Lay the shaving brush on a dry, clean towel to avoid contaminating the bristles.
2. Pour warm water into the inner compartment
The American Academy of Dermatology suggests cleansing the face with tepid water for healthy skin. As a result, the optimal water temperature for filling the scuttle should be between 84°F and 115°F.
However, make sure that you never pour hot water into the grooming scuttle. This action may accidentally ruin your grooming brush’s hairs and possibly scorch your face if your grooming foam is overheated.
The first step to thick, foamy lather is to pour water into the scuttle.
In addition, we also advise not to utilize water exceeding the above level. Since water at a higher temperature tends to be highly steamy, the lather might become deflated. Thus, only stick to tepid water if you aim for a nice and warm lather.
Indeed, according to dermatologist Dr. Roberta Del Campo, moderate water temperature is always ideal since boiling one may deprive the skin of its healthy oils. In contrast, frigid water does not enable the pores to open to eliminate impurities.
Tepid water also helps to prevent razor burns. It aids in opening the pores and keeps them clear, which reduces the risk of irritation.
At the same time, water at medium temperatures also helps to nourish your hair. In addition, it will loosen up your cuticles, allowing the hairs to get the most out of the lather’s contents and facilitating the grooming process with a straight razor.
3. Insert the cork to enclose it
Leave even steaming water alone, and the heat lowers. Thus, if you wish to retain your water’s temperature and constantly reheat your lather, it’s a must to use a cork to lock the overhead compartment tightly.
This cork will help to seal all the steam and warmth.
Theoretically, you’ll utilize the cork to keep the water from cooling down by trapping the steam generated by the boiler. This action will assist in keeping your scuttle water at a fixed level during the procedure.
And if the temperature gets lowered, that process would take way more time than if you left the water exposed.
4. Place the grooming soap puck in the container and pour in a small amount of water
Now that you’ve got your scuttle heated up, it’s time to get it ready for lathering, grooming creams, or, ideally, shaving soaps.
Yet, if you intend to use soap, remember that don’t apply the body-specific ones. Instead, a specialized shaving soap will be more than enough.
Developing a dense shaving lather calls for hard soaps with high fat composition and minimal alkaline, like shaving soaps.
At the same time, they will be much better for the environment and last longer if you use high-quality organic shaving soap.
Soap and a little water, swirling the brush in a circular motion well to create lather
Buying anything with hazardous components, such as artificial emulsifiers, artificial scents, and dyes will cause your skin to be exposed to the risk of inflammation.
When using shaving soap, put it in your scuttle and add a few drops of water to make it moistened. After that, begin rubbing it to generate a lather.
In case you want to use shaving cream, squeeze out an adequate amount onto the brush tip. Yet, what is considered adequate here relies on the scutte’s size, the shaving brush size, and the shaving cream itself.
A fingertip amount is usually enough to make a thick froth. Yet, it is advisable that grooming practice with how much cream is necessary to generate the optimal foaming.
5. Swirl using the shaving brush until a thick lather develops
After placing your grooming soap in the basin, slowly whip your shaving foam with your shaving brush. The lather will gradually get thicker while the scuttle works to provide heat.
When the foam becomes dense and warm enough, spread the lather on your face using your shaving brush.
Alternative Methods To Use A Shaving Scuttle
Method 1: Place the shaving scuttle on a coffee warmer.
After filling your shaving mug with water, place it on a coffee warmer.
When the water in the internal compartment of your scuttle is warm enough, wet your brush for a few seconds. Also, don’t forget to trap the steam in using the cork.
This approach is quite clever since it allows you to create a warm lather that stays heated until the very end. Indeed, it not only boasts a pleasant feeling, but it also performs admirably.
Method of combining coffee warmer and scuttle
Method 2: Use your shaving scuttle while showering.
Lastly, and by far the laziest technique, you may carry your scuttle into the bathroom with you and load it using warm water as you bathe.
Soak the soap in water, then foam it up and utilize it to groom your hairs.
After that, put your razors plus shaving brush into the scuttle’s faucet to heat them up. Not only does this preheat the razor, but it will also soothe the hairs of your shaving brush.
After that, grab your shaving puck and put it on the soap plate.
Use this method to ensure that it remains relatively warm. After this, you’re free to enjoy a short bath. However, expect to wait for at least 10 mins before grooming if you’re not in the mood for a shower.
Utilize only high-quality shaving brushes since cheap ones will fall apart if you soak them in the heated water for an extended period. This is since the manufacturers of many of these low-cost brushes tend to use weak glue or resins to lower the production cost.
Benefits Of Using Shaving Scuttles
Utilizing a straight razor and conventional wet shaving techniques is an art in and of itself, which deters many men from opting for that approach.
Instead, they head for different assisting products, notably scuttles, mugs, bowls.
For newcomers, it’s easy to become lost in the jargon. But trust us when we say that after you’ve mastered every facet, you’ll feel intrigued and eager to discover more.
What differentiates a scuttle and makes it better than its rivals is its dual containers for retaining the water and the other for the foam.
Indeed, shaving mugs and bowls are inefficient because they can only contain lather or water, not both. And when you use them to keep grooming foamy lather, the foam will still turn cold more rapidly.
Are Shaving Scuttles Worth It?
Shaving scuttles are an excellent addition to every wet shaver’s toolkit with all the earlier mentioned benefits. That’s why scuttles’ use and appeal have skyrocketed over the years, making it one of the must-haves nowadays. Thus, it’s undoubtedly a wise investment.
Conclusion
Now we bet you’ve understood what a shaving scuttle is and how to use a shaving scuttle.
Indeed, this simple-to-use tool is convenient, yields better and warmer leather, and eases your grooming process a lot. So give it a try, and it won’t fail you!
Leave a Reply