horse hair brush

[bluesparkuk]

good day people, my brush collection is now over 10 brushes,(all synthetic), but i was considering a horse hair brush (50/50 mane & tail) , my question is will i see a difference with horse hair over synthetic, or am i just wasting money and i should just stick to my synthetics, thanks in advance

 

[BigD]

Going to be honest, Horse feels like Horse. I enjoy it, but the only way you'll know is if you try. Leave all expectations at the door and and realize it won't feel like anything else. If you get one I recommend a Zenith H series for a bit more backbone or the E series for a softer feel.

 

[bluesparkuk]

Going to be honest, Horse feels like Horse. I enjoy it, but the only way you'll know is if you try. Leave all expectations at the door and and realize it won't feel like anything else. If you get one I recommend a Zenith H series for a bit more backbone or the E series for a softer feel.

ok i'll check those out

 

[shaveSymptomatic]

They won't be the same, and I agree with the Zenith recommendation.

 

[Ravenonrock]

My experience is limited as I have one synthetic and one horse to compare. They are both wildly different brushes and I use them differently depending on the soap or cream I’m using. My Vielong Horse is a champion face painter. It’s soft and floppy with little backbone which helps it act like a paintbrush, which I often enjoy. Good luck on your journey!

 

[Clay S]

If all you have tried are synthetics, I would recommend trying a natural hair brush. I prefer boar, but regularly use a horse as well.

 

[haggis]

I just used a Zenith E2 (extra fine) brush for the first time. I liked it. It was indeed soft. It splayed nicely. I bowl lathered some MdC this first time and while it did not have a lot of backbone it loaded fine (I did cheat and pinched the knot just above the handle to stiffen it a little ... but I'm not sure I needed to). I'll face lather next time but based on this initial use, I expect I will use this brush regularly.

 

[Atlantic59]

Natural hair brushes have many good qualities, I think it is worthwhile to have some variety. How do you plan to use your brush? What sort of lathering products do you like to use?

 

[bluesparkuk]

Natural hair brushes have many good qualities, I think it is worthwhile to have some variety. How do you plan to use your brush? What sort of lathering products do you like to use?

ive actually purchased a few different products, tobs pots of cream and a pot of their soap and some tubes including Speick and Musgo, i also received a free tub of Gentlemans face care club cream

 

[BigD]

My latest Horsey, the Zenith H8 first use. So nice;
Arko August Part XVIII, Copper Gold Connection...

 

[Rustyshackelford]

Having just received my first and only horse hair brush days ago, I can confirm it is different for synthetics. I opted for an extra soft version and have no experience or baseline for the 50/50 variants. As @BigD states, leave your expectations at the door and experience it for what it is.

I was expecting horse to fall between boar and badger, but my impression has been to compare similarities of my extra soft brush to synthetics in many ways. I would not say that they are alike and one could switch to using horse without noticing, but I would say that with the observations I have made, this may be the shortest leap to be made stepping out of strict synthetic Brushes.

 

[Frank Shaves]

No, you should not just stick with your synthetics - you should buy a horse hair brush and don't try to compare it to badger or boar - just accept it for what it is. I have a Vielong 50/50 (mane/tail). It is not scritchy at all. I want to next try a Vielong 35/65 - it's suppose to be more firm.

A little advice:

1. Do not mash the brush. Try to use the ends/tips without pressing too hard.
2. Gently wrap your fingers around the knot to provide support when you hold it under the faucet (with the hairs pointing up) to rinse it.
3. Be patient as you build your lather. You might even want to use a cream for quicker results the first few times you use the brush.

Good luck - great stuff!

 

[SilverBlue16]

Horse hairs are usually cheap, so you can give them a try without breaking the bank. That said, I think I’ve used my Vie Long 7 times since I bought it a couple of years ago. It’s good to have in a larger collection but it’s not my cup of tea.

 

[ShaverAZ]

I have primarily synthetics with a few Badger & Boar. Grandpa's 100 year old Ever Ready Boar still works fine, but I thought it time to get a new one, so now I have a Semogue 1305 & I love it.
I read about horsehair brushes and have a Cremo Vie-Long. I saw a Vie-Long 'American' Handle - a long handle that I just had to have. Horse is a lot softer than boar or synthetic, but whips up a quality lather - it's well worth having.

 

[BigD]

Zenith E2, great shave.

 

[Brutus]

If you have only used synthetic brushes so far, I would stay away from horse hair brushes, as they have significantly more issues than brushes that use other common natural fibres.

If you do some research, you will find that horse hair brushes are noticeably more prone to shedding and hair loss than boar or badger.
Someone will probably chirp in that his horse hair brush doesn’t loose hair, but I am not interested in exceptions, I am interested in how items generally perform and there is overwhelming evidence that horse hair brushes have issues.

If you want to try something different from synthetic brushes, I would rather buy a badger or even a boar brush - which can give very nice shaves once they have been broken in.


B.

 

[alla2465]

How about getting a decent badger brush.

 

[bluesparkuk]

If you have only used synthetic brushes so far, I would stay away from horse hair brushes, as they have significantly more issues than brushes that use other common natural fibres.

If you do some research, you will find that horse hair brushes are noticeably more prone to shedding and hair loss than boar or badger.
Someone will probably chirp in that his horse hair brush doesn’t loose hair, but I am not interested in exceptions, I am interested in how items generally perform and there is overwhelming evidence that horse hair brushes have issues.

If you want to try something different from synthetic brushes, I would rather buy a badger or even a boar brush - which can give very nice shaves once they have been broken in.


B.

i have actually(since posting) ordered an Omega boar brush, i'll eventually buy a badger and a horse too

 

[Clay S]

i have actually(since posting) ordered an Omega boar brush, i'll eventually buy a badger and a horse too

Sounds like a good plan.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

If you have only used synthetic brushes so far, I would stay away from horse hair brushes, as they have significantly more issues than brushes that use other common natural fibres.

If you do some research, you will find that horse hair brushes are noticeably more prone to shedding and hair loss than boar or badger.
Someone will probably chirp in that his horse hair brush doesn’t loose hair, but I am not interested in exceptions, I am interested in how items generally perform and there is overwhelming evidence that horse hair brushes have issues.

If you want to try something different from synthetic brushes, I would rather buy a badger or even a boar brush - which can give very nice shaves once they have been broken in.


B.

I’m a huge boar knot fan. But my recently acquired horse from zenith is holding true to the quality noted in the threads specifically about the zenith horse hair brushes. I’m happy with it this far. At this point I’m using and abusing to see if I can get the bad characteristics of horse to appear, but so far I’m not experiencing any.

Outside of the initial cleaning, when a couple loose hairs came out of the knot, it doesn’t appear to be shedding. Now, I do believe there are individual hairs in it that were damaged or weak, and those have broken off rinse away. But I haven’t had that occur in the last 3 uses.

Based on the other reviews and comments on horse hair brushes, I would not spend a dime on any other brands because I see both good and bad remarks, but onlu good about Zenith. Vie Long is one that is mostly good but folks note the maintenance required and the stink that lasts when new. I also like boar so well that I now know the face feel of horse isn’t that similar so I won’t be looking to add another horse to the stable.

My experience with zenith brushes so far has at least led me to the point where I would recommend a zenith brush in any material to someone interested in trying something new, whether it be horse, badger, or boar. I just think they are one of the safest bets in quality vs cost when trying/exploring natural hair brushes.