Disinfecting a brush

[Suzuki]

We found the fungi in the brush. Perhaps I should clarify my statement: he did not actually get the infection FROM the brush as in it was hiding in there the whole time. What most likely happened in HIS case was that he was leaving the brush wet in a damp, dark bathroom downstairs, and the fungus got set up in the brush, and then the nicks you get from shaving allowed the fungus to transfer from the brush to infect his face.

It's not like fungus magically pops out of the hairs or anything. It's just that in his case, a damp brush not allowed to dry, stored in a dark, moist location...

Just like mold infections following the Hurricane Katrina event. The spores for the fungus is always around, the only thing is our immune systems are normally able to combat them, AND our possessions are normally not conducive to transmitting the bad bugs, ie usually not kept wet in a dark basement.

Sorry for any confusion.

I'm glad you clarified this - I'm not a doctor, but I was going to ask this very question.

Interesting post. Guys have been shaving using brushes for many many years and never disinfect brushes and nothing happens and so one guy has a problem because he didn't properly care for his brush and guys go and panic. If this has you spooked you had better never use a public restroom unless you have a pack of disinfectint wipes with you.

Bingo.

Let common sense prevail - anybody with half a brain knows that damp environments are great breeding grounds for all sorts of nasties.

Allowing your brushes to dry completely between uses is one of the best things you can do for both the health of yourself and your brush. The odd cleaning will only help, but the soap/cream we use should take care of most things to begin with.

My solution is to have multiple brushes - if you only have one brush, use a stand, as the brush will dry more quickly if hung bristles down.

 

[cr8n]

Very informative!

Doc,

How did you treat the condition?
Was he using an alcohol-based AS?

Paul

 

[chtinavion]

Same questions as cr8n!

Can anyone tell me what is in ths barbicide, or in borax? I don't know this things here in France, and would like to find something that could work too. Thanks!

 

[devnull]

While fungal infections from a brush is obviously not a common occurance I kind of like the idea of sanitizing it. Better safe than sorry and let's face it, it isn't like it is a big hassle to do. If I am going to spend all this money on good shaving equipment to save my face I might as well do this as well!

I am curious to see how well the knot holds up to this stuff.

Now I gotta go get some barbacide!

 

[bordeaaj]

Same questions as cr8n!

Can anyone tell me what is in ths barbicide, or in borax? I don't know this things here in France, and would like to find something that could work too. Thanks!

From Wikipedia:

Barbicide is a transparent blue disinfectant solution manufactured by King Research. It is used in barber shops and hair salons to disinfect items such as combs and scissors. In many salons each barber or hair stylist has his or her own supply of barbicide displayed on a shelf in a distinctive glass and stainless steel jar.

Barbicide contains quaternary ammonium, perfume, and colouring. It is sold in concentrated solution which salons dilute with water.

Quaternary ammonium salts or quaternary ammonium compounds (called quaternary amines in oilfield parlance) are salts of quaternary ammonium cations with an anion. They are used as disinfectants, surfactants, fabric softeners, and as antistatic agents (e.g. in shampoo). In liquid fabric softeners, the chloride salts are often used. In dryer anticling strips, the sulfate salts are often used. This is also a common ingredient in many spermicidal jellies.

Some interesting history: (cut and pasted from The NY Times, 22 May 2008 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E5DF113EF931A15755C0A961958260)

Maurice King (the inventor) came back from World War II Army service to Brooklyn, where he had relatives, determined to make his mark as an entrepreneur. He started working with detergents and disinfectants, mixing concoctions in the bathtub because his first factory lacked water. As a teen-ager, King had suffered from scalp sores and loathed the way the teeth of a barber's dirty combs would ***** them. He was appalled that barbers cleaned combs and brushes only by running water over them. Sometimes barbers would simply bang the counter to knock the previous customer's hair out of a comb.

The key to the breakthrough was a new breed of disinfectant, an ammonium compound that is an ingredient in the mud used in drilling oil wells. It was strong enough to kill germs, but mild enough for everyday use.

But how to package the liquid, which has to be diluted with 31 parts of water to each part of Barbicide? The jar idea came from Mr. King's experience selling some of his detergents to restaurants. He noticed the glass jars in which straws were kept and deemed them an ideal container for his barbershop cleanser.

Then came the decision to color the clear liquid blue. ''It could be any color, but Dad chose a brilliant, crystal-clear blue because of its purity,'' Ben King said. ''It's refreshing and clean to look at.''

Finally came the marketing -- or the creation of a market. Maurice and his brother James made repeated trips to state capitals asking that disinfectants be required in barber shops for the public good.

 

[STINGYBRIMSandBOURBON]

Does anyone know if it is OK to leave razors soaking in Barbicide overnight? I don't see why it would matter but thought I would ask first. Thanks

 

[Ramaniac]

Is this why I have seen the word 'Sterilized' on some of the old shaving brushes on ebay? They are made of something that needed to be sterilized and could thus become unsterilized with use?

 

[ScottS]

Is this why I have seen the word 'Sterilized' on some of the old shaving brushes on ebay? They are made of something that needed to be sterilized and could thus become unsterilized with use?

By definition, they are not sterile the moment after they come out of the sterilizer. Nothing stays sterile

 

[tom myers]

I find that all the older brushes you see claim to be "sterilized". I assume this was to assure the buyer that there wasn't something remaining in the natural hair that would be a threat to his health. I'm sure reasonably informed people would realize that this sterilized condition was only true at the point of the manufacturing process and did not somehow imply that the brush could somehow always remain sterile.

