Van Der Hagen DELUXE boar brush.

First brush, it was cheap and I was still in the world of the cartridge. When first trying to lather with the brush it was just not performing, at all. I could put as much soap as I wanted onto it and there was virtually no lather.

I ended up getting an AOS badger brush (sorry not sure about purity). And first time using it the lather was beautiful (same soap, bowl, everything except new razor). That being said, the money is worth a badger brush hands down.

Now, if you are looking for a brush to oil your rifle. This brush would be perfect! It is cheap enough that if you want try using it to build lather, by all means go for it.

for only a few more $ I can think of many alternatives that would be ten times better. dont waste yoru money on this CVS brush.

I got this in the VDH Deluxe shave kit at walmart for $8.50. about $2 of that for soap, say $3 for the bowl and I'd say it's probably a $3-4 brush. Do I expect much? No, but it works and I find the handle very comfortable to hold (what can I say? I have big hands) Is it a badger? No, is it my Semogue? No, but for the cheap brush I got in a starter kit from walmart, I figured if I replaced it all by the end of the month it was worth it. With the shaves I've been getting since this kit got me into wet shaving, it has been TOTALLY worth it. Even with my Semogue, Omega and Badgers, this guy still gets pulled out on occasion for a quick facewash lather on occasion.

I needed my first brush, and the day before my first shave, I find this little baby at the local CVS while looking for some post shave balm.I would recommend this for ANY beginner due to the introductory cost. It's good to start practicing on, but it's extremely difficult to get her to put out good lather.I would also recommend stocking a couple to anyone who is trying to get their friends into wet shaving. They're cheap, good enough to learn on, and won't cost you anything from your "Private Stock" of brushes.Happy Shaving!

I have VDH's other brush, the natural, and have used it for a couple of years....until my wife dropped it in the toilet that she had yet to flush. So I was on the look out for a new brush. It is obscene what some of these brushes are priced at. So naturally I was looking for a direct replacement and found the "deluxe" version of the VDH. I got it at Walgreens for a whopping 6.99. I am well pleased by this brush. The most marked difference is the amount of bristles lost. The "natural" seemed to do all it could to get rid of as many bristles as it could in the first couple of weeks I had it. This one has lost maybe 4 so far. It does seem denser, but that could be the male pattern baldness my other brush had...who knows. This brush feels much the same as the "natural". It is just the right amount of "scrubby" and not at all floppy. I am very pleased thus far with my "deluxe" brush. I guess I might have to pony up and try the badger that VDH has out now...

I bought a VDH Deluxe several weeks ago, and I'm very impressed by how much of an upgrade it is over the VDH Natural (green handle.)

I bought this at CVS drugstore ... as far as I know they are the only retailer that carries it.

I was curious to see how it performs. It was an easy break-in using wet-dry cycles over a 2 week period, and I've used it a handful of times. It does an adequate job in all aspects. Works well with soaps and creams, bowl or face lathering. It leans slightly towards a preference for soaps and face-lathering, but the differences are minor. For an $8 brush, I have no complaints.

For a beginner, it will be a great starter brush. Even for veterans, its a good entry point into the wonderful world of boars.

I doubt it will ever be anyone's go-to brush, once they have a few others to choose from ... but it is good to keep around as a back-up, a travel / gym / locker-at-work brush, or something to toss into a PIF or starter kit. (Just be sure you break it in before you give it away.)

This was my first brush. Before this I would just rub soap on my face with my hands. So it's a big step up from that. It's not a great brush but its not terrible.
The things I don't like about it: It has a cheap look to the handle, you can tell it's cheap plastic from across the room. It seems dense but when it gets wet all the bristles stick together and you can see right down through the breach to the base of the knot. Since I don't have any other boars I'm not sure if that's how they all behave or not. It's very sad at lathering creams, I have to use twice as much and get half the lather. It loses a lot of hairs. It lost a lot at first and then slowed down, but still it loses one or two every time I use it.
The things I like: It's price is very nice. It's a nice stiff brush and really digs into soaps. It seems like it'd be scratchy on your face but after a few weeks of use the tips become very soft, even softer than badgers that have trimmed bristles. the fake 2-tone stripe on the outer bristles make the knot look fancier than it is . The handle, while cheap plastic, is solid and has a decent weight to it. Also it looks smooth but has a sort of rubbery feeling gripiness. I used it in the shower many times and never dropped it.
If you are into saving every cent you can and like to use soaps then this brush is not bad. It's a good starter brush for people wanting to try out lathering with a brush and soap before moving on to more upscale brushes.

this brush is awful and for a few $$$ more u can get an omega 10049 which is Miles better than this thing, there is a stiff knot above the actual hole which gives it more backbone but its not needed on a boar, it actually makes the loft alot smaller. I dont have a problem recommended it to a beginner if there are no omegas available, i would recommend it over a pure badger in certain cases.

This was my first and only shaving brush for almost two years. I finally got some real brushes and man the difference is night and day. So why do I say you need to own this brush? So you wont forget how much better even your cheap badger brush is than this face scratcher. If you want exfoliation, then this is your brush!

I cant believe I have been torturing myself with this brush for this long, never again!!! How did this become the drugstore standard? Some things we will never know.

Although at first sight they look very much like the same brush. The Deluxe really is a pretty good brush. The Natural is not. El Deluxo is more densely packed and the quality of the bristle is a little bit better. In my case, the Deluxe has not shed any more than any other shaving brush I've ever owned. When I first got it, I gave it a good and rough shampoo. This got rid of the couple of loose hairs and it's only lost a couple more as it continues to plow through my soaps.

