Bristle Quality/Longevity

[Howie]

Hi All:

First post. Rather new to the brush and soap method of shaving. Been doing it for about 6 months and I gotta say I like it. Saves money and the brush massages your face quite nicely. I bought a VDH kit from a drug store( please be gentle because I'm a noob). As I just did a little web searching, I didn't realize how varied and elegant brushes can be. I now can probably rightly assume that this brush is of low quality as I'm witnessing clumps of hair fall out as I lather in the bowl and on the face.

Are there preventative things I can do to make this thing last longer? How long should such a "cheap" brush realistically last?

If I need to search for a new brush, what should I be looking for? I really don't want to spend a lot of money by the way....
Thank You.

 

[mblakele]

Welcome to B&B!

If you get a well-made VdH it should last for years. Sometimes they turn out to be shedders, though, and it sounds like you have one of those. There is not much you can do about it, except asking for an exchange or refund from the retailer.

A better brush for very little money is the Omega 10066. You can find them online for about $10: http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Omega-10066-Boar-Shaving-Brush_p_470.html for example. Of course we can also advise you on how to spend much more on a luxury brush.

 

[dpm802]

Don't bother trying to save a VdH brush ... its amazing that you got six months out of it.

Its time to move on up. If you like boar brushes, and still want to keep things on budget, I'd suggest a Semogue 1305.

 

[Snargle]

Don't bother trying to save a VdH brush ... its amazing that you got six months out of it.

Its time to move on up.

+1
VDH brushes are good to help you decide if you're actually going to stick with this weird wetshaving stuff, but now it's time to move up to a brush that will last you for years, rather than months.

And before I forget, welcome to B&B! If you get a chance, stop over at the Shave Clinic & Newbie Check-In forum, and also visit the Hall of Fame and post your life story!

 

[Chadao]

So many choices. Those above are great. Or do you want a badger? Do you bowl shave or face shave? There should be a new B&B Essential soon at West Coast Shaving. A good boar from Omega and helps support B&B.
Most expensive choices are badger. Whipped Dog is one good place to look for a good, inexpensive badger. I prefer badger, but to return to the beginning, you can get a good and inexpensive boar.

 

[alagenchev]

Best bang for the buck are probably omegas and semogues. The cheapest possible good brush is turkish #6. you can get it for $2-3 on shavetools.com. I personally love boar brushes and highly recommend them. You can also try the vie long peleon 12705 horse hair brush. It's $18 at bull-goose.