Over-Exfoliating With a Brush

[Got_Fever]

Hey all,

Just after a bit of advice.

I changed things up a bit this week and started face lathering rather than bowl. Today I think I may have scrbbed a bit too long/hard and now my cheeks are quite tender (ooh matron).

On the plus side, my beard has hardly grown at all and my face is still super smooth at 10:15pm. Downside of course is that my face is still a bit sore and I've obviously damaged my skin.

Any tips on how to quickly recover and not find myself in this situation again?

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I face lather and usually take quite a time doing so because I enjoy it so much, and have never had such a problem. The obvious answer is do not press too hard on the face but that aside, are you using a pure grade badger brush or a new unbroken boar brush? These can be harsh on the skin so perhaps a softer grade or maybe a synthetic would suit you. Maybe the loft is too low, or the brush too dense for you, so the brush is too scrubby. In that case perhaps a brush with a greater loft, say more than two times the knot size would be better. You could try a pre shave such as Proraso, that may help you although I find a preshave of little or no benefit. Of course, it may simply be a case of getting used to it, so maybe face lather every two or three shaves only for a while. Either way, I would persevere as, for me anyway, face lathering is a major part of the enjoyment of shaving, so much so that I rarely if ever bowl lather. Good luck.

 

[Got_Fever]

I face lather and usually take quite a time doing so because I enjoy it so much, and have never had such a problem. The obvious answer is do not press too hard on the face but that aside, are you using a pure grade badger brush or a new unbroken boar brush? These can be harsh on the skin so perhaps a softer grade or maybe a synthetic would suit you. Maybe the loft is too low, or the brush too dense for you, so the brush is too scrubby. In that case perhaps a brush with a greater loft, say more than two times the knot size would be better. You could try a pre shave such as Proraso, that may help you although I find a preshave of little or no benefit. Of course, it may simply be a case of getting used to it, so maybe face lather every two or three shaves only for a while. Either way, I would persevere as, for me anyway, face lathering is a major part of the enjoyment of shaving, so much so that I rarely if ever bowl lather. Good luck.

It's a cheap badger Brush so perhaps that's got something to do with it. Today's the first day it's happened after a week though so perhaps, I was a little tougher today. Not sure.

Ive been really enjoying the change to face lathering so hopefully it's just a one-off. I think I might just have to take a day or two without a shave and see if it improves.

 

[Got_Fever]

I've been considering a new synthetic too so maybe this is the kick up the backside I need to make the purchase.

 

[vacman]

My synthetic has become my goto brush. Very soft and lathers better than any of my other brushes.

 

[Dave-the-rave]

It could be your soap.

 

[Atlantic59]

Definitely try a softer brush. Lather is generated from the tips of the bristles, so you don't have to press hard or splay the brush out all the time, you can use a mix of circular and painter brush strokes.

If you are breaking in a new boar brush, I've found it helpful to build lather on the palm first, then paint it on. Eventually, the brush will be soft enough to just lather directly on the face.

 

[BigJ]

It's a cheap badger Brush so perhaps that's got something to do with it. Today's the first day it's happened after a week though so perhaps, I was a little tougher today. Not sure.

Ive been really enjoying the change to face lathering so hopefully it's just a one-off. I think I might just have to take a day or two without a shave and see if it improves.

+1! Inexpensive badger brushes are likely to be ’pure’ grade which has more ‘scritch.’ Some like them, but for me (as a face latherer) this grade is not pleasurable. So, a ‘higher’ grade of badger may well work better. In other words my price point is higher with badger brushes.

Another option would be to try a synthetic or boar brush which are less expensive for quality options. Just remember that boars require a break in period!

 

[ajkel64]

Sounds like you could be pressing to hard to me. Also could be the type of brush. Brushes are relatively cheap these days so you could try a softer brush. Just a thought.

 

[Invicta]

It's a cheap badger Brush so perhaps that's got something to do with it. Today's the first day it's happened after a week though so perhaps, I was a little tougher today. Not sure.

Pure badger has a lot of scritch so it may cause some irritation. Don't press as hard and try and use the tips only for working up the lather. The better quality badger brushes are much better and gentler.
The Classic Shop on ebay has competitively priced shaving brushes; do a search for Maseto badger brush. The 24mm knot 2 band silvertip badger brush may be a good choice. Expect delivery to take at least 2 weeks though.
Consider also the Omega pro boar brush which is popular.

 

[Got_Fever]

Pure badger has a lot of scritch so it may cause some irritation. Don't press as hard and try and use the tips only for working up the lather. The better quality badger brushes are much better and gentler.
The Classic Shop on ebay has competitively priced shaving brushes; do a search for Maseto badger brush. The 24mm knot 2 band silvertip badger brush may be a good choice. Expect delivery to take at least 2 weeks though.
Consider also the Omega pro boar brush which is popular.

I'll definitely check that out.

The last couple of days have been fine and I hadn't had any issues with the same brush prior. Not sure what was going on that day.

 

[Old Grump]

I did this to myself once with a synthetic brush.

Things that helped me:
1. Switched to bowl lathering rather than face lathering.
2. Switched to silvertip badger brushes.
3. Soak the brush (not the knot) for a few minutes before lathering.

I second the Maseto recommendation - their silvertip brushes are extremely soft. Maggard's silvertip knots are pretty soft, too. Since I switched to silvertip brushes, I've gone back to face lathering, pretty vigorously, with no problems.

 

[steveclarkus]

An Omega Pro 48 (10048) boar is a lovely soft brush available on Amazon for just over $12. They break in very easily and will not irritate your face. Very long lasting too. I’ve used one 90% of the time for eleven years.

 

[chinmusic82]

Soak the bristles, this virtually softens any type of brush I’ve used. Load enough product and mash less.
I used an $8 Tweezerman badger brush for more than a year so know where you’re coming from.

 

[Mad Man]

An alternative explanation? When I first began face lathering the quality of my lather was sub-optimal resulting in a less than enjoyable shave. I thought it was my brush (had a cheap pure badger with a bit of scritch) but one of the mods asked me about the quality of the lather (was it protecting me enough?).

Answer? It wasn’t.

Valuable lesson early on in this “thing of ours” called shaving is that most of the time it’s YOU, not the kit.

 

[abershaver]

I have been wet shaving for many years now. It took until fairly recently to realise that boar and badger hair brushes caused an allergic reaction on my skin. I tried cheap, middling and expensive. All ‘grades’ etc. Then I tried a cheap synthetic brush and noticed immediate improvement! Upgraded to a Yaqi synthetic brush a couple of months ago and it is so soft and comfortable. Stylish too. I would highly recommend them.

 

[Artlogon]

I have been using Cremo and some other brushless creams for a while now and when taking out my brushes again, saw a reaction similar to either irritation on the new razor or soap or an allergic reaction. Ha, that's why you shouldn't try so many things at once.

It could have been that I was pressing too hard and not an allergic reaction to the brush, I mean, I've used it before.

It could have been an allergic reaction to the soap. So will try it down the road again but with a mild razor and a synthetic.

Need to eliminate all the variables one by one.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

 

[Tedolph]

Go back to bowl lathering.

Face lathering is one of those things: you either love it or hate it.

 

[cryhavoc]

I'll definitely check that out.

The last couple of days have been fine and I hadn't had any issues with the same brush prior. Not sure what was going on that day.

Glad the face lathering is working for you, it may have just been a bad day with the brush.

 

[Macbeth]

Confine your "exfoliation" to the BOWL!!