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Did Conditioner Ruin My Boar Brush?

Replacement Semogues (SOC Taj, 820) on the way. Stubbornness will keep me trying to use the magic lather eater nonetheless. Today I loaded the brush with Cella to within an inch of its life and all traces of soap vanished before I could face lather. Maybe an exorcism is in order.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
Replacement Semogues (SOC Taj, 820) on the way. Stubbornness will keep me trying to use the magic lather eater nonetheless. Today I loaded the brush with Cella to within an inch of its life and all traces of soap vanished before I could face lather. Maybe an exorcism is in order.
You will be rich indeed my friend as long as you keep laughing.
 
At least I can be a cautionary tale. I read somewhere here that conditioner was the right thing to do, “but I am two and twenty and oh, ’tis not true, not true.”
I have had my homemade boar brush for many years now.

After rinsing out the lather I add a few drops of mild liquid hand soap and then work the brush on the palm of my hand.

Rinse out well with cold water then gently rub on dry bath towel.

The brush is in excellent condition.

My 2 cents and 1 cent cheaper than @FarmerTan 😂


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Replacement Semogues (SOC Taj, 820) on the way. Stubbornness will keep me trying to use the magic lather eater nonetheless. Today I loaded the brush with Cella to within an inch of its life and all traces of soap vanished before I could face lather. Maybe an exorcism is in order.
What break in method is slated for this one? :facep:
 
I shampooed my Semogue 810 and applied cheap Kirkland hair conditioner and now it does not absorb water and kills lather in no time.
I really doubt that the conditioner did anything harmful to your brush. In fact, if it doesn’t absorb water it would build more lather, faster like a synthetic brush. It is the fact that boars absorb that they can be stingy soap hoarders and difficult with building lathers. The problem is either your technique, or the soap itself.
 
I have never used hair conditioner on boar brushes but have used it on an old badger brush. However, on the rare occasions that I have used conditioner, I use a TINY amount. I apply a little bit of hair conditioner to soften the bristles of a new brush. I then rinse again under warm running water. I shake the brush to get rid of excess water. I then take a cup or container and fill it with one ounce of white vinegar, a few drops of liquid glycerin, and warm water. I stir the mixture and put the brush in the liquid using a pumping motion. I soak the brush for about two or three minutes. I take the brush out of the mixture, rinse again under running water, shake out the water, and twirl it around a towel to dry.

The reason you are using vinegar is to be sure you are removing all of the soap and other residues from the brush. This method is based on this video
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
I have never used hair conditioner on boar brushes but have used it on an old badger brush. However, on the rare occasions that I have used conditioner, I use a TINY amount. I apply a little bit of hair conditioner to soften the bristles of a new brush. I then rinse again under warm running water. I shake the brush to get rid of excess water. I then take a cup or container and fill it with one ounce of white vinegar, a few drops of liquid glycerin, and warm water. I stir the mixture and put the brush in the liquid using a pumping motion. I soak the brush for about two or three minutes. I take the brush out of the mixture, rinse again under running water, shake out the water, and twirl it around a towel to dry.

The reason you are using vinegar is to be sure you are removing all of the soap and other residues from the brush. This method is based on this video
Good video and is accurate on how to clean a brush properly.
 
Hair is hair. It’s not rocket science. If it’s okay for your hair, it’s okay for a boar or badger. I use shampoo and conditioner on my my hair it still soaks up water every time. I don’t know if vinegar is good or not, but I wouldn’t put it on my own hair.
 
Curly folks regularly use apple cider vinegar on their hair to get rid of buildup. Shampoo is used infrequently, if ever.

Thing is, breaking in a boar brush is basically the opposite of what you'd do to your (curly) hair.
 
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FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
Just lather it up using Arko!, and all will be well.
"So let it be written, so let it be done!"

My wife OFTEN uses baking soda as a shampoo/cleanser followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse. She has naturally curly hair like Charlie Brown's dream girl. The fact that I'm a licensed Cosmetologist has no bearing on the subject. She's a free citizen.

I had to sterilize my horse hair brush I used to clean off hair clippings from the nape of neck of customers. But occasionally they just plain needed warshin'... So I just used any ol' cheap shampoo (basically it's just watered down detergent when ya think about it) and followed this with a really cheap "Wella Balsam" knock off. If I didn't use the creme rinse, that horse hair would knot right up.

That's why I said you ain't hurt that brush any. Have you spent any time around pigs? I'd wager that it's impossible to hurt a pigs hair. Tho I know for a FACT that they got feelin's you can hurt.

If you don't believe me, go to the County Fair.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
"So let it be written, so let it be done!"

My wife OFTEN uses baking soda as a shampoo/cleanser followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse. She has naturally curly hair like Charlie Brown's dream girl. The fact that I'm a licensed Cosmetologist has no bearing on the subject. She's a free citizen.

I had to sterilize my horse hair brush I used to clean off hair clippings from the nape of neck of customers. But occasionally they just plain needed warshin'... So I just used any ol' cheap shampoo (basically it's just watered down detergent when ya think about it) and followed this with a really cheap "Wella Balsam" knock off. If I didn't use the creme rinse, that horse hair would knot right up.

That's why I said you ain't hurt that brush any. Have you spent any time around pigs? I'd wager that it's impossible to hurt a pigs hair. Tho I know for a FACT that they got feelin's you can hurt.

If you don't believe me, go to the County Fair.
Part time Genius! :a22:
 
All these folk with reassuring nonsense. Consider this: If you knew a human who risked using Kirkland conditioner on human hair, then clearly the only solution would be to shave it off and hope to start anew after regrowth.

And that's human hair. I don't mean to sound Species-ist or Judgie. But you did that to a pig's hair. As the kids say, "Just. Wow." (Or maybe it's, "Wowsers," I forget. Or that was 1994. No. Couldn't have been 1994 or it would have been "That is like So Completely Wowsers." I digress.)

Sorry about the brush and best wishes for the new one. Thanks for sharing. The tale of woe is kind of helping me with the whole B&B as a Support Group for Gifted Students who can't get WMS to lather thing.
 
d kills lather in no time. I washed it again with Dawn dish detergent and did a brief soak in dilute white vinegar and it still doesn’t develop lather and the weak lather it does produce is gone before my first pass.

You never said what shave soap you were working with.. lemme guess WMF?
 
"So let it be written, so let it be done!"

My wife OFTEN uses baking soda as a shampoo/cleanser followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse. She has naturally curly hair like Charlie Brown's dream girl. The fact that I'm a licensed Cosmetologist has no bearing on the subject. She's a free citizen.

I had to sterilize my horse hair brush I used to clean off hair clippings from the nape of neck of customers. But occasionally they just plain needed warshin'... So I just used any ol' cheap shampoo (basically it's just watered down detergent when ya think about it) and followed this with a really cheap "Wella Balsam" knock off. If I didn't use the creme rinse, that horse hair would knot right up.

That's why I said you ain't hurt that brush any. Have you spent any time around pigs? I'd wager that it's impossible to hurt a pigs hair. Tho I know for a FACT that they got feelin's you can hurt.

If you don't believe me, go to the County Fair.
Pigs don’t shave, much less face lather. False, I proclaim!
 
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