What's new

Sodium Carbonate vs Sodium Bicarbonate for Brush Cleaning

JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
The thing you are trying to get rid of is mainly mineral deposits from harder water, like soap scum. If you have soft water, you probably won't have a lot of mineral deposits.

People that wash their hair with plain old soap can have a similar problem. Their hair can become flat and dull. They are often advised to rinse their hair with a weak vinegar+water solution after washing it.


Interesting. I learned something. I guess our water is not too hard, never cleaned a brush, ever.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I've had brushes over ten years and never had any soap buildup in the base of the knot or felt they needed any maintenance at all.

This.
I wash one of my brushes daily with soap and water.
Shaving soap.

The thing you are trying to get rid of is mainly mineral deposits from harder water, like soap scum. If you have soft water, you probably won't have a lot of mineral deposits.

And this.

I'm on a well, but I do have a water softener and a whole house filter.
I've never needed to take any steps to clean a brush. Ever.
My sympathy is with those who do seem to have a need.
 
I've never cleaned a shaving brush before, this is a new concept for me. I am very careful about rinsing my brushes after a shave and I let them soak after rinsing in my mug while cleaning up and getting dressed, then I shake it out and put it up. I've had brushes over ten years and never had any soap buildup in the base of the knot or felt they needed any maintenance at all.

That said, why not just use shampoo? That would surely be safe, correct?

Shampoo is designed to be gentle on human hair, so it would be gentle on brushes as well. If your water is soft, an occasional washing with shampoo might be all that is needed. Shampoo is not going to get rid of soap scum if you have hard water. For that you need either an acidic product like vinegar or an alkaline product like those mentioned earlier in this thread.

I always wash a new brush in shampoo to clean it and remove any funk from natural hair.
 
Just use shampoo and conditioner honestly. If you're worried about bacteria or germs, I've been told a vinegar water solution also works. (But then so does shampoo and conditioner). It's still just hair. I don't do it frequently though. I use my brush everyday anyway so its always clean.
 
I've never cleaned a shaving brush before, this is a new concept for me. I am very careful about rinsing my brushes after a shave and I let them soak after rinsing in my mug while cleaning up and getting dressed, then I shake it out and put it up. I've had brushes over ten years and never had any soap buildup in the base of the knot or felt they needed any maintenance at all.

That said, why not just use shampoo? That would surely be safe, correct?

You have been lucky in that you have not had a new brush full of boar or badger funk. Shampoo doesn't do much to cut that. I also have never felt the need to do any additional cleaning after getting rid of the badger odor. I guess I don't have very hard water.

My preference for badger or boar funk is a mixture of Dawn & Oxyclean. It is obvious that there are some in this thread that know more than I do and that I stumbled onto something that works for me.
 
I just washed a small Semogue boar (1460) with a vinegar and water solution followed by Meyer’s dishwashing soap and water. I want to see if the brush will produce more lather post wash. It takes considerably more cream to produce the same amount of lather as my badgers of similar size.
 
Last edited:
I’m afraid the brush gave up less lather with the same amount of cream today despite the soak and wash last night. The 1305 behaves the same, but the blonde 2000 is great. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
The best thing I read about badger shaving brushes is to treat them like your own human hair. The largest reason why silvertip badger is considered the best material for a shaving brush is because it absorbs the water much like human hair, and allows to whip up something suitable to apply to your face for whatever your preference is. Also the tips of the hair are tapered naturally and aren't clipped which gives a harsh feel. Pure badger done right is even good for those that like a more exfoliating feel. Very few places do Pure well. Shavemac is my first vote, followed only by Simpson. Until you know what you are looking for there avoid the rest. Saying treat it as you would your own hair does come with addendums as we all do things that aren't great for our own hair. Too much heat will destroy the tips of the hair. I know Thater states don't go over 110 degree fahrenheit, I would agree on the number. Don't cook the hair, you can and will damage it. Use light circular motions to apply the lather fuel, mix it in a bowl, use light painting motions to apply it. What the manufacturer's recommend.

What I say there has plenty of controversy which I don't understand why. The manufacturer knows the stuff best. You use your product however you want, just don't come here complaining when it breaks down early. Personally what I use is 5 minutes in a dish soap soak, just enough to cover most of the hair, leave a little space so the water isn't to the handle, rinse it out well, and then a 10 minute soak in a 4 parts water, 1 part vinegar solution with a bit of glycerin. The place that sells the brushes also recommends shampoo and borax. I personally don't feel good on borax for whatever reason. Wouldn't use it on my own hair, but then again I really wouldn't use dish soap either, but dish soap is good enough to rinse oil off animals exposed to oil spills so I figure I'll be fine. There's really no hard and fast rule to this. Reason out what you want to use. I've done shampoo before too and that's cool. I really only do this with used brushes I buy. That has its own can of worms to it. Does it disinfect the brush? Yadda yadda. I decided I'm cool with using the brush after doing it once, perhaps you wouldn't be.
 
I tried the reverse wash: first with dishsoap, then with a vinegar solution. The 1460 gets another try tomorrow. The 2000 performed OK today with an inch of cream. Enough for two passes. It has quite a bit bigger knot, though.
 
Welp, all the washing didn't help. I used twice as much cream and couldn't get a second pass from the brush. Maybe the hair needs mineral deposits to stop it from soaking up the lather! Just gonna use it from now on and see what happens.
 
Top Bottom