I soak before my shave, after my shave I give it a short soak and rinse then rub on a towel. That’s all
How Are You Cleaning Your Brush?
- Thread starter ChainsawShaver
- Start date
The purpose of cleaning your shaving brush is not because it is dirty but to eliminate any soap scum or scale that may attach to the bristles. If you have soft water and do a good job of rinsing the soap out of your brush, the cleaning process should be rarely needed. However, if you see white deposits by the knot or you find your brush is not performing the way it should, cleaning the brush may help its performance.
Periodically, I use the vinegar rinse to eliminate any soap from the brush. I put in a bowl or large cup one ounce of vinegar and about 8 ounces of water. I then pump the brush up and down in the solution and that helps.
If you do want to clean your brush be sure to use a mild soap. I like to use Dawn. I wet the brush, put a tiny bit of Dawn on the bristles and gently work it around the bristles. Then I thoroughly rinse Dawn out of the brush and follow it up with the vinegar rinse.
Periodically, I use the vinegar rinse to eliminate any soap from the brush. I put in a bowl or large cup one ounce of vinegar and about 8 ounces of water. I then pump the brush up and down in the solution and that helps.
If you do want to clean your brush be sure to use a mild soap. I like to use Dawn. I wet the brush, put a tiny bit of Dawn on the bristles and gently work it around the bristles. Then I thoroughly rinse Dawn out of the brush and follow it up with the vinegar rinse.
I normally don't clean my brushes. I rinse them in the sink with fresh water and I do this as I use the brush to clean the sink and then give the brush I final rinse after cleaning the sink. I do wash out a second hand brush with dish washing detergent and sometimes hair shampoo. Otherwise I just soap is up with shaving soap. I use cheap brushes so it does not bother me too greatly. If I had an expensive brush I would take more care of it but I cannot see me paying huge amounts of money for one brush.
After rinsing the brush out, I use the brush to "clean" the scuttle. After cleaning the scuttle, I rinse the brush again, followed by shaking and drying on the towel.
- Thread starter
- #25
i agree for the build up but i respectfully disagree on the dirty part. i think vinegar helps kill germs and all the oils and dirt from air face etc that has accumulated over time on the brush.
This... Well said, Brother.
Do you use vinegar after every time you use a brush? After you wash your hands with soap, do you use vinegar or something else to kill germs? I would think the soap you use on your brush would eliminate any oils or dirt from your face. I know every time I shave I wash my face before shaving with facial soap and I would hope this would eliminate any dirt, germs, etc. from my face. Otherwise, why wash your face and instead just wet your face?
+1,
I usually rinse and dry on a towel then brush as I would my face on my forearm to remove excess moisture. Then hang it to dry. I have hard water and I don't see any circles or excess crud on my brush. Now if I shared it or used it in unmentionable places then I might consider more drastic measures, or even purchase a new brush.
By the way I usually shower before the shave, if not I wash my face thoroughly before I lather up.
- Thread starter
- #29
Im gonna start to vinegar wash my brush once a month. Build up either from soap or residue is what collects germs dust dirt and stuff we cant see etc. Alot of people worry about vinegar on a brush it hasnt hurt mine and as long as you keep your brush clean and dry it should be no problems.
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I am somewhat lazy and bought the PAA shaving brush soap. It has borax and white vinegar to clean and deodorize my brushes when they need it.
Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk
Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk
- Thread starter
- #31
sounds good!
I'm on well water. Tallow soaps (and creams when I used them) leave a residue. I have used this method with 25 brushes I have owned over 9+ years. I don't have a regular schedule but, depending on use, I do it when I notice a build-up of residue around the base of the knot. I rotate 6 brushes and don't shave every day, so once or twice a year is usually enough. I tried Borax once early on, but didn't like the feel of the brush afterwards. It seemed to make the brush too soft with less backbone.
- Thread starter
- #33
interesting view on borax
If memory serves me, Larry @ Whipped Dog sends out Borax with every natural haired brush he sells for you to do the original cleaning with... I remember the Silvertip I purchased from him had just a slight faint odor to it but after the Borax cleaning it was gone.
- Thread starter
- #35
ah nothing like the smell of a wet badger in the morning
This morning I attempted to make lather with my new tub of proraso green and I immediately got horribly dissipating lather. I was a bit confused as I knew proraso does a better job than this. I had noticed my lathers have been a little lack luster lately from my tallow & lanolin artisan soap. It finally clicked that my brush was to blame. I took some bar soap from the shower, lathered with it for a minute, rinsed and went back to the proraso. Within two minutes I had more lather than I could use in five passes and it held together.
Soaps have oils (super fats or oils excess of sanctification) and waxes (lanolin, jojoba) that are great for the skin but build up over time. I've heard people mention shampooing and even using conditioner in their brushes but this seems counter intuitive as those two items (conditioner especially) are made to strengthen hair and leave residues to do so. The idea should be to strip the brush hair clean & don't condition it so the ends will split making a softer brush. Right? If so dish detergent sounds like the best method. Please correct me if I'm missing something here. I came here looking to improve my process.
Soaps have oils (super fats or oils excess of sanctification) and waxes (lanolin, jojoba) that are great for the skin but build up over time. I've heard people mention shampooing and even using conditioner in their brushes but this seems counter intuitive as those two items (conditioner especially) are made to strengthen hair and leave residues to do so. The idea should be to strip the brush hair clean & don't condition it so the ends will split making a softer brush. Right? If so dish detergent sounds like the best method. Please correct me if I'm missing something here. I came here looking to improve my process.
There are many different types of hair conditioner designed to address specific issues. There are conditioners designed to repair hair damaged damaged by bleach, hair coloring, sun, etc. I would not want to use one of these conditioners on a brush, but conditioners designed to moisturize or increase volume can work well.
Hair conditioning is used to soften the ends of some brushes. At one time I had an elaborate way of cleaning brushes. However, now that I have over 30 brushes and use a different one every day, the need to shampoo and clean them has lessened. However, every 6 months or so - and more frequently if a brush lacks in performance - I dip the brush in a solution of white vinegar and water. This eliminates all of the oils, etc. from the shaving soaps.
After every shave, i clean the brush with dish detergent or hair shampoo+conditioner or a 50%-50% mix of aforementioned. I just build a fake lather with the dish detergent in a bowl, add water and finally rinse the brush under tap water. I have very hard water and the last thing i want is having the hard water helping soap residue to build inside the knot.
The brush is then hanged upside down and dries fully until next use (i always keep a 5 brush rotation every month).
The brush is then hanged upside down and dries fully until next use (i always keep a 5 brush rotation every month).
