Help, lathering with a boar?

[nathanb]

Well, I just recently got a Semogue 830 boar brush. I am having a little bit of trouble learning how to lather with it.

My previous experience with brushes has been a Tweezerman badger brush. I can get a great lather from soaps and creams with it.

But so far I have gotten pretty disappointing lather from my boar. I am almost positive it is all user error!

Any advice? I like to face lather with my badger and would like to continue doing that with my boar. But any advice on lathering with a boar (bowl or face) would greatly be appreciated.

On a similar note, I was expecting my boar brush to be much more stiff and scrubby. However, when wet it feels softer and less stiff than my Tweezerman. Is this normal?

Thanks,

Nathan

 

[honed]

Hang in there, a boar takes a few weeks to break in properly.
There is loads of threads re: boar-lathering if you search around a bit.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I find my boar likes to lather most of the way a lot less splayed than my badgers do. I just put the tips on my skin and whisk lightly.

I have found that so far my boar is a bit less effective at face lathering than my badgers.

 

[Leche]

A boar will lather very well and you will notice improvement over time as it breaks in. Doing a quick search will find all sorts of threads on speeding up the process. My pointers are...

1. Ensure you have enough soap/cream on the brush. I don't believe you need to "pre soak" any soaps even the hardest triple milled soaps.

2. I noticed that boars tend to clump a bit with soaps from the thicker paste you get. Wetting the tips slightly then working the puck a little more will loosen those clumps making face lathering easier.

3. Boars take a little longer to build a good lather compared to a badger IMO which I feel is a good thing as the face gets better prep.

4. Badgers retain water on the shaft while boars absorb water into the shaft. Keep this in mind to help you get that good ratio.

 

[talibeard]

Lots of good advise, just hang in there. At first you don't get enough lather for one complete pass but in a few weeks it will deliver!

On a similar note, I was expecting my boar brush to be much more stiff and scrubby. However, when wet it feels softer and less stiff than my Tweezerman. Is this normal?

I don't know your Semogue but the Tweezerman is not very soft; the difference will only grow once your boar starts breaking in. It should have more backbone though; my Omega and Vulfix boars certainly do.

 

[imperium]

im finding every time i use my omega boar its getting softer and lathers better, i was thinking i was just fully handicapped atfirst but now its more so looking to be the brush

i found this guide to proper break in helpful
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=139297&highlight=break
maybe even after done using the brush for the first while let it soak in the lather till next day should speed up the process

 

[shortgamer]

As above, boars, especially Semogues, take a little time to reach their potential. Eventually though, you will either like the firmer hand of the boar or go back to the softer badger. IMHO

 

[BillC]

On a similar note, I was expecting my boar brush to be much more stiff and scrubby. However, when wet it feels softer and less stiff than my Tweezerman. Is this normal?

With my badgers I throw them in and soak the brush while I shower. I was doing that with my Omega boar and found it to be way too floppy when I did that. Saw a suggestion on here to just soak the tips of the boar brush. Works a lot better for me.

 

[DSB]

Here is one video I found useful in trying different techniques with a boar brush:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIsj58fqVjY[/youtube]

 

[jrowen]

The Mother Load

- Jason

 

[Fairlight]

I don't have a lot of experience using a brush, but all of it is with a boar brush. I find that when I am really scrubbing on my face with the bristles splayed out, not much lather gets transferred to my face. What I do as a result is after building a good lather in a bowl, I'll spend thirty seconds to a minute massaging the lather into my face and working the stubble, then I'll use a painting motion to apply a thicker coat of lather to actually protect my face from the razor.