I have this brush as well as another pure badger brush from Vulfix. The Boar was my first and as far as I can tell it was great to use with soaps, its cuts into them and creates a pretty good lather for my taste. I do prefer the badger now that I have one, but the Vulfix Boar is a great starting place for someone who might not want to put the extra buck into a more expensive brush. I will concur with brian1g that there seem to be some loss in hair, but it does not seem to affect the water retention and lathering capabilities as far as I have seen.