Do shaving brushes need to dry

[Tomo]

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 there were plenty of guys that had one brush and used it everyday, some reportedly for up to 10 or even 20 years. Were these brushes really mildew and mold traps as were led to believe today? I doubt wether the wives of the day would have allowed a stinky brush to hang around that long.

Do brushes really need time to dry or is this just something we tell ourselves to justify our BAD? I used my Simpson Classic 1 Best Badger for two months straight during lock down in the country and it was fine. It never really dried all the way in 24 hours. After a month I decided to give it a diluted vinegar bath and a rise it out with wool wash to be on the safe side. It might have helped a bit but I’m not sure.

So do we really need all these brushes? Is it acceptable for a newbie or minimalist to just have one brush?

 

[Scaramouche]

Natural fiber is organic, so if left continually damp, it can indeed support other organisms, large and small, that you would rather not have living off your brush. Uninterupted exposure to water can also degrade the fibers themselves. Periodically allowing it to completely dry reduces that possibility, but does not eliminate it. How bad it could get depends purely on random chance - what falls onto the brush out of the air, what already exists on the brush, and what you transfer to the brush from your face. The saving grace of shaving brushes is that they regularly come into contact with a fairly efficient antimicrobial - soap. So using a single brush, lathered and rinsed, that damp-dries over a 24-hour cycle is not likely to be fatal to brush or user, but will probably degrade the brush more than if it completely dried between shaves, and shorten its useful life (which may be many years anyway, and as you point out, our Grandfathers did it). But cleaning them regularly with dilute vinegar is also not a bad idea.

 

[BigD]

I try to allow at least 48 hours before reusing a brush for it to try totally. However, I find synthetics dry quickly and I can, if need be, use them with in 12 hours. (Face shave in the morning, head shave at night)

 

[Invicta]

Mashing the brush does more damage than the lack of conditions that allow the brush to fully dry out at certain times of the year. During cold periods the badger / boar hair may not fully dry out but if left in the open air {unenclosed space} I see no problems.

 

[BigJ]

It takes at least 2 weeks for my brushes to dry properly!!

And it takes longer and longer as the ‘collection’ grows! (At some point LOTH will catch on.)

 

[RenoRichard]

Most of my badger brushes dry here in Nevada by the next morning. No heat, just air dry. After using, I rinse, shake them out, and swirl them gently on a dry towel and let them rest. I haven't lost a brush through my use yet, and many are over ten years old. I did use a few for consecutive days on end, but then again it is dry here and things do not stay damp.

When I spent two summers in London, 2010 and 2016, where it is much more humid, I used the same brush every day for six weeks each time and used the same routine. Although, I did take the brush out of the tiny damp bathroom to dry each day. The brush is still going strong.

 

[Atlantic59]

It's important to dry boar brushes thoroughly during break-in. This is when the tips will split. I don't think it is unreasonable to have at least two brushes and rotate them. That should give 48 hours drying time, which is plenty.

 

[PLANofMAN]

A german study found that the average badger brush dries completely in 36 hours. The same study also determined that the optimum drying position was suspended sideways with the bristles at a slight downwards angle.

Based on that, a person ought to have at least two brushes, and use them every other day.

A badger brush used daily will last about 15 years. One that get rotated out should last much longer, if for no other reason than it gets used half as often.

 

[Clay S]

With daily use I don't see the need for it. With infrequent use it needs to be placed somewhere where it will dry thoroughly in a short (1-2 days) amount of time. A 3-4 brush rotation where the brushes are left in a damp/humid bathroom is asking for mold/mildew to grow.

 

[Owen Bawn]

My brushes sit on a marble window sill in the cellar just outside the bathroom where I shave. They get a couple hours of late afternoon indirect sunlight and more importantly, excellent air circulation, either from the open window or from the heat/AC vent in the ceiling directly above the window.

 

[chevyguy1982]

I use my Omega 10066 boar every morning, it get rinsed, gently squeezed out and hangs upside down on a stand when I'm finished. By the next morning it is completely dry and ready for use.

 

[ackvil]

I currently have 35 brushes in my rotation. I use a brush one day leave it out overnight and then put it away. This way it has 35 days to really dry!

