Most brushes do not push the lather properly into my beard, anyone else have this issue?

[Xonic]

Morning folks. As some of you know, I have a ridiculous thick heavy beard. This is especially problematic with a daily shave, as it clings to my face like sandpaper. it's like removing all the sand and leaving a totally smooth flawless bit of paper behind. Hard to do.
I ordered a semogue boar a couple of months ago. I ordered the wrong one by mistake and it has a fairly short loft, I think 50MM and a 24MM knot. shorter than the one I meant to get which has a 55 MM loft, same diameter of knot.

What I discovered, is that the shorter loft with more backbone really pushes the lather deep into my beard and it comes off a treat. When I finally got around to ordering the slightly longer lofted brush, it's.. ok, but not as effective.
the shorter one is the Torga and the longer is the owners club by the way.

I feel like most brushes simply paint the lather on to my beard, so the razor shaves off the lather then scrapes away at the beard. When the lather is brushed right in with stiffer brissles, the razor takes both off at the same time.

Anyone else have this experience or am I going mad? well... more mad than usual?

Ed.

 

[luvmysuper]

I think if it works well for you then that's all that matters really.
A lot of folks search for their "best" product, so finding it early and easily is a bonus.
Perception is truth in many cases, so whether or not anyone agrees with the science behind the decision is kind of moot as long as you're happy with it!

 

[shupey]

I find the same issue when I use any type of badger brush. They are just to floppy and I don't enjoy using them. I stick to boars and synthetic brushes. They always seem to have a much stiffer backbone and work much better for me. And they are usually much cheaper so that is a bonus.

 

[Xonic]

I find the same issue when I use any type of badger brush. They are just to floppy and I don't enjoy using them. I stick to boars and synthetic brushes. They always seem to have a much stiffer backbone and work much better for me. And they are usually much cheaper so that is a bonus

Hahhaa. I agree re boar being cheaper but I have spent silly money on synthetics and although they're soft and generate huge huge amounts of lather, they don't put it up against my skin. My face just ends up looking like a really nice cream cake or something. Nope, short hog all the way for me. Cheaper, bit smellier but you can get rid of that, much more scrubby scrub which I like apparently. Another interesting thing to try is bulldog shaving gel. A tiny bit of it, don't use a brush to get it on just fingers, but it is very thin so gets in very close and provides a lot of slickness, at least for me.

 

[thombrogan]

At least one person from this forum; @rudyt ; has mentioned he runs his boar brushes under running water for 30 seconds and then uses them to lather so they maintain as much backbone as possible. Maybe that will help your Torga work even better? Or it could make it too rough.

 

[BigJ]

First, I agree with the concept that the issue is to determine what works best for you.

My question would be how much have you used your new boar brush? It takes awhile for the bristles to split and performance to peak. In other words, be sure that your new brush is well broken in before you draw conclusions.

 

[Xonic]

First, I agree with the concept that the issue is to determine what works best for you.

My question would be how much have you used your new boar brush? It takes awhile for the bristles to split and performance to peak. In other words, be sure that your new brush is well broken in before you draw conclusions..

Yeah I had wondered about that exact thing. Only thing I'd say is that the newer one felt softer right out of the box than the older Torga. they're made by the same company, both brand new. Not sure if by splitting it's going to get even softer or quite how it works. I'm not giving up on the newer one, I just find it interesting 5MM makes a big difference apparently.

 

[Hu3ir0 Hu3Hu3]

have you tried Semogue 620?

 

[dmshaver]

I personally enjoy the Torga more than the Semogue Owners Club because of the shorter loft. As you want to experiment with other short lofted boars, I suggest giving Zenith a look. Enjoy your shaves!

 

[Xonic]

have you tried Semogue 620? Nope sorry not tried that one. it looks narrow in terms of knot diameter

 

[Invicta]

I feel like most brushes simply paint the lather on to my beard, so the razor shaves off the lather then scrapes away at the beard. When the lather is brushed right in with stiffer brissles, the razor takes both off at the same time.

I am wondering if your lather is too dry and you may have better results with a wetter lather; it is worth experimenting.
Shorter lofts will have more backbone so your point is valid.
With boar brushes the tips split as they break in and soften but the backbone will still be there.

 

[Possum092]

Try hand lathering for the win.

 

[Cannon Cocker]

Do you bowl or face lather?

 

[Rumblebuffin]

I've been beat to the punch, but as someone who's experienced the "lather on top" issue before, I discovered that face lathering resolved all issues. Real face lathering. As in, rub that Arko all over until you see your stubble retaining it, then lather it up with a wet brush.
With the lather made there, you can be confident it will reach all the way through.

 

[Ron R]

Morning folks. As some of you know, I have a ridiculous thick heavy beard. This is especially problematic with a daily shave, as it clings to my face like sandpaper. it's like removing all the sand and leaving a totally smooth flawless bit of paper behind. Hard to do.
I ordered a semogue boar a couple of months ago. I ordered the wrong one by mistake and it has a fairly short loft, I think 50MM and a 24MM knot. shorter than the one I meant to get which has a 55 MM loft, same diameter of knot.

What I discovered, is that the shorter loft with more backbone really pushes the lather deep into my beard and it comes off a treat. When I finally got around to ordering the slightly longer lofted brush, it's.. ok, but not as effective.
the shorter one is the Torga and the longer is the owners club by the way.

I feel like most brushes simply paint the lather on to my beard, so the razor shaves off the lather then scrapes away at the beard. When the lather is brushed right in with stiffer brissles, the razor takes both off at the same time.

Anyone else have this experience or am I going mad? well... more mad than usual?

Ed.

I'm glade you found your favorite scrubber brush.
I bought this Yaqi "Ever Helpful" 22 mm dense 2 band badger by lucky accident thinking it would be ideal for not being to large and not a lather hog. I have also another Yaqi 22mm "Sagrada Familia" 2 band badger + also more 24mm knots in 2 band badgers that are great to lather the face with but this little jewel Yaqi "Ever helpful" is designed IMO for those who enjoy scrubbing the beard. This has a smaller shorter smaller loft but still retains the soft tips and it just wonderful for the scrub part of lathering the face IMO. A 2 band badger(AKA Finest) is wonderful for a nice scrub with pillow soft tips and will still paint lather nicely when recommended normal knot is set to depth for a 2 band badger by manufactures recommendation.
When you get a lower set depth loft knot in a shave brush you give up another characteristic of the brush and that is the painting of lather or splaying easier regardless of what brush fiber be it natural hair or synthetic(Just simple physics)!

Have some great shaves!