Cleaning/prepping a new brush

[roboboticus]

It took me forever to pull the trigger on this one, but I finally did, and it arrived today. T&H branded Rooney 1/1. I'm curious whether most people just dive in and start using a new brush, or if they clean it up a little first (with shampoo, for example). There's no stink that I can detect, so I was planning on just lathering some shave soap, rinsing & drying, and using it in a day or two.

The new brush, beside it's brethren:

 

[jgkeegan]

I have been diving in and just using mine. I have the feeling that I am in the minority.

 

[Loric]

There is a good thread for this, but to paraphrase you wash the brush out with dish soap, lather up once or twice in hot water, then make a final lather and leave it in the brush overnight to dry. The overnight soaking and drying lifts much of the dirt and animal oil/sent out of a brush. I have had a couple particularly suborn brushes that I'v done the over night thing two or three times with. Particularly my Vei Long horse hair brush. Its a very nice tool, but the stink was quite entrenched.

 

[Drubbing]

I just shampoo and use straight way. There's generally dust or something that will discolour lather to clear out, so I like to start with a clean brush.

 

[_JP_]

I've never acquired a new brush that is dirty. I just start using them straight away.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Some people wash new clothes before wearing them - those are probably the same people who sanitize a new brush before using it. Personally, I just dive in.

 

[Klarion]

I wash a brush, give it a few vigorous test latherings, and let it dry before using it.

 

[dpm802]

... so I was planning on just lathering some shave soap, rinsing & drying, and using it in a day or two.

This is what I do with a new brush ... and I've never encountered any problems with it.

I like to make the first lather with Musgo Real cream. The lanolin seems to break in the brush really fast and make it extra soft.

 

[huntmol]

Nah, I say just use it.
Brushes will break in normally over a 2-4 week period.

 

[Groat]

What's that brush there on the far left with the clear handle? It's got a guido haircut going on.

 

[roboboticus]

Oh god, you're right! Sun-dipped hair and everything
That's the Semogue 830. It always seems to clump up like that when it dries, though maybe less as it breaks in. Do all boar brushes do that?

 

[BladeRunner001]

I have been diving in and just using mine. I have the feeling that I am in the minority.

I've never acquired a new brush that is dirty. I just start using them straight away.

Some people wash new clothes before wearing them - those are probably the same people who sanitize a new brush before using it. Personally, I just dive in.

Nah, I say just use it.
Brushes will break in normally over a 2-4 week period.

+1 on on these (and those I may have missed). If it's a new brush, I use it straight away (even if it stinks. If it's used, I would recommend a cleanup regimen (Shampoo and vinegar works)

 

[Drubbing]

That's the Semogue 830. It always seems to clump up like that when it dries, though maybe less as it breaks in. Do all boar brushes do that?

THe Semogues I have dry pretty much like any brush in bloom. Yes, they're not as uniform or picture-perfect-pretty as expensive badgers, which are the supermodels of brushes.

Boars are more like the girl you marry; less costly to land, cute, dependable, and far less likely to be high maintenance.

With Boars brushes at least you can have more than one without getting into trouble.

 

[du212]

For the 1st 10 days of the boar brushes : use them every day, even if you shave with another brush, and the day before using the boar brush leave it wet in the stand. This way you give them the right perfomance faster

 

[Uffizzi]

Noob answer - I used both my SR 2824 and Omega Boar right away, but thenI read to shampoo and condition them before use. So I gave them a wash with some good shampoo and then used a good conditioner on them. However, I let the conditioner sit for ten minutes, not overnight.

 

[inspectoring]

I've never acquired a new brush that is dirty. I just start using them straight away.

agreed
Usually when I get a new brush - I don't even wait till next day. Whether I have to shave or not - i am gonna lather up that puppy. Same goes for creams/soaps

 

[Groat]

agreed
Usually when I get a new brush - I don't even wait till next day. Whether I have to shave or not - i am gonna lather up that puppy. Same goes for creams/soaps

With my first brush, I hadn't yet read any of this forum so I just used the badger brush straight out of the box. It wasn't bad, just a slight smell. It went away after a couple days. However, I got a Vie-Long brush in that absolutely wouldn't be pleasant to shave with right out of the box. It had a STRONG smell, one part badger smell and three parts something else. I think the 'something else' was fumes from whatever they use to anchor the knot in the brush, but it was bad.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Some people wash new clothes before wearing them - those are probably the same people who sanitize a new brush before using it. Personally, I just dive in.

@herbert7890 couldn't wait THREE MORE WEEKS to like this post on it's 10th anniversary!?!?!?

 

[Clay S]

@Go West Young Man couldn't wait three weeks to bump on it's tenth anniversary