Omega Boar Questions

[Pioneer]

Hi. In your experiences, do these things stink right out of the box or is it really only when you first get them wet? Or do some not stink at all? Also, what's your preferred method for "breaking" one in (& thus getting out any possible aforementioned stank)?

 

[Bestarrkin]

Hi.

So many brushes (genuine boar & badger hair) have their own smells. If you want to get rid of that smell, you should choose your best scented soap or cream and lather the brush up. You should leave the brush with lather a day or night. For breaking the brush in you should do face or palm lathering and repeat "leave it lather" procedure until it smells good. I hope it will help.

 

[ink]

I have an Omega Pro 49 and I can't remember it smelling at all. I was expecting it to stink the first few times and it didn't. Maybe I got lucky.

 

[Fortitudo Dei]

I found mine (Omega 48) a bit stinky the first time I got it wet. It wasn't too great but I wouldn’t call it offensive. After about two weeks the smell had almost completely gone and the bristles were fully broken-in a couple of weeks after that. It's my favourite brush which I put ahead of my badgers and is fantastic value for money.

 

[DFrancis]

long soaks in boiled water along with a few rounds of cleaning with borax will help. The best thing is use, pick up a cheap soap or cream and just keep making lather over and over, it will also give you a feel for the brush.

 

[mmack66]

Just use it. The smell will cease to be noticeable in short order.

They usually stink when they get wet.

 

[pelicano]

I've had my Omega Pro for over a month now, lathered, soaked, did everything to get rid of the wet pig smell, but it's still there.

I like the brush anyway.

 

[danparker77]

My boars had a "smell" to them right out of the box, that almost turned into an "oh my god what is that" when it first got wet. Either just keep using it daily or try this.

 

[talibeard]

They come in a stinky and non-stinky variety. It will go away in a week or so of use. A soap like Arko will help a lot. Not that it goes away faster but the Arko scent is strong enough to take some of your attention away from the brush.

Breaking in; just use it. It will not perform very well the first couple of times and you could lather it up without using it for shaving. Omega's are usable pretty fast; 10-15 uses will make a huge difference.

 

[Mink]

On some new boar brushes, the first few batches of lather will even be a little off-color. I think they put some kind of preservative, anti-bacterial stuff on them because they could be in storage a long time. Once you start making normal colored batches of lather let it dry out completely between batches, but keep making them until the smell goes away - every other day or so. I've never noticed the smell lingering for more than 2-3 weeks. I also think it's worse for natural blond brushes than for the sketched brushes, but I think in the long run the natural brushes break into a nicer brush.

 

[rockviper]

My boars had a "smell" to them right out of the box, that almost turned into an "oh my god what is that" when it first got wet. Either just keep using it daily or try this.

+1 The "get the funk out" link is a real winner!

 

[rsaltonstall]

I have had brushes with no odor out of the box and others that had unbelievable stenches when wet that lasted for weeks. The boars have stronger smells that really kick in when wet; the stench dissipates after a couple weeks of everyday use and a few test lathers with very fragrant soaps.