Omega Boar Brush - No lather

[aquashankar]

I'm asking this question after a month of trying hard to get lather out of my 1 year old Omega boar brush. When I purchased it, it was great. Nice lather, lots of it and really creamy with a Tabac soap and a Taylor's cream.

With time, the lathering ability decreased and from a month ago, i need to use double the amount of soap/cream and after all that whisking, I get just enough lather for one pass. The brush looks fine and is still in wonderful shape. It seems to soak water just as well but hardly generates any lather.

Last week I cleaned the brush with dish wash detergent, with shampoo and a diluted vinegar solution. The brush again looked like new and feels soft but still no lather. After whisking for a while with a Tabac shaving soap, some lather got generated and with further whisking, it completely vanished into the brush.

The brush doesn't work well even with the Taylor's cream. My tweezerman on the other hand generates a fantastic amount of lather with just a little cream. So its not the cream or the soap at fault.

Please advise because I don't think the brush is at the end of its life in just a year.

 

[scottish steve]

I find this very strange and can offer no real explanation other than the dishwasher detergent has fundamentally affected the keratin of the bristle. I suspect it is now ultra-absorbent and just sucking up anything you throw at it. You have my sympathy. I know I feel very dodgy about putting anything on my brushes

 

[arcman]

Are you quite sure something hasn't changed in regards to your water, having to do with the hardness/softness of it?

AFAIK the performance of a brush in regards to lathering shouldn't vary that much over time... The brush really only does one thing in regards to making lather, and that's agitate the soap and mix it into warm water with a degree of aeration.

 

[Ignatius]

Has the brush lost a lot of bristle?

 

[jkh]

I have recently been researching boar brushes, so I am by no means an expert. From what I understand boar bristles are very absorbent, so perhaps the dish soap/shampoo/vinegar still might be in the bristle and could be affecting your lather. You might try several warm/hot water soak sessions (rinsing the bristle if you will). Worth a shot.

 

[mmack66]

are you quite sure something hasn't changed in regards to your water, having to do with the hardness/softness of it?

Afaik the performance of a brush in regards to lathering shouldn't vary that much over time... The brush really only does one thing in regards to making lather, and that's agitate the soap and mix it into warm water with a degree of aeration.

+1

 

[aquashankar]

thank you for all your answers.

steve: I don't think the detergent has affected the brush much. Its not a dishwasher detergent but the normal hand detergent (Pril) used for dishwashing. Most posts talk about using it first to clean the brush. In any case, the brush looks and feels normal just like new.

arcman: I thought about the water hardness too and if anything, we're getting softer water now from a different source. So the lathering should be better and it is with the badger brush and even with the nylon brush. So the omega should ideally be whisking up a cake icing. Instead its making it disappear.

Ignatius: The brush has lost 3 hairs till now. It looks fine.

jhk: This is the only thing I'm still doing. I'm soaking it in warm water for 5 min or so, rinsing and again soaking. Hope it works

The reason I'm trying to fix this is because we don't get natural hair brushes in India. I have to wait for a friend to bring it from the US. I got this Omega at a Customs/Excise shop and it was the only piece gathering dust because no one buys a boar brush here.

Much appreciate the advice.

 

[ari95]

To me it sounds like there is not enough water getting to the soap to create lather. Imagine trying to lather with a dry brush. As to why, I have no clue. The brush can only soak up so much water, I usually have to shake mine out abit before use.

 

[talibeard]

I just don't get it; my boars are only getting better with time and after one year they are still on their way up and certainly not at the end of their life at all.
So, I don't have a clue but you got my attention.

 

[rbaloha]

Recently started using the Omega 49 professional boar with cella. The water used is soft.

Granted Cella is finicky but lather disappears on the brush. Requires continual water and lathering. Slightly annoying. Still worth it as the shave is close and smooth.

 

[beyboo]

thank you for all your answers.

steve: I don't think the detergent has affected the brush much. Its not a dishwasher detergent but the normal hand detergent (Pril) used for dishwashing. Most posts talk about using it first to clean the brush. In any case, the brush looks and feels normal just like new.

arcman: I thought about the water hardness too and if anything, we're getting softer water now from a different source. So the lathering should be better and it is with the badger brush and even with the nylon brush. So the omega should ideally be whisking up a cake icing. Instead its making it disappear.

Ignatius: The brush has lost 3 hairs till now. It looks fine.

jhk: This is the only thing I'm still doing. I'm soaking it in warm water for 5 min or so, rinsing and again soaking. Hope it works

The reason I'm trying to fix this is because we don't get natural hair brushes in India. I have to wait for a friend to bring it from the US. I got this Omega at a Customs/Excise shop and it was the only piece gathering dust because no one buys a boar brush here.

Much appreciate the advice.

Wot country or world are you in ?

Let me know and will send you as many Omega boars which just picked up off the shelf real fast from here in Mumbai.

You can get in touch with some real cool online vendors who will send you brushes and stuff to India. I have a Semogue 730, Derby's. Merkur 34C and a 37G slant from a vendor in the US.

Go out - get a puck of Godrej Shaving round and lather it with all you got and let me know

 

[vitaman]

My Omega Boar does the same thing w/ Wars cream, all of my other soaps/creams lather fine....weird

 

[beyboo]

Well I have around 4 omega boars - some well broken in and some a couple of shaves old. They all do an excellent jobs with both soap and cream. Just love them enough that I now use the Semogue 730 only on weekends. I love the soft yet firm feel of the bristles throwing out really rich lather on my face as I aggressively scrub it.

I even have a local made in India boar from a company called GIO, which is very rare here, and even that while nowhere as good as Omega does a great job with the Godrej Shave Round available in India.