To break in a new boar brush I simply first wash/soak it with head and shoulders or some form of shampoo.. then I rinse it out and do a lather with one of my Shave soaps.. leave it lathered for a few hours.. then rinse again.. allow it to dry, and by the next day it’s usually dry and have almost no scent of the boar.. and in my experience the break in (splitting of the ends) happens in a matter of just a few shaves after.. I have a Semogue and omega brush I had to bring in recently. Each has two shaves on them and they’re looking and feeling beautiful already
How To Break In A Brush & Get The Funk Out
- Thread starter ambrose
- Start date
Reviving this because I found the thread, followed the directions, and it worked splendidly for me! pics of the process and result are at the bottom, but basically, I took a chance and ordered from Aliexpress - the “oumo brush” store. 32 bucks for the knot. Just finished getting rid of the funk smell, and overall, I’m really pleased with it. It’s much more dense and has a larger bloom than the Parker best I’ve been using. Next step - put it in a handle. I soaked it for 30 mins in dish soap, then did back-to-back 8 hour leave-in lathers with standard shave soap.
The smell is completely gone, it blooms pretty awesomely, and lathers like a dream. 32 bucks, and 2 weeks of waiting, well spent. It shed around 18 hairs total over the course of the soak and two leave-in lathers, which includes a few from the sides I picked off because they were permanently sticking out away from the others. Not bad, all things considered.
The smell is completely gone, it blooms pretty awesomely, and lathers like a dream. 32 bucks, and 2 weeks of waiting, well spent. It shed around 18 hairs total over the course of the soak and two leave-in lathers, which includes a few from the sides I picked off because they were permanently sticking out away from the others. Not bad, all things considered.
I didn't know badger brushes needed to be broken in.
Depends if you like the wet animal smell on your face or knot 
Depends if you like the wet animal smell on your face or knot
I don't necessarily equate de-funkifying a brush with breaking it in. I think those two concepts are different, although usually occur at the same time. With even my worst smelling badgers I have had good results with just washing the thing in Dawn Dishwashing liquid and rinsing. That alone is enough to get most of the smell out and then I just use it with a nice strong scent like Sandalwood. After the shampoo job with Dawn I can barely smell any animal funk and two uses at most, the funk is completely gone. The same goes for boars. But as for breaking in, I've not had any need to break in a badger brush as I find they don't get softer or perform differently over time. Boars on the other hand do break in as the tips split making them nice and soft and luxurious.
I thought I would share some of my personal tips on how to break in a brush and get rid of that badger funk. Im one who hates the funk and a stiff brush thats not at its potential. After owning many brushes and trying different things I have found a perfect solution to this problem. It has been working for me to break in a new brush every time.
1. Wash it with dawn soap
2. Soak it in dawn soapy water for a few hrs
3. Build a lather and leave it to sit and dry over night - this is were most of the magic happens
The next day rinse it and soak it in water just before use and you should have no funk and it should be nice and broken in feeling.
I used irisch moos soap for this one and my custom rooney 3/1 from penworks.
Try it out and post your results
I thought I would share some of my personal tips on how to break in a brush and get rid of that badger funk. Im one who hates the funk and a stiff brush thats not at its potential. After owning many brushes and trying different things I have found a perfect solution to this problem. It has been working for me to break in a new brush every time.
1. Wash it with dawn soap
2. Soak it in dawn soapy water for a few hrs
3. Build a lather and leave it to sit and dry over night - this is were most of the magic happens
The next day rinse it and soak it in water just before use and you should have no funk and it should be nice and broken in feeling.
I used irisch moos soap for this one and my custom rooney 3/1 from penworks.
Try it out and post your results
Hi, I'm just curious as to whether you soak your brush in hot warm or cold water?
