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Breaking in a NEW Boar brush a little quicker!

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
I'm at it again, bought another Yaqi Orbital ring 24mm Boar bristle brush around Black Friday sale time and well I seem to have a lot of brushes now and to daily break this brush it would take a lot of time, I resorted to the cold water in the fridge treatment and towel dry every 12 hrs approx again so I can enjoy the brush more. Lots of split end bristles that give the the brush softness.
This time I added one drop only of dish soap to the cup of water that is filled 3/4 way up the length of the bristle to help in cleaning also. At the end of the 3 days I squeezed most of the water out & did a hair conditioner treatment and then used it. Good results and about 70-80% broke in boar brush I figure and with my large brush collection I will enjoy it more when it comes up in the rotation turn!
I used it today and the brush performed well for its 1st time.
Yaqi #1 Orbital ring 24mm boar bristle brush collage..jpg

Brush collage, Dec 23, 2021 .jpg

Have some great shaves!
 
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There's not really any need to refrigerate. That was a misunderstanding of "acqua fredda", which in Italian usually means cold water out of the tap, i.e. not hot.

Excactly :thumbup1:, this seems to be a myth that has been perpetuated so many times that is now has a life of its own and is widely accepted - for no other reason than someone mistaking the Italian adjective ‘fredda’ to mean refrigerated.


B.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Excactly :thumbup1:, this seems to be a myth that has been perpetuated so many times that is now has a life of its own and is widely accepted - for no other reason than someone mistaking the Italian adjective ‘fredda’ to mean refrigerated.


B.
Like I mentioned before it will not hurt anything being in the refrigerator or some where cool to soak. I don't recommend in the freezer making it into a ice block. :lol:
The reason I like to use the refrigerator method is it works and that is the bottom line and I have a larger brush collection and rotation I would will wait years possibly to get even close to it's deserved potential of a nice soft boar brush.
These 3 brushes where all done this year using the refrigerated method for approximately 3 days with little tweaks, I like to take the brush out and towel dry about every 12 hrs & some at 24 hrs to promote split end bristles to start and lengthen split ends and then back into the refrigerator with water 3/4 of the way up the loft with bristles pointing downward in a clear glass. I have one more boar on the way and it will be my last one for sometime, bought on sale for $5 US around black Friday.
Nothing wrong breaking in a boar brush by just daily use like it has been done for hundreds of years but it can take a lot of time and I have approximately 30 brushes :ouch1: of synthetic, badger and of boar bristle and just would not enjoy them as much.
I buy brushes on sale and it does not cost a lot of money over time IMO.
Yaqi boar  brushes comparison 3.jpg
Yaqi #1 Orbital ring 24mm boar bristle brush collage..jpg

Have some great shaves!
 
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sort of off-topic, but loosely related. regarding cooling, as already stated by others, it probably does not help. putting hockey gear out in the cold will suppress the smell, but only until you warm it up again :)
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
sort of off-topic, but loosely related. regarding cooling, as already stated by others, it probably does not help. putting hockey gear out in the cold will suppress the smell, but only until you warm it up again :)
One of the fellows on B&B just recently used dog shampoo to clean the animal funk odor with success he claims and I thought it should be mentioned because using a boar should be a positive experience(I have not used the dog shampoo yet).
A lot of new boar brushes do not have a strong funk odor when wet, I just use regular hair shampoo for a new brush prior to using but dog shampoo would be a better treatment possibly for this funk issue I'm thinking. It is worth consideration I'm thinking if a person gets a smelly one.
 
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Most of the Time I use Boar. Right amount of water in and heat retention plus for me hits the sweet spot of softness and medium backbone. I use cheap omegas and somehow never had an odor problem to have to deal with. I think they're bleached.
 
Most of the Time I use Boar. Right amount of water in and heat retention plus for me hits the sweet spot of softness and medium backbone. I use cheap omegas and somehow never had an odor problem to have to deal with. I think they're bleached.
Yeah I don't think I've ever smelled an animal stench with my pair of cheap Omegas when they were new. Completely agree with your observation of the right amount of softness with medium backbone. Omega knots are wonderful especially at their price point. They're my softest knots.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
My Ω10048 was amazingly hog-scented at first. It’s mellowed now, but there was a time I tried washing it with vinegar and lathering with a Bay Rum soap. Smelled like Chinese-style takeaway for the next several lathers…
You know some of us have a keen sense of smell and some folks just don't have this asset, when folks don't smell a disgusting odor it's just their sense of smell is muted some what.
I worked in industry for many years and my keen sense of smell helped me many times avoid certain areas that had leaks of nasty gas or chemicals. I 'm still hear to talk about it so it saved me and others over the decades of work. There where times I would ask a co-worker if they could smell that gas and most of the time would say no and minutes later the alarms would be set off to evacuate the area and we sometimes we had to dawn our portable escape respirator masks to clear out( I glade to be retired).
 
I routinely soak boars to break them in faster. I've gotten to the point where I soak them for a day, hand lather them, dry them for a day and repeat. I have a couple boars rotating soakings now.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
All I do is soak the brush for a few minutes (as I would normally do before use) make a test lather, rinse out the bush, and then let it dry. I repeat this for about a week, and then just start using the brush. Not much reason to overthink this.
I heard of a procedure where a fellow buys a boar brush and in the morning soaks the new boar with his other brush while prepping his shave, does a 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.(similar procedure as yours)
You could towel dry brush first & also have a fan you turn on for 15-30 minutes after a shave while getting ready for the day to help dry out the tips and to speed up the split ends, I have a new boar in the fridge at the moment and maybe I will try this added new procedure to see and then but back in the fridge for another 12 hrs and repeat that way for 3 days.
(Retired with lots of time).
Fan drying new boar brush.jpg All this for a boar brush breaking in home trial(science):a22:.
Have some great shaves!
 
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I have a new Zenith boar that I have used once. It has been sitting in a shaving bowl in warm/hot water all day before it’s second use. I will change the cool water for hot a few times during the day, mash it a bit in the bowl when I change the water and will use it when I shave tonight.

This has always worked for me. Some brushes take longer than others to break in (My new Connaught Omega Jade boar as an example will be a tough one), but I see no need for anything more. But to each their own.

I think soaking in warm water and palm lathering a bunch of times throughout the day (and maybe partial towel drying) would work best, but I haven’t bothered to go that far yet.

Part of the fun of a new brush is breaking it in and seeing how it evolves IMO. 👍
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Lol are you serious? How delicate does your skin have to be to irritated by brush burn?
I did not make the words brush burn up but it does happen and here is a # of threads from some B&B folks who have gotten it. It is similar to razor burn but with a stiff brush or even the older synthetic brushes . There seems to be a # of ways to get it, I guess folks have different types of skin sensitivity and misjudgements.
 
I did not make the words brush burn up but it does happen and here is a # of threads from some B&B folks who have gotten it. It is similar to razor burn but with a stiff brush or even the older synthetic brushes . There seems to be a # of ways to get it, I guess folks have different types of skin sensitivity and misjudgements.
Wow that’s crazy. I apologize, I must of missed your comment about having this condition.
 
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