Whatever, Steve. You've been saying that since 1973, and I've never once heard anyone call you a space cowboy.
Shaving Brushes: Soak, yes or no?
- Thread starter awk_m4
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Well, that made me snort!
+1, me too.........
Boars need a bit of a soak. But do what you like, you can always buy a new brush every couple of years.
Synths and badgers don't need to soak. Most people run them under the hot water tap or soak them a bit to warm them up. They don't mind a soak, so that's always a possibility. If it's not a boar do whatever makes your socks roll up and down.
Synths and badgers don't need to soak. Most people run them under the hot water tap or soak them a bit to warm them up. They don't mind a soak, so that's always a possibility. If it's not a boar do whatever makes your socks roll up and down.
I lean this way, but only because I have learned the hard way that soaking a brush as deep as the container allows doesn't help much.
Well, I speak of the pompitus of love.
I suspect that would be hard to find a GIF for
Etymology of Pompitus
The word is probably a corruption of—or imagined variation on—the word "puppetutes", which was itself a coinage, originated by Vernon Green at the age of 14. Green included the word "puppetutes" in the lyrics of doo-wop song "The Letter" (1954), as performed by him and The Medallions. "The Letter" also included another original coinage, "pismotality". Presumably in homage to the Medallions' song, Steve Miller used the nonce words "epismetology" and "pompatus" in the lyrics of two of his other songs, "Enter Maurice" and "The Conversation", one of which is, like "The Letter", in spoken-word style.The appealing oddness of the phrase "the pompatus of love" garnered a lot of attention, and inspired its use by others. For example, as the title of a 1996 film starring Jon Cryer.[1]
An additional comment. It has gotten chilly here in upstate NY. I switched from cold water with soak to hot water with soak this morning. The soak was cold water with a boar brush. Shook out the cold and used very warm water for loading the brush and lathering. I had a great lather that was fantastically thick and slick. Was it due to the warm water? I don't know, but I plan to do it again.
I read somewhere that not soaking the brush could damage the hairs because they aren't soft for the lathering.
Nonsense?
Nonsense?
I soak badgers and boar for a few minutes. Synthetic, I wet warm shake some water out. That’s about it for me.
I can see that. Bristles are just hair, after all.
Boars, yes. Absolutely.
I have a scuttle (actiually, my 85 year old father’s old work coffee mug) that I fill with warm water and dump in my brush.
I then do my necessities…. insert contact lenses, organize the day’s equipment and supplies, take a picture or two for various threads, wet my face…. After that (maybe 10 minutes), I am ready to gently squeeze and load my brush.
Where I differ, I think, is that after I’ve lathered my face, I put my brush back into my scuttle and reload before my next pass.
I never soaked a badger and I’ve never used a synth.
I have a scuttle (actiually, my 85 year old father’s old work coffee mug) that I fill with warm water and dump in my brush.
I then do my necessities…. insert contact lenses, organize the day’s equipment and supplies, take a picture or two for various threads, wet my face…. After that (maybe 10 minutes), I am ready to gently squeeze and load my brush.
Where I differ, I think, is that after I’ve lathered my face, I put my brush back into my scuttle and reload before my next pass.
I never soaked a badger and I’ve never used a synth.
I read some advice somewhere here to soak my boar (Omega 00065) in hot water before a shave. I soaked the whole thing in hot water and hair started falling out like a cancer patient on chemo. I've since only soaked the tips of my boar brushes, and in lukewarm water.
I heat up a large coffee mug I keep in the bathroom...Hottest water I can get out of the faucet... then I use warm water in it to soak selected badger and/or boars while I shower. I only soak the bristles up to around an inch and a half away from the handle. I always use two brushes: one for pre-shave and one for lather.
It's routine now.. Is it necessary? I don't really know. I'm a copy cat, not an innovator...
Edit:
Right before I use the brushes, I run the tips under hot water... squeeze the knot, give it a tap on the sink and start lathering the pre-shave... Apply the pre-shave... Then do the same with the second brush and lather up the soap for the day. The pre-shave was melted into one of Scott's Soap Lockers (Captain's Choice) and I lather the shaving soap in a CaYuen large shaving bowl. I get repeatable lather that way. I sort of wish my face could handle face lathering... I could use one brush for both, but alas, my face can't take that much exposure to a brush... and my brain can't take messy soap tubs. <eg>
It's routine now.. Is it necessary? I don't really know. I'm a copy cat, not an innovator...
Edit:
Right before I use the brushes, I run the tips under hot water... squeeze the knot, give it a tap on the sink and start lathering the pre-shave... Apply the pre-shave... Then do the same with the second brush and lather up the soap for the day. The pre-shave was melted into one of Scott's Soap Lockers (Captain's Choice) and I lather the shaving soap in a CaYuen large shaving bowl. I get repeatable lather that way. I sort of wish my face could handle face lathering... I could use one brush for both, but alas, my face can't take that much exposure to a brush... and my brain can't take messy soap tubs. <eg>
Boy, those bowls sure look nice. If I still lathered in a bowl I would absolutely get one. It's a composite material (unbreakable), right?
Yeah... as far as I can tell... it's unbreakable resin... but I suppose it could chip if slammed against something. For me, they work as well as they look... and as you know, many of his resin patterns are amazing.
I don't soak - just rinse with warm water & start lathering (badger brushes only). But, I do prefer a stronger presence from my brush.
It is extremely rare for me to shave without first taking a shower. I run the sink until the water is hot, then fill up a mug to soak the brush in while I shower.
Whether they are synthetic or boar, they soak just the same.
Whether they are synthetic or boar, they soak just the same.
Always soak my brush in a D.R. Harris china tumbler, with enough hot water to just cover the full length of the bristles.
It soaks while I shower, then I give it two shakes (the brush, that is), and start to lather.
It soaks while I shower, then I give it two shakes (the brush, that is), and start to lather.