 

[Ted A]

I had one inexpensive drug store brush that I used every day, or at least 5 days a week, for 18 to 20 years. Never any problems. Much of the time it was in a finished bathroom in the basement. No sun and often fairly humid

 

[Rudy Vey]

Simple answer is no. If you use the same brush every day, it really has no chance to dry. As I had said a few years back, my dad used the same brush daily for years. In these days, before he switched to electric shavers, most or everyone had only one brush.
I use sometimes a brush for a whole week. Never seen any issue with this. One thing, however, is to dry a brush completely before putting it into an enclosed area (shave brush tube, cabinet etc). In my bathroom a very dense brush, like my Black Eagle, is totally dried out in 24-36 hours.

 

[old_school]

'If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.'

Kind of things my Grandpa taught me. Didn't finish 6th grade, got his HS diploma when he retired. If I could only be half as wise...

 

[razorboi]

A german study found that the average badger brush dries completely in 36 hours. The same study also determined that the optimum drying position was suspended sideways with the bristles at a slight downwards angle.

Based on that, a person ought to have at least two brushes, and use them every other day.

A badger brush used daily will last about 15 years. One that get rotated out should last much longer, if for no other reason than it gets used half as often.

My badger brush has lasted well over 20 years, with scrupulous rinsing and drying (by flicking and finger-batting dry) after every use. The brush has hardly lost a hair (stored sideways and fanned open, yet used on many consecutive days), and has many years of service left.
Thus, if a badger brush is thoroughly rinsed, flicked, and batted dry, its life-span is exponentially increased and I would not consider a second brush and rotation necessary, even if one uses a brush every single day of the week!

 

[ERS4]

After cleaning, you only need to wipe + hang + ventilate to ensure that the items will last, I think it is very cost-effective.
Even if there are months of the year that are very humid and difficult to dry completely, this matter is not that harsh.

 

[mattps1]

For years before I was really into DE shaving I used a single boar brush or cheap Best Badger brush and didn't think anything of it, it dried between uses and didn't stink too much, the bacteria dries off.

I learnt a bit about dress shoes as I started to sink serious coin in that area. Pre-lockdown I walked 4kms for daily commute to work as a consultant, so I have over 5 pairs of expensive english-made goodyear welted dress shoes. A rotation that big it allows each shoe to thoroughly dry out before being worn again. When I need to take 1 -2 pairs to be cobbled, I still have 3-4 pairs available. Not allowing the shoes to dry out just prematurely wears them out or you end up wearing wet shoes the next day.
Some folks are happy to have 1 pair of cheap black shoes, and toss them in the bin after they wear out, all the power to them and their wallet. My grandfathers probably had 4 pairs of leather shoes.

Bigger brushes just take time to try, my Chubby 2 is taking 3+ days in this cold Melbourne weather, even though the storage area is generally heated.

For me idea of having a rotation of brushes of whatever is allows increase longetivity of each.

 

[Blue-EyedSon]

Good question - I'm not really sure. I've certainly used the same brush multiples days in a row and never noticed a problem. I also seem to recall that most of the time, the brush would seem entirely dry the next day. I'd imagine that perhaps deep in the knot there still could be some water, but it always seemed to have dried by the next day in just being left out on the counter.

 

[Tomo]

I seems like there is enough evidence to suggest that daily use is not an issue as far as mildew and mound goes. Daily use provides frequent enough contact with soap to keep the nasties at bay. More of an issue are extended periods of time where the brush is not completely dry and not being put into contact with soap. This suggests that a small rotation may be worse than no rotation.

It actually takes a big brush like a Chubby 2 a very long time to dry completely. The surface feels dry pretty quick but deep in the knot it remains damp for quite a long time even under good drying conditions. I generally give these big boys a little head start with a blow drier. Not to dry them completely but just to get them started. I keep the heat low and it doesn’t seem to harm them. Smaller knots are not an issue.

I’m happy to know that it’s perfectly safe to give a brush an extended run from time to time. It may even be a better maintenance strategy than only using them once in a rotation. Now I’m wondering why on earth I bought so many brushes!