My First Boar - Proraso Pro

[rbscebu]

@rbscebu after reading this thread I really want a boar, just curious what made you go for the proraso omega brush specifically instead of any other omega brushes?

From what I had read on B&B, I wanted to try a boar brush. This brush was within my limited budget and was available in Australia on eBay. It also had favourable mention on B&B.

 

[Ravenonrock]

Boars are great! They do a lot of things all at once…while providing exceptional value.

 

[rbscebu]

Boars are great! They do a lot of things all at once…while providing exceptional value.

So far I concur. It will be interesting to find out how it compares to my Chinese synthetic over the next few weeks. I will be using the boar daily M-F and the synthetic on weekends.

 

[Ravenonrock]

So far I concur. It will be interesting to find out how it compares to my Chinese synthetic over the next few weeks. I will be using the boar daily M-F and the synthetic on weekends.

Sounds like you have a good break in routine going and regular use is ideal. That being said I have a few shorter lofted boars that are just taking their time to get really comfortable. Hope your boar works out well!

 

[Felixthecat]

So just to clarify the proraso pro is the same omega as the omega 83?

There might be a slight difference in the loft, but I think they are really close.

 

[saj]

There might be a slight difference in the loft, but I think they are really close.

any idea which one is slightly bigger?

 

[rbscebu]

My Proraso Pro boar brush as received:

​

Knot diameter = 28mm
Loft = 57mm
Height overall = 120.5mm
Handle diameter near base = 42mm
Handle diameter at waist = 36.5mm
Mass = 76g

After 7 three-pass shaves with this brush plus my breaking-in routine previously mentioned, the brush now looks like this:

​

So far, this brush has lost four hairs.

 

[Crisp Rat]

I've had my Proraso Pro since Christmas. I just broke it in with regular use, and it has become quite luxurious.

 

[steveclarkus]

First some background. For decades I wet shaved about thrice a week with Badger brushes and carts, always face lathering with a cream soap. Soon after I switched to SR shaving in December 2019, I tried some synthetic brushes and fell in love with them. I am now down to one badger and two synthetics with my $2 Chinese synthetic being my favourite.

Yesterday just before lunch I received my first ever boar brush, a Proraso Pro made by Omega. Being impatient, 5 hours after my morning shave, I decided to see what this boar felt like.

Out of the box and into warm water for a 5-minute soak. I then gave the brush one gentle vertical "shake" before appling some Palmolive Regular cream to the middle of the brush. After massaging the cream into the bristles, I commenced to face lather.

The brush was not a prickly on my face as I thought it would be but it was still noticeably prickly. Still, with the backbone, it lathered well. I was surprised at how well it lathered.

Yesterday afternoon I placed the brush in cold water and left it to soak overnight. First thing this morning, I took the brush from its cold water soak, shook it as dry as I could and then dried the tips on a scratchy towel. The brush was then left to air dry while I cooked and eat my breakfast.

Now it was time for my first shave with the Proraso Pro. I soaked the brush in warm water while I prepared my face (thorough wash and rinse), for about 5 minutes. As I am shaving with tallow Tabac this week, I applied the soap to my whiskered face. Taking the brush from its warm soak, I gave it a couple of gentle vertical shakes and commenced to face lather.

The brush felt softer that yesterday's test lather and the lather built up well. First pass was WTG. I then went to relather straight from the brush - as I normally do. What a surprise. They was lather on the outside of the brush but none left inside to apply for the second pass!

I rinsed off and reapplied some more Tabac to my face before building another lather for my second pass. All worked well. This brush must eat lather for breakfast. For the third pass, I was able to use the residual lather in the brush without having to apply more Tabac.

After the shave, I rinsed the brush and put it aside in cold water to soak. This evening I will again dry the brush tips on a scratchy towel before returning it to its cold-water soak. I am trying to get the best of both worlds, accelerating the bristle tip splitting and feeling how the brush-feel changes during break-in.

Tomorrow morning will be another shave, face-latheting with tallow Tabac and the Proraso Pro.

The bristle ends will split over time and the brush will be incredibly soft.

 

[J-MN]

Just added a Proraso Pro to an order I was placing, so will be interested to see how it stacks up over time against the others in my growing Boar collection.

 

[NorthernSoul]

any idea which one is slightly bigger?

The Omega 83 has a few millimeters taller loft compared to the Proraso boar brush. The Proraso brush is a nice one for face lathering.