As a collector of razors and other shaving gear, I always have a standard Barbicide jar ready to soak any "new" razor I may aquire after I clean it. If you do this often, as I do, I'd suggest you get a regular Barbicide jar which has a basket in it to hold the razor, comb, scissors, etc. When the item(s) have soaked long enough, just lift the jar top and the basket with the item(s) comes up, out of the solution where you can just pick them out and rinse them off. The concentrated solution and various size jars can be purchased from any barber supply house. The proper dilution ratio is on the bottle of concentrate.

To soak a brush in such a way so as to immerse the bristles and not the knot nor handle however, you would need to use a shallower container (perhaps a shaving mug) only filled to the appropriate level as shown in the picture in the original post.

Regards.
Tom

 

[ScottS]

I find that all the older brushes you see claim to be "sterilized". I assume this was to assure the buyer that there wasn't something remaining in the natural hair that would be a threat to his health.

There were Anthrax concerns.

 

[z3driver]

Has anyone immersed an entire brush in Barbicide for the recommended 10 minutes to sterilize? Do you think Barbicide would damage the knot or epoxy glue? Maybe using 90% alcohol would be better for a full brush soak?

 

[Thebigspendur]

There are probably millions of brushes out there being used and one guy posts a picture of someone who got a bug and people panic. I could show you a picture of someone who was killed in a car wreck, does that mean we all brace our cars like stock racing cars or avoid driving? Just a little common sense to ensure the brush dries twixt uses and isn't stored in a dark wet environment is all you need.

 

[JCee]

does that mean we all brace our cars like stock racing cars...

Trust me, if I could get that by the SWMBO, I'd try it...

 

[DBLE ARROW BLADE]

I only have one brush at the moment, and I blow dry it after every use. I started doing this because I read that it would soften the feel of the brush by splitting the hairs. I should mention that I have the cheapest brush around (walgreens special--I think it was $5). It does seem to be getting softer, but could just be breaking it in.

Anyway, now I have the added bennefit of knowing that I am keep mold spores from accumulating on my brush also.

 

[ShaneC]

I should mention that I have the cheapest brush around (walgreens special--I think it was $5). It does seem to be getting softer, but could just be breaking it in.

Sounds like a VDH Boar. I love mine, but it did take quite a while to soften up/break-in. I've been using it for about 9mos now (not daily, but close to it), and I usually prefer it over my C&E brush.

 

[MrFusion]

I'm not too worried about fungi because I'm very carefull to let my brush dry properly between uses. I always shake the heck out of it, then let it dry hanging upside down. I think the best defense is not providing a good home for fungi.

As for Bacteria, I'm not worried... since we are using the brush to whip up a thick healthy lather of soap... which also happens to be the way one disinfects one's hands (washing with soap lather).

I shake out my brush, wipe it on a dry towel and hang it upside down but with my denser brushes, I still find that they can be damp down in the knot area the following morning.
I have gotten in the habit of giving my brushes a week of use and then a week off so they can dry properly. I did this more to take care of the brush but I guess there are other benefits!

STINGYBRIMSandBOURBON, There is no problem with leaving your razors soaking in Barbicide. I leave my barber shears soaking between uses all the time and I have never had a problem.

 

[thanks]

Are people talking only about fungi and infections because they're not worried about HIV and Hepatitis through a brush? Everyone just betting on the fact that the diseases don't last that long without a host or something? I just recently purchased a used brush and I'm going to disinfect it based solely on this. Disinfect your brushes anyway, it couldn't hurt. I can't tell you how many times I've been lathering up for a consecutive pass only to see splotches of blood peak through the lather that I just rubbed thoroughly with my brush. I'm willing to bet our shaving soaps and creams are not enough to kill the more serious diseases on a brush.

If you do it with your razors because they touch blood on your face sometimes, then why not do it with your brushes that do the same?

 

[Prospero]

I'm a bit confused because I've always learned to wash my hands with soap to kill the germs that can be harmfull for me as a Human being. According to this thread, I'll get horrible infections to my face when I use a shaving brush.

I find this very hard to believe.

Are there any qualified physicians or trained medical personal who can confirm this threat to my skin and therefore the need to disinfect a brush with other material than shaving soap?

 

[Gilgamesh2003]

I can't speak to the fungus issue, but the risk of contracting HIV from a shaving brush is infinitessimaly small, essentially zero. See these sites for information on studies done on HIV's survival on environmental surfaces (the second site is the CDC). The concentration of HIV found in the blood of infected humans shrinks by 90 to 99 percent within a few hours of the blood drying, and HIV cannot reproduce outside the human body. This means that unless you use a shaving brush that is covered in fresh, wet blood you do not run a high risk of contracting HIV. Simply leaving the brush dry for, say, 48 hours is probably effective enough, assuming that an HIV+ person actually got blood on the brush in the first place. That said, using Barbicide or some other disinfectant can't hurt (well, it may hurt your brush, but it will certainly protect you from nastiness), and it's always better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Gilgamesh2003]

Addendum - the stuff about fungus lead me to go ahead and get some Barbacide and give some of my brushes a run-through with it. I followed the directions on the bottle, rather than the wisdom of the barber in the original post (2oz. of Barbacide to 32oz. of water, soak for ten minutes). I also immersed the entire brush, to the top of the handle. The idea that soaking part of the brush would eradicate the fungus seemed ridiculous to me, as did the idea that Barbacide would dissolve the epoxy in the knot in a few minutes. All the brushes (Shavemac silvertips) came out fine, no change in the hair quality, and no bluish tint. Barbacide says right on the bottle that it kills all the major infectious agents (including HIV) so if you're worried, I say go for it.