What's new

How long to break-in a Boar brush?

I bought two of the same (extremely cheap) boar brushes. They each came in a gift set for around $5/6 that I bought at a bargain/discount store (the set came with 5 different items including the brush). I have only used one brush approximately 30 times over the last 2-3 months.
Does it look broken in? It was very firm and shredded quite a few hairs in the beginning, but now it’s very soft on the face and the shedding has stopped by 95%. I mainly load it with hard soaps and lather in a small bowl, after always soaking it in hot water. I do enjoy splaying it especially on the face.
Does this look broken-in? Or will it keep getting better and softer?

Left: unused Right:used
CC0FC23F-0BF3-4D64-AC7F-DB3B670089DD.jpeg

Top: unused Bottom: used
875E69E2-9339-4D7D-A1B6-340C8E6F1E71.jpeg

Thanks!
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
If it feels nice on your face and you're happy with a brush that still sheds all the time, but just a little - I'd say you're probably as broke-in as your going to get. Enjoy it until you're left with just the handle and a few hairs and then start in on the other one.
 
The one to the right looks `broken in', but as you put it yourself, it will keep getting better and softer. I have a 4 year old Proraso boar with loads of backbone, keeps getting better and softer. Keep in mind, boars are as different as badgers between themselves. You can't judge all boars from two 5$ brushes. Don't worry about the shedding, it will stop soon enough. Enjoy.
 
If it feels nice on your face and you're happy with a brush that still sheds all the time, but just a little - I'd say you're probably as broke-in as your going to get. Enjoy it until you're left with just the handle and a few hairs and then start in on the other one.
Thanks! I have an extra Van Der Hagen boar brush that is unused so I’m set for quite awhile.
 
The one to the right looks `broken in', but as you put it yourself, it will keep getting better and softer. I have a 4 year old Proraso boar with loads of backbone, keeps getting better and softer. Keep in mind, boars are as different as badgers between themselves. You can't judge all boars from two 5$ brushes. Don't worry about the shedding, it will stop soon enough. Enjoy.
Thanks that’s good to hear! I didn’t know brushes could last so long.
 
30 lathers seems about right for breaking in on average. You can tell by the proportion of bristles that have split at the end. Soaking the brush for 3-5 minutes in warm water should minimize the number of bristles shed. It is good to let the brush dry out thoroughly before using it again, so if you have more than one, you can rotate between them and they will each last longer that way.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
I have an eleven year old Omega
10048 that was fine from the first use but seems to keep on going. I bought a couple more for back up. They aren’t expensive at all and I recommend them highly and hold up well - obviously.
 
If it's softer now than when you started, it's probably broken in. I may continue to get softer and it may not. The only question that matters is do you like shaving with it?
 
30 lathers seems about right for breaking in on average. You can tell by the proportion of bristles that have split at the end. Soaking the brush for 3-5 minutes in warm water should minimize the number of bristles shed. It is good to let the brush dry out thoroughly before using it again, so if you have more than one, you can rotate between them and they will each last longer that way.
I always soak it in warm water for at least 3/5 minutes and let it dry 24-48h. I have two unused boars, I’ll have to start using them. The only downside is that it takes awhile for them to break in and get comfortable but it’s worth it if they last longer by using them in rotation. Thanks!
 
I have an eleven year old Omega
10048 that was fine from the first use but seems to keep on going. I bought a couple more for back up. They aren’t expensive at all and I recommend them highly and hold up well - obviously.
I heard Omega brushes are very efficient and cheap. I’ll have to look into buying one. Thanks for the recommendation.
 
If it's softer now than when you started, it's probably broken in. I may continue to get softer and it may not. The only question that matters is do you like shaving with it?
I love shaving with it, and more so the last couple of weeks. I used to load the brush for 20-30 seconds and face lather, now I load the brush for about a minute and bowl lather. It’s a huge difference! The brush feels nice and soft and the lathers are fantastic.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
I heard Omega brushes are very efficient and cheap. I’ll have to look into buying one. Thanks for the recommendation.
They are and very much so. I Shave daily and have used this brush at least 90% of the time. I don’t take special care of it. I don’t soak it before use and don’t dry it afterwards. Much of the time I leave it in the in the soap bowl un-rinsed. I’m not into brush rituals and it has put up with this treatment for 11 years. Can’t kill them. I have made my own “vintage” brush and it is a bit special to me. Run hard and hung up wet as they say.
 
When you’re done shaving, put a towel over your flat hand. Then “brush“ the damp brush on the towel. Maybe 8-10 medium soft, fast strokes. It will help soften and split the ends...as well as dry the brush. I’ve done it to my boar brush and the cheaper badger brushes, it works. You can even just soak the brush, shake it out and do the towel routine once and a while.
 
They are and very much so. I Shave daily and have used this brush at least 90% of the time. I don’t take special care of it. I don’t soak it before use and don’t dry it afterwards. Much of the time I leave it in the in the soap bowl un-rinsed. I’m not into brush rituals and it has put up with this treatment for 11 years. Can’t kill them. I have made my own “vintage” brush and it is a bit special to me. Run hard and hung up wet as they say.
wow that sounds like a really durable brush! Has it lost a lot of hairs over the 11 years? I went on the Omega website, and although I see the brushes and shave products, they don’t come with a price not are they for sale. I’ll try a regular shave website like Maggards.
 
When you’re done shaving, put a towel over your flat hand. Then “brush“ the damp brush on the towel. Maybe 8-10 medium soft, fast strokes. It will help soften and split the ends...as well as dry the brush. I’ve done it to my boar brush and the cheaper badger brushes, it works. You can even just soak the brush, shake it out and do the towel routine once and a while.
I used the towel technique several times in the beginning when I started using this brush. I think it definitely helped speed up the breaking in process. I got lazy and stopped doing it, but it’s very helpful to get rid of that initial firmness of boar brush. Thanks for the reminder!
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
wow that sounds like a really durable brush! Has it lost a lot of hairs over the 11 years? I went on the Omega website, and although I see the brushes and shave products, they don’t come with a price not are they for sale. I’ll try a regular shave website like Maggards.
Very few lost bristles in all those years although a wee bit shorter. I would suggest Amazon. The 10048 is $11.95 and the one with the long handle 10098 is $13.39. The 98 is the same brush in a longer handle. I have one but haven’t used it much as I feel like I’m cheating on the 48. They lose most of the bristles they are going to lose when new. Some bristles likely don’t get set.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
wow that sounds like a really durable brush! Has it lost a lot of hairs over the 11 years? I went on the Omega website, and although I see the brushes and shave products, they don’t come with a price not are they for sale. I’ll try a regular shave website like Maggards.
One other thing, when I started using creams, I bought the largest Vulfix silvertip badger thinking it would be netter than boar. As it turned out, I prefer the Omega boar. I could have bought ten Omegas for what I paid for the Vulfix.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
wow that sounds like a really durable brush! Has it lost a lot of hairs over the 11 years? I went on the Omega website, and although I see the brushes and shave products, they don’t come with a price not are they for sale. I’ll try a regular shave website like Maggards.
00E2D4BD-0B59-4026-A312-FEC016812C87.jpeg

You can see how the bristles have faded and split over time on the red one. Even though the 98 has been used very little, it is already a very comfortable brush.
 
Top Bottom