It's not very attractive, but very available and I insist; It's much better than their Natural version.

If you are on a tight budger and can get this Deluxe version. Go for it. I got mine at CVS on sale = reduced to half price from $7.50 and I also used a $.50 store coupon so I paid $3.25 plus tax.

Hey, look,,,,,,,,, you've got yourself a Shaving Brush there.....

This brush is, for the most part, a piece. It's too stiff, it lathers badly, it comes out of the box horrible, and it sheds constantly. A month of soaking (unintentional) turned it into something quite soft and stiff feeling; but the bristles don't bloom like a badger brush, and the stiffness makes it quite hard to get a good lather.

The good point, though, is you can get a workable lather off the damn thing with a couple extra minutes of work; and it's quite stiff for when you're literally grinding your way into soaps. Of course, it doesn't even load as well as the Tweezerman, I think; too stiff to work the soap up into its bristles, but it does load much faster initially.

Although not a favorite of mine, the brush has lead me to recognize that boar will soften up a bit. Not enough to be functional, but a decent amount. This lead me to seek a combination badger/boar brush, as I think a blend of some boar would improve stiffness and load off soaps better. And thus I wet looking for a Vulfix 404...

Been using VDH brushes for 5 months. I have to say that overall poor. I am on my second brush already as the first separated from the handle. I would recommend spending a few more bucks and getting an Omega boar. i have the travel one for $13 and it works great.

The VDH. Sheds a few hairs often for the first month. Works well on soaps and not so much on creams esp T&H and Castle and Forbes for some reason.

The hairs are very stiff and do not soften that i can tell. it will bloom some, but again certain creams have a hard time with it.

I went beck to my travel Omega and realized it is soft in comparison.

All in all I am back to my Omega travel and my VDH is now a gun cleaner.

My guess is that most people are put off with this brush when they first use it and never give it a chance. I have the Deluxe and the standard green handle. They are the same brush. Right out of the box, you have to wash these with shampoo and conditioner. This does two things, it softens up the brush just a bit and the majority of the hairs that are going to fall out, will fall out. You have to be a bit rough during this initial wash to get the loose hairs out, and there will be a lot.

The brush is stiff out of the box. Very Stiff. But after about a month of use, it softens up. When I bought my second VDH brush I was amazed how stiff the new brush was compared to the green handle brush I had been using for a month. Works fantastic with hard soaps and gives your face a nice scrub. It rarely looses any hairs now that the break-in is over.

It will never win any beauty contest but it gets the job done.

I also picked this one up as my first brush and i must say that I'm rather disappointed. Even though the price certainly is right, the quality lacks profoundly, even for it being so cheap.

With every shave, my brush loses more hair than my face it seems. It's really getting annoying and 8-10 hairs per shave are lost, which i find totally unacceptable, even for a $8 brush.

It's working as far as creating a lather with my Tabac soap but that's about it. It's neither ergonomic, nor of good quality and in retrospect, i would really only buy it again if i could not find any other brush locally and i needed a quick shave. And even then i would actually consider using a gel than this brush instead.

I know the price is low but so is the quality imho and in this case it feels like that you get what you pay for.

Comparing this brush to the C&E BBB or a more expensive badger is simply unfair. A better comparison would be between this VDH and Burmashave. The 5 dollar Burmashave is a much better brush imho. I was very disappointed in the VDH after using the Burmashave for nearly a month. I tried the Deluxe with about 5 shaves before I gave up and went back to the Burmashave (that is, until I got a C&E 3B). The VDH might get better with age, but I am not interested in waiting for that time.

Conclusion: go with Burmashave for the cheap boar brush.

This was the first brush I ever tried. I also bought it at CVS. I even opened it and rubbed the hair a bit to see how stiff the brush was. It was stiff! When I did this no hair fell out either. Then, got home got it wet and started lathering...by the end of my shave, 3 lathers, this thing must have lost at least 20 hairs! I brought it back.

So, is the brush being reviewed that comes in the green little box at rite aid? I was thinking of trying it for $8... I need a shave bowl, soap I use and ~$4 for a new brush is worth the fun.

For a boar brush this is pretty good. I still use it from time to time. As a matter of fact, the more you use this brush, the better it gets!

The boar bristles came out of the brush and ended up on my face and razor and down the sink drain. So much for a $9.99 shaving kit with brush, mug, and soap. The soap wasnt any better made my skin burn. Fortunately I got a refund.

Been DE shaving for 1.5 years now, and this has been my only brush (VDH Deluxe) until yesterday when I got a C & E Best Badger. The C & E brush was incredible for my first shave with it this morning, but really, the VDH is adequate for the task and has its own virtues. I've bought multiple razors, creams, soaps and after-shave products, and through it all the VDH boar brush never screamed "REPLACE ME!" I acknowledge that the badger brush is superior, but for $3.90 w/ no tax (USAF BX), the VDH is a helluva deal.

On a six day rotation, it still loses 2-5 hairs/wk. Nothing criminal. The handle is large, solid and easy to hold. The hair pleasantly holds the scent of the last shave and I never noticed an overt "boar hair" smell. I assume the badger will as well, but right now it still smells a bit "badgery".

The stiff boar hairs lend themselves to face scrubbing (I like!) and loads up easily with properly prepared soaps.

If you're on a budget and need a decent brush, this will fit the bill. I'm not on a budget and it worked for me; that probably says it all.