How do you break in a new brush??
Breaking in a new Badger brush
- Thread starter cubancigar2000
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Badger brushes, unlike boars, also should need minimal, if any, time to break-in.
I find that letting it soak in warm to hot water for a few hours helps. Acclimate it to h2o, quick shampoo/dish soap lather and let it sit.
Practice lather in your palm as well. I bought 3 pucks and melted them into a glass dish for break ins.
I've read that letting it sit with lather in it over night is a bad idea because the soap can eat away at the handle and damage the hair. So just an hour or two of soaking IMO.
This worked wonders for y Chubby 2 Super.
Practice lather in your palm as well. I bought 3 pucks and melted them into a glass dish for break ins.
I've read that letting it sit with lather in it over night is a bad idea because the soap can eat away at the handle and damage the hair. So just an hour or two of soaking IMO.
This worked wonders for y Chubby 2 Super.
I've found that using a strong smelling but still neutral smelling soap or cream for the first few shaves is a really good way to break in a new brush. My favorite to use is Proraso Blue.... it's totally pure and clean smelling, and it's strong enough that after a few uses it really takes over (in a good way), eliminating that new badger funk.
- Badger Bill
- Badger Bill
As mentioned, badger brushes shouldn't need any real break-in period, but will benefit from several lather cycles with a strongly-scented soap to remove some of the stink. Other than that, just use it and enjoy!
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- #7
Thanks to all who replied
I will first wash the brush in shampoo to get clean the badger hair and then actually let it dry outside in sunlight. This seems to remove any scents from storage or shipping. Good luck and enjoy your new brush.
Give it a test lather with something strongly fragranced and then continue to use as normal from there.
If you check out the SHAVEWIKI tab at the top of the site you can find a wealth of detailed knowledge from our more experienced member base here at B&B.
Here is how you break in a new brush:http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/How_to_Break_in_a_Shaving_Brush
Here is how you break in a new brush:http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/How_to_Break_in_a_Shaving_Brush
I have to disagree. All of my badger brushes had a definitive before and after break in transformation. They take some time to reach their max potential... Not as much as boar, but still.
Agreed.
Some badger brushes come with a horrible badger funk smell and need some special attention to get rid of the odor. The one's I've had like that leave the soap dirty for the first few uses. I use bath soap on those and don't waste good shaving soap with them. Some are more stubborn than others to defunk. I really don't want to use them until they get cleaned up. A little funk smell staying behind doesn't disturb me, knowing that even it will go away.
Even the best prepared of badger brushes seem to have a water repellant quality about them at first, and it takes a few uses for that to dissipate. You can use them while that goes away, but they certainly get better after a few uses. I have developed the habit of lathering up a new brush without using it for about a week, and that seems to help.
Even the best of brushes develop softer tips with use.
Even the best prepared of badger brushes seem to have a water repellant quality about them at first, and it takes a few uses for that to dissipate. You can use them while that goes away, but they certainly get better after a few uses. I have developed the habit of lathering up a new brush without using it for about a week, and that seems to help.
Even the best of brushes develop softer tips with use.
You leave lather in a brush for an entire week or did I read this wrong?
I don't think I'll incorporate the whole routine as stated in the WiKi again. Just a few dry runs with some cream or soap to get the funk out and regular use.
Agreed. To keep a badger brush in good shape means rinsing all the cream/soap out of it after use. Not letting it dry inside the bristles.
Same here.
Heavens no, I never leave soap in a brush for an extended time.
I lather it up every morning, then shave with something else, then rinse out the brush along with the one I shaved with, for a week before actually shaving with it.
I've only had one brush so I can only say based on the one I have. But breaking in a brush is a real thing and it can make a world of difference. The brush I got was from a Van der Hagen set and it's as cheap as any badger you'll find. When I got it out of the box it was fairly stiff (compared to how it is now) and it stank like a wet dog that has played in a laundry basket full of gym socks. It was probably top 5 in worst smells to ever hit my nose.
I broke it in by giving it a good soak in hot water for a few hours, soaked it again in dish soap/hot water for a few more hours and it still stank a bit so I lathered it up with some TOBS Sandalwood and left it in that for a few hours. If others say that sitting in lather can damage it, maybe just use it to get the required lather-exposure. After it's had a half dozen lathers (probably sitting in lather during your passes) it should lose it's stench and start to adopt the pleasant but manly fragrance of your shaving soap. The bristles get a heck of a lot softer afterwards too.
If your brush cost you $150+, maybe it's velvety soft with the pleasant scent of oak-matured whiskey out of it's box. But I can say mine is a totally different brush after a months use than it was when I first got it.
I broke it in by giving it a good soak in hot water for a few hours, soaked it again in dish soap/hot water for a few more hours and it still stank a bit so I lathered it up with some TOBS Sandalwood and left it in that for a few hours. If others say that sitting in lather can damage it, maybe just use it to get the required lather-exposure. After it's had a half dozen lathers (probably sitting in lather during your passes) it should lose it's stench and start to adopt the pleasant but manly fragrance of your shaving soap. The bristles get a heck of a lot softer afterwards too.
If your brush cost you $150+, maybe it's velvety soft with the pleasant scent of oak-matured whiskey out of it's box. But I can say mine is a totally different brush after a months use than it was when I first got it.
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