Breaking in a NEW Boar brush a little quicker!

[Ron R]

This is going to be my last boar bristle brush to break in for a long time because I have 5 now and that works well for my brush rotation for many years of good lathering service.
The fellows have been really talkative(I'm listening) on this subject thread and so I compiled a short reference for future information on breaking in boar brushes for some Newbies & seasoned shavers who want a boar brush for what ever reason.
I enjoy a good broke in boar brush for lathering and that was my goal to speed it up because of my large brush rotation.
I would never enjoy my boar brushes fully because of frequency of use in a large brush rotation to break one in by daily use properly.
There are Different methods of breaking in a boar brush.
The boar brush in the glass of water with the water level 3/4 of the way up the knot break-in for 2-3 day period for the split hairs to multiply is the method I like to use, my thoughts behind it is to soften the boar bristle fiber and then by towel drying the tips, it does a few things after some thought & experience is it gets rid of any lose & broken hairs and then the towel drying starts to fracture the hair ends from the soakings but gives the lower part of the bristles flexibility from breaking further down the whisker towards the glue plug.
So it looks like there are 5 methods or more methods of breaking in a boar brush.......
1/- Manufactures pre-break in the tips with certain chemicals and also sterilizing by bleaching of hairs prier to packaging for retail sales gives a quicker bristle split end.
2/- Just use the brush and overtime it will naturally break in. (months of use from what I recall on my 1st boar brush)
3/- place boar brush in the glass filled 3/4 of the way up the knot with cold water and soak for 3 days and removed every 12- 24 hrs to towel dry the tips for 4-5 minutes to start the hair split ends process & back in the water until 3rd day of towel drying intervals gives about 70-80% break in and just use it and enjoy it . (I used this method on 4 brushes and works well). (Brushes did not have wooden handles, with wooden handles you have to be 3/4 or lower with water level so not to split the handle possibly or reduce time in the water to prevent this happening possibly IMO)
4/- Wet the brush well for a few hrs and just use the hair dryer on just the hair tip areas to help speed up split ends and leave for 24hr intervals to air dry brush . (need some skill level not to dry the whole length of bristle to glued plug of the knot, I could see this working also).
5/-I heard of a procedure where a fellow buys a new boar brush and in the morning soaks the new boar brush with his other old brush while prepping his shave, does a palm or bowl lathering with the new brush rinses it out and hangs it up to dry until the next day and proceeds with his shave with his old brush. Then he does this same procedure daily with his new boar brush for a couple of weeks or more until he is happy with results and then the brush is ready for his brush rotation is another method of breaking in a boar brush slightly quicker with out giving your face brush prickly feel or discomfort.( also might be a good method for brushes with wooden handles from splitting? I not sure if this is a problem at all?)

Results of my latest boar brush break in using the 3 day cold water treatment and towel drying it every 12 hrs for 5> minutes. I would suggest it is about 70-80% broke in now.
Yaqi "Robin" 24mm boar bristle brush in the picture below.

Have some great shaves!

 

[aussietanker]

I like to give any boar brush a full day to dry, so will alternate with another brush.

I'm just going thru a bit of a boar shaving brush kick at the moment and doing a bit a research on the best way to break in a boar brush etc etc

I've actually seen this comment or similar mentioned several times on various threads

So does this mean if you decide to use a boar brush you should really have 2 or 3 or 4 of them and rotate thru them using a different one each day so that they are able to completely dry out between users?

 

[Phoenixkh]

OK... sort of a silly question.... does it matter if you use soap, shampoo or something else or will just plain water give the same results? None of my boar brushes smell so I don't need shampoo or dawn etc to get rid of a bad smell.

 

[Dnallehekaj]

I don't think you need a soap. Plain water works!

Maybe swipe it across a dry towel afterwards. Idk if it actually helps the break in process, but it makes me feel like I'm helping the break in process.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I don't think you need a soap. Plain water works!

Maybe swipe it across a dry towel afterwards. Idk if it actually helps the break in process, but it makes me feel like I'm helping the break in process.

thx for your response. If I understand things correctly... it's the drying process that does the splitting.... but I'm pretty ignorant about it... learning as I go and reading all the suggestions, of course.

 

[Ron R]

OK... sort of a silly question.... does it matter if you use soap, shampoo or something else or will just plain water give the same results? None of my boar brushes smell so I don't need shampoo or dawn etc to get rid of a bad smell.

If you are just breaking in a brush just plain water 3/4 of the way up the knot and a 1 or 2 drops of dish soap I have used also in the water before placing in fridge or out in the open air like few fellows do.
If just cleaning a brand new brush before using the cold water method this is what I used before putting in the cold water for 3 days.
Dish soap will not hurt a boar brush from my experience(tough fiber) and would also work for the first couple of cleanings to get rid of any funk smells and possible oils from the animal. I would just use regular shampoo also & that will cut greases & animal scents.
Some fellows like to use dish soap and vinegar for deep cleaning when brushes are not performing because of soap buildup over time on the bristles. I tend to just rinse well when done shaving to avoid soap build up over time.

 

[slimshavy]

I like my boar stiff and scratchy, like new. A side benefit is that when my neck hairs are growing in and sometimes getting irritated or ingrown, I can swirl my brush tip over them (as some people do with a toothbrush) to free ingrown hairs between shaves.

 

[Ron R]

I like my boar stiff and scratchy, like new. A side benefit is that when my neck hairs are growing in and sometimes getting irritated or ingrown, I can swirl my brush tip over them (as some people do with a toothbrush) to free ingrown hairs between shaves.

Yes I do use both a tooth brush or a dry boar brush post shave on red spots on the neck area also for ingrown hairs and have not had any issues since I started that simple procedure to avoid those ingrown hairs. The brush bristles free the hair to surface better (changes the ingrown hair inward direction ) is my understanding that I got from Mantic59 video years ago from his suggestion.(I believe it works or a least reduces this problem, not sure how to prove this simple task works.)
Maybe that is one of the reasons fellows like to have a good scrub with their brush like your self when applying lather.

 

[NiOOH]

A piece of advise from a chemist:
Do not use hair conditioner on brushes. They often contain cationic surfactants that make the brush hydrophobic, i.e. it wont absorb that much water.
For the same reason I wouldn't use Nivea or any other creams containing silicone oils (dimethicone etc.). These things are strongly hydrophobic, and tend to stick well to the bristles. They add slickness to the cream, but are no good for your brushes.

 

[tjsgarden]

I have read the entire thread and found it informative and entertaining.
My first boar was the Omega "Italian". Recently I got the Semgoe 830 and now a Semogoe SOC is en route.
I soaked the two brushes for a couple hours, towel dried and then air dried for a day, and then repeated the process a few times.

What I really wanted to say is

THIS THREAD IS SO BOARing!​

Thanks Guys for the input, especially @Ron R