What is the purpose brush density? It seems to be a desirable trait among brushes, but doesn't a dense brush hog the lather more? I am looking at getting a brush that hogs lather a bit less then my EJ BBB. Should I avoid a dense knot?
Brush Density
- Thread starter superpacker
- Start date
A dense brush will hog a bit of lather, but the benefit lies in the backbone that the extra hairs help to provide.
- Thread starter
- #3
what are these benefits?
The ability to grind up and make a decent lather from hard tallow and glycerin soaps.
Soft, or floppy, brushes simply smear water over the puck--making lather. When you put that on your face and add more water you are simply adding water to lather--not soap, and in consequence it turns airy and thin.
Dense brushes load the brush with SOAP. So when you put it in the bowl or on your face and add water you are making lather, not adding water to thin out already existant lather.
Backbone is very helpful in lather building because the tips are able to get more friction on the soap. The same friction helps exfoliate when the brush is moved to the face.
A good silvertip brush with backbone will combine soft tips and lots of backbone so that the experience is luxuriously exfoliating.
A good silvertip brush with backbone will combine soft tips and lots of backbone so that the experience is luxuriously exfoliating.
- Thread starter
- #6
these are good thoughts
Density is simply a characteristic of a brush, and not necessarily a measure of how "good" a brush is. Small, dense, scrubby brushes are all the rage on this board so, that's what everyone will steer ya towards. A lot of guys here also like soaps, which is why they like those kinds of brushes. What will work best for you will mostly depend on YOUR needs. I have a rooney heritage brush, and its great, but my kent lathers soaps just as well as my rooney does and I have very sensitive skin, so I actually reach for my kent more often, and the kent is much less dense. They both lather creams fine, but I personally prefer the softer brush. I think I am in the minority here in that I like soft brushes, but my point is that these are personal items, and we all have to decide (and often try out) a few different things before we know what works for us.
I think density is more of a personal preference thing.
A not-dense brush with prickly hair will usually have as much backbone as a dense brush with softer hair, but with the dense/soft combination you'll get more of a massage feeling than a scrubby feeling.
...I'm not sure I described that right, but I think you get the idea
I prefer short loft, dense, soft tip brushes myself
A not-dense brush with prickly hair will usually have as much backbone as a dense brush with softer hair, but with the dense/soft combination you'll get more of a massage feeling than a scrubby feeling.
...I'm not sure I described that right, but I think you get the idea
I prefer short loft, dense, soft tip brushes myself
