Respect the Synth

[CarlosAT]

Today, I used my new Spiffo Longwood brush with a synthetic Red Panda knot for the first time. Since it's uber-soft, I figured I'd try face lathering. I normally bowl lather, but I figured "what the heck". I've read that synths don't generally hold washer as well as natural brushes, so I was careful not to take out too much of the water.

Big mistake. I had watery, not quite lather flying all over the place! It was in the sink, on the mirror and dripping all over my chest. For those that say that synthetics don't hold water that well, respect the synth!

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[dmshaver]

Good post, thank you for sharing. I have, & enjoy several synthetic brushes & most retain water just fine.

 

[muzichead]

Today, I used my new Spiffo Longwood brush with a synthetic Red Panda knot for the first time. Since it's uber-soft, I figured I'd try face lathering. I normally bowl lather, but I figured "what the heck". I've read that synths don't generally hold washer as well as natural brushes, so I was careful not to take out too much of the water.

Big mistake. I had watery, not quite lather flying all over the place! It was in the sink, on the mirror and dripping all over my chest. For those that say that synthetics don't hold water that well, respect the synth!

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Red Panda knot? I've been using synthetics exclusively for over 2yrs now and switched to face lathering about 1/3 of that time and learned that it takes damp tips to start building lather on your face and add water sparingly as you are building it is the best policy... Synthetics don't "hold" water as much as they "trap" the water between the fibers and if those fibers are manipulated in any way it will release it and at a rapid rate!! Keep at it and you will get the hang of it...

 

[CarlosAT]

Red Panda knot? I've been using synthetics exclusively for over 2yrs now and switched to face lathering about 1/3 of that time and learned that it takes damp tips to start building lather on your face and add water sparingly as you are building it is the best policy... Synthetics don't "hold" water as much as they "trap" the water between the fibers and if those fibers are manipulated in any way it will release it and at a rapid rate!! Keep at it and you will get the hang of it...

Good distinction. Thanks.

Spiffo called it a Red Panda knot. If you ask me, it's a fancy name for a motherlode knot.

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[muzichead]

Spiffo called it a Red Panda knot. If you ask me, it's a fancy name for a motherlode knot.

Got it!! That knot originated as a make up brush knot, (much smaller), that someone decided to make into a shave brush knot... Reviews on it haven't been very favorable as it was just very floppy. Envy Shave was the 1st vendor to sell the knot here stateside but it didn't go well and was discontinued shortly after.

 

[CarlosAT]

Got it!! That knot originated as a make up brush knot, (much smaller), that someone decided to make into a shave brush knot... Reviews on it haven't been very favorable as it was just very floppy. Envy Shave was the 1st vendor to sell the knot here stateside but it didn't go well and was discontinued shortly after.

It is definitely floppy. It feels really nice to the touch though, especially when face lathering with it. It's a beauty, but I have to admit that it will have limited utility. I'll have to see how it compares over time.

-- Carlos


"If you don't mind smelling like peanut butter for two or three days, peanut butter is darn good shaving cream." - - Barry Goldwater

 

[nav]

My extensive experience with synthetics taught me that synthetics hold plenty of water but they also dump it out in an instant whereas natural brushes release the water a bit more gradually.

 

[Timeclo]

Synthetics hold water quickly. I tried soaking synthetics just like natural hairs and they had too much water dripping out throughout the shave. Now, I just quickly rinse the synthetic under water before the shave.

 

[CarlosAT]

My extensive experience with synthetics taught me that synthetics hold plenty of water but they also dump it out in an instant whereas natural brushes release the water a bit more gradually.

That's pretty much what happened to me this morning. I started thinking that I had pretty good lather, but once I splayed the brush, the dam broke!

Synthetics hold water quickly. I tried soaking synthetics just like natural hairs and they had too much water dripping out throughout the shave. Now, I just quickly rinse the synthetic under water before the shave.

Thanks. I did soak it while showering. I'll try this tomorrow.

-- Carlos


"If you don't mind smelling like peanut butter for two or three days, peanut butter is darn good shaving cream." - - Barry Goldwater

 

[muzichead]

Once again, synthetics don't "hold" water, they "trap" water between the fibers is what they do. It doesn't matter if you soak them, this will not do anything for the knot, although if you splay the knot under the water it will grab and trap water between the fibers. If you manipulate those fibers in any way while lathering it will release the "trapped" water very quickly so its best to start lathering with a damp brush at best...

 

[CarlosAT]

Once again, synthetics don't "hold" water, they "trap" water between the fibers is what they do. It doesn't matter if you soak them, this will not do anything for the knot, although if you splay the knot under the water it will grab and trap water between the fibers. If you manipulate those fibers in any way while lathering it will release the "trapped" water very quickly so its best to start lathering with a damp brush at best...

Fair enough. I get it. Synthetic hairs are not pourous, so they don't actually hold the water. Thanks.

 

[Badger in the Sun]

Love that knot. It's works great for face lathering for me. It's what I use most days. I have it in 24mm and 28mm versions. Yes, it doesn't have enough backbone for some folks. But it is super soft, the softest of many synthetics I've used. And the ultra thin fibers work well to pick up soap and quickly whip it into lather.

