Cleaning Shaving Brush

[Rodimus80]

I’ve had my Edwin Jagger Best Badger shaving brush for 2 years now and I have never cleaned it once. I’m sure over the span of two years, it has collected mildew and bacteria. What do you guys use to clean your brush? Is it the same cleaning process for all the brushes or different bristles different process?

Someone has told me I can use either half vinegar half warm water, dish soap, borax and laundry detergent.

 

[dmshaver]

I use a soap specifically for brush cleaning. I'm sure a search on B & B will give a recipe for making your own. I usually clean my brushes about once a year.

 

[Doc Dan]

Vinegar should be good, mixed with water. Borax is also good. Either will do. The vinegar will get hard water deposits out, also. Then, wash it in a good shampoo after the soak and rinse in one of the above.

 

[Ron R]

Youtube has some good information on shave brush cleaning also!
Some fellows use a vinegar water with dish soap formula's that work for them. Best thing to prevent mildew and mold rinse well and towel dry and place in the open(never put in a enclosed area damp), use a synthetic brushes in humid climates conditions because they dry much quicker & have a few brushes in rotation to let one brush dry completely if using natural hair brush for good brush care when you get your brushes cleaned up.

 

[Doc Dan]

How often do you clean your brushes?

How often do you all clean your shaving brushes? I got to thinking about this today, after I cleaned the one I had just shaved with. I usually clean my with detergent or shampoo every three or four months. I have a brush rotation so one brush doesn't get used for more than a few days and then...

www.badgerandblade.com

There is some good information from a professional brush maker and a chemist, among others in this thread.

 

[Tirvine]

Or you could take the route of hot water rinse and benign neglect. I had a brush over thirty years with that regimen. It could have gone longer, but I was smitten with a new brush.

 

[davidw963]

Wait, what? They have to be cleaned? Uh oh - guess I had better get off the hot water rinse bandwagon as well. I can go home now - I learned something new!

 

[Cranky James]

I cleaned my well used Omega boar brush recently. I soaked it in straight undiluted white vinegar and scrubbed the handle with an old (also cleaned) tooth brush.

It’s now blooming beautifully and has renewed life! Up until a couple of weeks ago it was my only brush, however I added a Yaqi synthetic brush, and just now ordered a second synthetic. I’m getting serious about keeping my shaving gear in good shape.

 

[NorthernSoul]

There is a product called Ship Shape made specifically for this. It's a powder you mix with water. Typically, you would want to clean a batch of brushes at the same time.

In a pinch, you can use clarifying hair shampoo. That is made to remove deposits. Rinse with diluted vinegar & plain water.

 

[Possum092]

Dove shampoo works great.

 

[Lane101]

No cleaning necessary for my synthetic brushes. Oldest has received 3 years of at least 5 day per week use and with thorough rinsing after each shave has no build up. My original cheap Van Der Hagen boar brushes never made it past a year until the knots fell apart (only used roughly a day per week). Latest Razorock boar is close to a year old and has no build up yet with roughly one day per week of use and thorough rinsing.