 

[couch_potato]

@rbscebu no need to rush with breaking in brush. Enjoy the scratchiness while it last because sooner than you'll notice it will become super soft. The best thing I like in boar brushes is - the more it breaks, the softer and wider loft becomes, ending up being a fluffy cushion. I have Semogue 2000 it still eats some lather if not soaked prior to shave for ~5mins, just use cold tap water, too hot water will expand the knot and destroy brush

 

[rbscebu]

@rbscebu no need to rush with breaking in brush. Enjoy the scratchiness while it last because sooner than you'll notice it will become super soft. The best thing I like in boar brushes is - the more it breaks, the softer and wider loft becomes, ending up being a fluffy cushion. I have Semogue 2000 it still eats some lather if not soaked prior to shave for ~5mins, just use cold tap water, too hot water will expand the knot and destroy brush

I have been using warm water for a pre-soak of about 3 to 4 minutes before use. I will try cool water tomorrow.

 

[Tomo]

Nothing wrong with a boar brush. I really enjoy my Semogue Owners Club. The only break in I did was a test lather. After that I just used it normally. Great brush.

 

[ChriWilson]

The only thing better than a well broken in boar is a well broken in Mistura

That being said - I love rotating in my Pro49, Connaught Jade, and Zenith B34; perhaps it's time to expand with an SOC Boar soon

 

[Balin]

My Proraso Pro boar brush as received:

View attachment 1486618

View attachment 1486617
​

Knot diameter = 28mm
Loft = 57mm
Height overall = 120.5mm
Handle diameter near base = 42mm
Handle diameter at waist = 36.5mm
Mass = 76g

After 7 three-pass shaves with this brush plus my breaking-in routine previously mentioned, the brush now looks like this:

View attachment 1486616

View attachment 1486615
​

So far, this brush has lost four hairs.

Its coming along nicely!!!

 

[RayClem]

Boar brushes are interesting. Most of them are made either by Omega or by Semogue. Some guys like Omega and dislike Semogue. Others are the opposite. I must say that I much prefer Omega.

When new, Omega brushes can be rather rough, but once broken in, they can be as plush as a silvertip badger. Because I have sensitive skin, I decided I would try a quick break in method with my Omega 10098 Professional. It cost under $15 so I figured I could afford to lose the brush if my method failed.

I brought a pot of water to a boil, removed it from the heat and allowed it to cool slightly. Then I dipped the tips of the brush into the hot water for just a few seconds and pulled it back out so the hot water could evaporate. I kept doing that over and over until I started to see the very tips of the bristles begin to split. Since only the tips were treated in this manner, the main body of the brush retains its original backbone. The brush is now as soft as brushes costing 10x as much.

I have a couple of Semogue brushes. I tried the same hot water dip on them, but it did not have the same effect. The Semogue boar bristles are processed differently to the Omega brushes and the bristles do not respond in the same way.

 

[Phoenixkh]

There may be a slight problem with your cunning plan. Boar bristles mostly split during the drying phase. Meaning you should ideally let the brush dry out completely between lathers to get through the break-in as quickly as you can. A 24-hour cycle might not be enough time for everything to dry thoroughly, so you might want to go with an alternating day schedule.

My larger Omega boars took about 30-40 lather cycles before they stopped eating lather. Eating lather is harmless enough, except for burning through the soap a lot faster. They continued to improve gradually with use past that point. BTW, my favorite Omega is the Jade premium model sold by Connaught in the UK, but the inexpensive beehive 10081 and 80080 are also great brushes in a medium size. The 11137 is another good one. The 24mm/55mm knot size is a real sweet spot for Omega.

I put my small boar collection on a window sill to enjoy drying in the afternoon sun... they are splitting nicely.. wet/dry cycles work.

 

[Phoenixkh]

My boars are arranged favorites to least favorites, so far... left to right.

Though, truth be told... the two Zenith brushes.. the far left and one over... out shine the other ones.... the Zenith B33 and the Malachite Zenith are the best by far... more dense with softer tips... the little Zenith on the far right might end up being a favorite when it is fully broken-in.

I do have a Zenith unbleached brush on the way.... it's been lost for 20 days.. but seems to be in the system now.. if I'm lucky, it might even make it to the States sometime. <eg>

 

[J-MN]

My boars are arranged favorites to least favorites, so far... left to right.

View attachment 1486980

Though, truth be told... the two Zenith brushes.. the far left and one over... out shine the other ones.... the Zenith B33 and the Malachite Zenith are the best by far... more dense with softer tips... the little Zenith on the far right might end up being a favorite when it is fully broken-in.

I do have a Zenith unbleached brush on the way.... it's been lost for 20 days.. but seems to be in the system now.. if I'm lucky, it might even make it to the States sometime. <eg>

You may eventually end up liking the little Zenith on the far right. I have that same brush and it took a lot more wet/dry cycles than any of my other Boars before I starting liking it. Now it just might be my second favorite after the Omega Jade.

Off topic, but nice table and CD player.