It may have started as a make up brush, but it makes a terrific shave brush, imo.

 

[BigJ]

My extensive experience with synthetics taught me that synthetics hold plenty of water but they also dump it out in an instant whereas natural brushes release the water a bit more gradually.

Good description! Nice to have variety!

 

[nav]

Good description! Nice to have variety!

Exactly. It's just a matter of dialing in each type of material.

My methods:
Synthetics: I shake out all the water so it's barely damp. I then dip the tips in water as I face lather.

Boar: I shake the water out until no more falls out but I don't flick or squeeze it because I find boars eat the most lather if the bristles are not saturated with water.

Badger: I squeeze the water out but not all of it so it still has a decent amount of water, which gets released as I progress with the soap loading.

 

[FireDragon76]

Don't splay the brush too much. You should not be using alot of pressure. Too much grinding of the fibers can cause them to tangle up and damage the brush (I speak from experience here).

I prefer synthetics for cream and bowl lathering. It doesn't take a fancy brush to get good results, just the right technique. I used to get great lathering with the Men-U, and that's an older type of synthetic. I even did fine with a Omega Syntex, though the bristle were quite scratchy.

Millions of men back in the day used synthetic brushes here in the US (I know because I see them all over ebay), and many still do. Millions of wetshavers in India are still using something hardly different than an Omega Syntex to shave with. So synthetics are nothing new, they just require different techniques because they don't behave like natural bristles.

 

[andromeda673]

I'm on the fence about adding a synthetic brush to my collection, however after reading about some of the problems, I'm not too sure, also since the pressure was put onto this community to find an alternative to Badger by the special interest group, I'm thinking that I won't be giving in to them, and sticking with Badger and Boar, I mean they are the classic brush material, and have been working forever. Why change.

 

[Teppanyaki]

I’ve developed a new respect for synthetics after trying ones (APShaveCo’s Cashmere and Synbad) that work well for me. They splay much more easily than my Muhle stf, and I find that if I splay them on the soap puck, I don’t get any water dribbling down my face when I face lather. This lets me start with a wetter lather, and I can get a nice, dense lather quickly (more quickly than my badger or boar).

 

[FireDragon76]

I'm on the fence about adding a synthetic brush to my collection, however after reading about some of the problems, I'm not too sure, also since the pressure was put onto this community to find an alternative to Badger by the special interest group, I'm thinking that I won't be giving in to them, and sticking with Badger and Boar, I mean they are the classic brush material, and have been working forever. Why change.

Synthetics use less soap or cream and they lather very quickly once you adjust your technique.

Boar isn't that great - it's a poor man's brush that isn't fussy, that's the only thing going for it. Boars use lots cream or soap and water, and they just suck up the soap into the brush bristles themselves, holding onto them tightly and never releasing them with normal use.

I'd rather use coarse horsehair over boar, because of that. However, synthetics have them all beat in terms of price and performance.

Synthetic shave brushes first came about long before the modern animal rights movement. People bought them because they were cheap and supplies of natural bristles were often limited by war or other shortages. Companies make synthetics now in more higher-end models because people actually demand them- some people would use no shave brush at all if it mean they had to use brushes that came from an animal, especially animals raised in countries that have dubious animal welfare provisions in their laws.

 

[Timeclo]

Synthetics use less soap or cream and they lather very quickly once you adjust your technique.

Boar isn't that great - it's a poor man's brush that isn't fussy, that's the only thing going for it. Boars use lots cream or soap and water, and they just suck up the soap into the brush bristles themselves, holding onto them tightly and never releasing them with normal use.

I'd rather use coarse horsehair over boar, because of that. However, synthetics have them all beat in terms of price and performance.

Synthetic shave brushes first came about long before the modern animal rights movement. People bought them because they were cheap and supplies of natural bristles were often limited by war or other shortages. Companies make synthetics now in more higher-end models because people actually demand them- some people would use no shave brush at all if it mean they had to use brushes that came from an animal, especially animals raised in countries that have dubious animal welfare provisions in their laws.

Synthetics are definitely easier to work with but the feel is different. It has a springy feel and does not give the same scrub as boars and badgers.

Boars, though some of them eat up lather for days, give a good face feel and scrub during the shave. I'd say I prefer the boar feel over other hairs and it feels the most natural to me. Also, if I want to go through a soap, boar brushes will do their job very well, haha.

 

[Olegausany]

Synthetics are definitely easier to work with but the feel is different. It has a springy feel and does not give the same scrub as boars and badgers.

Boars, though some of them eat up lather for days, give a good face feel and scrub during the shave. I'd say I prefer the boar feel over other hairs and it feels the most natural to me. Also, if I want to go through a soap, boar brushes will do their job very well, haha.

There are some synthetic brushes made by small custom brush making shops with knots behaving and feeling like a badger but they are less scrubby than real badger. I have 2 like this and don't like them much. I have a Manchurian badger brush I really enjoy but it cost me $110 while for just a little extra I have 4 synthetic brushes I really enjoy using