Brush From... Human Hair?

[Zig the Pirate]

Short version: How would a shaving brush made from human hair perform?

Long version: My sister wants to give her husband a 10-year-anniversary present that will be useful to his shaving hobby, sentimental, and one-of-a-kind. He's been shaving with a DE for a few months.
She has straight brunette hair, never dyed, and it's due for a trim so it's getting cut anyway.

 

[Chandu]

At first glance the title seemed strange but your post cleared it up. I would think it would be very limp and floppy unless it could be made super dense. You'd have to find a knot maker willing to undertake such a thing. If a brush is the thing, I think the best hairs have already been decided over the decades of shaving. I'd have her go to Shavemac and do a custom one and have it engraved on (which they do). Perhaps other custom brush makers engrave too, I don't know, but I know it's dead easy to order an engraved brush via Shavemac.

 

[_MementoMori_]

I'm all for inventive ways of utilizing human hair. One thing I like to do is toss a little bit in homemade soups every now and then. Give it a try!

 

[SliceOfLife]

It puts the conditioner in its hair or else it gets the hose again.


I wouldn't expect human hair would hold up anywhere near well enough, even if it had enough backbone to be useful (it doesn't).


Badgers and boars roll around on the ground, dig, fight, etc, etc, etc... the hair protects them... it's tough stuff.

Humans only still have hair on our heads to insulate, and it's probably going to fall by the evolutionary wayside sooner rather than later. It's just not the same tough stuff as most animal's hair.

 

[arano]

My EdGein Jagger brush performs very good.

 

[alla2465]

I don't know what your sister is smoking but it must be some good ****
In all seriousness, this would probably never work, for obvious reasons..

 

[kooshman7]

I don't know what your sister is smoking but it must be some good ****
In all seriousness, this would probably never work, for obvious reasons..

It seems odd, but the primary reason badger became the standard for brushes is because it can absorb water like human hair. Many care principles of the badger brush fall in line with how you would take care of your own hair. One needs more than water absorption for a brush however. Human hair does not have the resiliency in the shaft of the hair like badger does, or any other hair for that matter. Even a very fine badger hair still has more than what human hair on the head has. If it was at all viable you would see human hair brushes today. So the end answer is no, it's not a great idea. One with the heart in the right place, but it just isn't practical.

 

[Rudy Vey]

NO!

 

[karacha]

Too soft, too floppy, tangling like crazy?

 

[Scaramouche]

Human hair is actually fairly permanent as far as longevity (much used as "jewelry" in the Vistorian era to remember deceased loved ones), but I suspect lacks most of the properties needed for a shaving brush. Does she ride a horse?

 

[Sabin]

they don't make brushes from beaver either..

 

[Billy T.]

Wish I could unread this.