Do brushes REALLY need to dry after use?

[Roy]

Most guys have more than one brush, but we are advised to dry badgers between shaves. Why when you will be soaking it again?
Do professional barbers shaving a dozen people a day, use 12 different brushes per day, plus another 12 ones drying ready for the next day. I doubt it, so what do they do? Just a thought .
Another ploy to increase brush sales maybe.

 

[hairless wonder]

I believe this has been addressed earlier:

Do shaving brushes need to dry

I’m about a year into my wet shaving obsession now and I’ve built a rather nice collection of brushes. I was happy enough with my first brush but quickly decided that I needed a few more to allow the first one time to dry. I’m now starting to wonder if this is even necessary. Back in the day...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[Ivo4u2]

If they stay wet forever and never get cleaned it is more or less an invitation for mold and bacteria to grow deep inside the knot. This also applies to a certain extent for synthetic.
And natural hair might start to rot and shed.
And yeah I had a funky smelling brush once or twice before.
but I doubt it should dry every time before new use.

 

[Chevyguy]

As long as air is allowed to get to the knot you should be ok. I've been using a brush and soap since 1981 and have never had a problem with brushes molding, or rotting. I store the brush I'm using bristles down in it's stand.

Clayton



Sent from my SM-A705U using Tapatalk

 

[Owen Bawn]

Most guys have more than one brush, but we are advised to dry badgers between shaves. Why when you will be soaking it again?
Do professional barbers shaving a dozen people a day, use 12 different brushes per day, plus another 12 ones drying ready for the next day. I doubt it, so what do they do? Just a thought .
Another ploy to increase brush sales maybe.

I'd say they probably do use a dozen different brushes. In Italian barber shops one usually sees a counter lined with Omega boars with plastic handles, each with a customer's name written on it. Each customer has his own brush. In many northern European and American barber shops you would have seen shelves filled with mugs belonging to individual customers- each guy left his own brush AND soap at the barber's. I believe that in many US states it is now illegal to use the same brush on more than one customer. Perhaps it can be sanitized, disinfected, and reused? I don't know. But the idea of a barber taking a soggy brush that he's been using all day on God-knows-how-many-strangers and swirling it around my lips is something that just isn't gonna happen, thank you.

 

[Barbarian80]

I dry my badger pretty well by shaking out the excess water and then setting it out in the open knot side up. Certainly not afraid to use it on consecutive days if i need to. If the knot fails at some point then oh well. I'll just buy a new brush. I don't think any shave brush is built to last a lifetime so just use it whichever way gives you the most enjoyment.

 

[Ivo4u2]

In most modern countries I think that if you have caught a bacterial, viral, mold or yeast infection in your face just after visiting a barber….
Facebook would take care of that barber pretty quick.

as a therapist we use electrodes, needles or equipment on your body and everything needs to be sanitized prior and after usage. And which can not be done like that has to be sterilized and when that is not possible it is single use.

 

[Rhody]

I'd say they probably do use a dozen different brushes. In Italian barber shops one usually sees a counter lined with Omega boars with plastic handles, each with a customer's name written on it. Each customer has his own brush. In many northern European and American barber shops you would have seen shelves filled with mugs belonging to individual customers- each guy left his own brush AND soap at the barber's. I believe that in many US states it is now illegal to use the same brush on more than one customer. Perhaps it can be sanitized, disinfected, and reused? I don't know. But the idea of a barber taking a soggy brush that he's been using all day on God-knows-how-many-strangers and swirling it around my lips is something that just isn't gonna happen, thank you.

Or the worldwide brush manufacturers syndicate has created the mold and soggy brush misinformation campaign to sell a few more brushes? Idk people are saying...

 

[BigJ]

I'd say they probably do use a dozen different brushes. In Italian barber shops one usually sees a counter lined with Omega boars with plastic handles, each with a customer's name written on it. Each customer has his own brush. In many northern European and American barber shops you would have seen shelves filled with mugs belonging to individual customers- each guy left his own brush AND soap at the barber's. I believe that in many US states it is now illegal to use the same brush on more than one customer. Perhaps it can be sanitized, disinfected, and reused? I don't know. But the idea of a barber taking a soggy brush that he's been using all day on God-knows-how-many-strangers and swirling it around my lips is something that just isn't gonna happen, thank you.

+1! Yes indeed! Reusing shaving items for multiple customers is illegal here, and definitely unsanitary!

 

[santamariasteve]

The maintenance or other regimen of a brush being used 12 times a day in a barbershop (unlikely in the U.S.A.) does not compare to once-daily home use.

Drying or not drying a brush has zero to do with brush sales.

Why would you not want to dry your brush between uses? You probably wipe down and dry your counter top between shaves. Why do you do that?

And whether you dry your brush or not between uses, the brush will ultimately dry on its own within 6 or 8 hours.

 

[SterFry]

I just fling the water out of the brush and use a hair dryer for 30 seconds to dry the brush.

P.S. great way to break in boars, by the way

 

[Mike M]

Or the worldwide brush manufacturers syndicate has created the mold and soggy brush misinformation campaign to sell a few more brushes? Idk people are saying...

I think you'll find the rumour was originally started by the CIA to stop Fidel Castro having his beard shaved

 

[Rhody]

I think you'll find the rumour was originally started by the CIA to stop Fidel Castro having his beard shaved

Best post of the day
Funny
But true?

 

[Brutus]

Best post of the day
Funny
But true?

If someone posts it on the Internet it must be true.

BTW, I have Abraham Lincoln’s iPhone for sale that he used to call the ambulance after being shot.
Anyone interested????

B

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

Maybe not, but it’s a great excuse to buy another brush, or two, three, four…

 

[corlay]

pretty sure the wet/dry cycle is what "splits the tips" of a boar brush,
and is essential to the break-in period...

 

[ouchyfoot]

I think keeping it clean is the most important thing.

 

[bberg100]

I use the same brush for several shaves before the urge to swap hits me. Years ago I only had one brush and used it everyday. Rinse and shake, never got funky. Set out on the counter to dry, don't lock it away in the cabinet.

 

[Ron R]

If your worried about mildew do not store in medicine cabinet after shaving(dry for 1 day and then store or find a better storage area) brushes need open air circulation to keep them in good shape IMO. Travelling I like synthetic brushes because they can dry a little faster. Take them out protection vented brush container as soon as you can to air dry the little moisture that can still be in the brush( I had a synthetic that started to mildew after coming back from Mexico trip because of 2 days travel to get home even with a vented brush container.)

 

[Mike M]

If someone posts it on the Internet it must be true.

BTW, I have Abraham Lincoln’s iPhone for sale that he used to call the ambulance after being shot.
Anyone interested????

B

Only if it's the phone he used to tweet the Gettysburg address