I want to share this email from Simpsons after reading about other shaver's experiences with their brushes shedding. I picked up a Simpsons Commodore X2 best badger used two months ago. The previous owner had it for a year and never had it in his regular rotation. After a couple shaves with it the shedding started. First a few hairs then 5-7 per shave then 15+ a couple times. After that I sent them an email on Monday about the issue and received a response the same day.
After reading the email I cleaned the brush with a little shampoo and started lightly brushing it on a towel after each use. The advice they gave me helped reduce the shedding, but it still loses 5-7 hairs each use. I don't regret purchasing the brush since I got a good deal on it and will continue to use it on a regular basis. After 40+ uses and 100+ loose hairs the knot still looks full. Anyways here's the email and a pic of the brush after cleaning.
Dear Sir,
Many thanks for your email, much appreciated.
I'm sorry to hear that you appear to be encountering some issues with your Simpson Commodore X2 Best Badger shaving brush. Many of our hand-made Vulfix & Simpson brushes contain in excess of 20,000 No. individual hair strands within their knots. Knots of this size & density by their very nature contain many loose, short or stray hairs that haven't been picked up in the glue setting process, these will naturally work their way out during the first few months of shaving. Fortunately, in 99.9% of cases this initial shedding abates and stops all together.
It is highly unusual for a brush to start dropping a substantial amount of hairs after many weeks or months of use. Various factors can determine if a brush starts to shed however the water can be too hot, the brush has failed to be cleaned or rinsed thoroughly (soap or cream residue build-up in the base of the knot), the brush has not dried sufficiently between shaves, mildew has started to build owing to the storage environment, excessive force, amongst many others. We are able to assess what might have happened on closer examination.
There are a few steps that can be taken to alleviate the problem & hopefully have your brush performing & functioning as it should within a couple of weeks:
Use a normal hair shampoo product and give the knot a gentle lather before rinsing our all residue in warm clean water.
To ensure the residue is fully removed, gently squeeze the base of the knot and any remaining soap with find its way to the tips. Once you are entirely satisfied that the brush is soap free give it a quick shake by hand and lightly stroke on a soft towel to ensure you have got rid of any excess moisture. The brush should then be left in a well vented area, preferably near to an open window to enable a natural airflow through the knot aiding the drying process.
When the knot is completely dry take a gentleman's hair comb and gently comb through the knot to remove any loose, short or stray hairs that may be evident. This process should be repeated over the course of a fortnight, perhaps four or five times. Sometimes when dealing with such a precision, hand-made product, a little patience and perseverance is needed.
This should resolve the issue once and for all, however Simpson or your vendor (who should always be contacted in the first instance) will be happy to assist in replacing the brush should the problem persist. The brush must be less than 12 months old, you should be the original owner / purchaser and a copy of the original transaction receipt included when returned to us in order for Simpson Shaving Brushes to consider a free of charge replacement.
I hope the advice given above goes some way to easing your concerns?
After reading the email I cleaned the brush with a little shampoo and started lightly brushing it on a towel after each use. The advice they gave me helped reduce the shedding, but it still loses 5-7 hairs each use. I don't regret purchasing the brush since I got a good deal on it and will continue to use it on a regular basis. After 40+ uses and 100+ loose hairs the knot still looks full. Anyways here's the email and a pic of the brush after cleaning.
Dear Sir,
Many thanks for your email, much appreciated.
I'm sorry to hear that you appear to be encountering some issues with your Simpson Commodore X2 Best Badger shaving brush. Many of our hand-made Vulfix & Simpson brushes contain in excess of 20,000 No. individual hair strands within their knots. Knots of this size & density by their very nature contain many loose, short or stray hairs that haven't been picked up in the glue setting process, these will naturally work their way out during the first few months of shaving. Fortunately, in 99.9% of cases this initial shedding abates and stops all together.
It is highly unusual for a brush to start dropping a substantial amount of hairs after many weeks or months of use. Various factors can determine if a brush starts to shed however the water can be too hot, the brush has failed to be cleaned or rinsed thoroughly (soap or cream residue build-up in the base of the knot), the brush has not dried sufficiently between shaves, mildew has started to build owing to the storage environment, excessive force, amongst many others. We are able to assess what might have happened on closer examination.
There are a few steps that can be taken to alleviate the problem & hopefully have your brush performing & functioning as it should within a couple of weeks:
Use a normal hair shampoo product and give the knot a gentle lather before rinsing our all residue in warm clean water.
To ensure the residue is fully removed, gently squeeze the base of the knot and any remaining soap with find its way to the tips. Once you are entirely satisfied that the brush is soap free give it a quick shake by hand and lightly stroke on a soft towel to ensure you have got rid of any excess moisture. The brush should then be left in a well vented area, preferably near to an open window to enable a natural airflow through the knot aiding the drying process.
When the knot is completely dry take a gentleman's hair comb and gently comb through the knot to remove any loose, short or stray hairs that may be evident. This process should be repeated over the course of a fortnight, perhaps four or five times. Sometimes when dealing with such a precision, hand-made product, a little patience and perseverance is needed.
This should resolve the issue once and for all, however Simpson or your vendor (who should always be contacted in the first instance) will be happy to assist in replacing the brush should the problem persist. The brush must be less than 12 months old, you should be the original owner / purchaser and a copy of the original transaction receipt included when returned to us in order for Simpson Shaving Brushes to consider a free of charge replacement.
I hope the advice given above goes some way to easing your concerns?
