Ladies and gentlemen,
I need help with a Yaqi 26mm Two-Band Badger Moka Express brush that has resisted all of my efforts to clean and de-funk. Here's what I've done up to this point (warning, lengthy post ahead...):
One week ago, I received the above-mentioned brush and noticed a strong odour coming from the package, even through the bubble mailer, bubble wrap, cardboard box, and yards of packing tape. Once unwrapped, it smelled much stronger than any other badger brush that I've owned previously. Also, the brush had a lot of dirt, bits of shredded paper, and many short broken hairs throughout the knot. Brushing my hand over the knot resulted in a shower of broken and bent hairs, five long loose hairs, and a chunk of glue with a scraggly hair stuck in it. The knot feels strangely greasy (leftover factory residue?).
I immediately began my usual brush cleaning and break-in process...
Day 1: 1) Soak in a weak vinegar/water solution for 15 minutes (lost 3 hairs after rinsing); 2) soak in a weak Dawn/water solution for 15 minutes (lost 1 hair after rinsing); 3) hand-lather with Ivory bar soap to remove all traces of vinegar and dish soap (lost 1 hair after rinsing); and 4) hand-lather with Proraso Green, then left it to sit overnight on the bathtub edge. Multiple lost hairs has me a bit concerned.
Day 2: This morning, the bathroom smells very strongly; as if something died in there. There is a puddle of brown water on the tub edge. I rinse the brush; two hairs and what looks like coffee washes out of the knot. Despite that, it feels fantastic with an incredibly densely-packed knot and lovely soft tips... but smells absolutely horrible! I let it dry for six hours, then hand-lather it with Omega (resulting in 1 loose hair), hoping that the strong eucalyptus scent will help with the de-funking. I leave it sitting on the counter overnight.
Day 3: Bathroom still smells bad. Again, there's a slurry of brown water under the brush. Where is all this brown gunk coming from? After rinsing, the brush still smells terrible. I wash it with Head & Shoulders shampoo, resulting in a short loose hair (are the hairs breaking off?). I left it on the counter for three hours, then rinsed it out. Still smells like heck. I hand-lather it with Proraso Green, then rinse it. I decide to let the brush dry overnight and check it in the morning.
Day 4: Even dry, it smells putrid. I debate trying to shave with it... I go through my usual routine and face-lather with Nivea Sensitive cream. What a mistake. As soon as I touch the brush to my face, I feel nauseous. I have a strong stomach, but this was beyond the pale. It was like sticking my nose in the south end of a north-facing badger.
I interrupt my shave, rinse the brush out, douse it with my strongest-smelling shave product (Proraso Wood & Spice Beard Wash), build a lather, then take the brush downstairs and leave it in the laundry sink overnight. I found the whole situation very disturbing, so I went unshaved today.
Day 5: The laundry tub is concrete, so I can't tell if there's any brown water under the brush. All I can smell is Wood & Spice, so I'm hoping that the odour has gone away. I rinse the brush... nope, still stinks! The added Wood & Spice scent has created an extremely pungent combination. I take the brush back upstairs and go through my initial cleaning routine again (vinegar solution and Dawn dish soap), then let the brush dry until evening. After supper, I soak the brush in warm water as if I was getting ready to shave, but then leave it on the tub edge overnight. I want to see if the brown water is from the soaps/shampoos that I've used or if it's coming from the brush itself.
Day 6: A brown puddle again, this morning. Well, that answers that question. The putrid odour also remains. This time, I remember to take photos of the stains:
It's eating into the caulking. I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I rinsed the brush out and left it on the counter to dry. After supper, I lathered it again with the Wood & Spice beard wash in hopes that it will be strong enough to mask the rotting/dead animal odour.
It's now the early morning of Day 7. I can smell the Wood & Spice scent permeating the house. I'm absolutely exhausted by this ordeal. It's unlike anything that I've experienced with any other brush. The funny/ironic/sad thing is that the brush lathers like crazy; the performance is amazing... but I can't bear to bring it anywhere near my face. Also, the fact that muddy water is still coming out of the brush is extremely unsettling.
Frankly, the only good thing that I can think of is that it hasn't shed any hairs in a couple of days.
So, what now? Can anybody think of something that I haven't tried, yet?
I need help with a Yaqi 26mm Two-Band Badger Moka Express brush that has resisted all of my efforts to clean and de-funk. Here's what I've done up to this point (warning, lengthy post ahead...):
One week ago, I received the above-mentioned brush and noticed a strong odour coming from the package, even through the bubble mailer, bubble wrap, cardboard box, and yards of packing tape. Once unwrapped, it smelled much stronger than any other badger brush that I've owned previously. Also, the brush had a lot of dirt, bits of shredded paper, and many short broken hairs throughout the knot. Brushing my hand over the knot resulted in a shower of broken and bent hairs, five long loose hairs, and a chunk of glue with a scraggly hair stuck in it. The knot feels strangely greasy (leftover factory residue?).
I immediately began my usual brush cleaning and break-in process...
Day 1: 1) Soak in a weak vinegar/water solution for 15 minutes (lost 3 hairs after rinsing); 2) soak in a weak Dawn/water solution for 15 minutes (lost 1 hair after rinsing); 3) hand-lather with Ivory bar soap to remove all traces of vinegar and dish soap (lost 1 hair after rinsing); and 4) hand-lather with Proraso Green, then left it to sit overnight on the bathtub edge. Multiple lost hairs has me a bit concerned.
Day 2: This morning, the bathroom smells very strongly; as if something died in there. There is a puddle of brown water on the tub edge. I rinse the brush; two hairs and what looks like coffee washes out of the knot. Despite that, it feels fantastic with an incredibly densely-packed knot and lovely soft tips... but smells absolutely horrible! I let it dry for six hours, then hand-lather it with Omega (resulting in 1 loose hair), hoping that the strong eucalyptus scent will help with the de-funking. I leave it sitting on the counter overnight.
Day 3: Bathroom still smells bad. Again, there's a slurry of brown water under the brush. Where is all this brown gunk coming from? After rinsing, the brush still smells terrible. I wash it with Head & Shoulders shampoo, resulting in a short loose hair (are the hairs breaking off?). I left it on the counter for three hours, then rinsed it out. Still smells like heck. I hand-lather it with Proraso Green, then rinse it. I decide to let the brush dry overnight and check it in the morning.
Day 4: Even dry, it smells putrid. I debate trying to shave with it... I go through my usual routine and face-lather with Nivea Sensitive cream. What a mistake. As soon as I touch the brush to my face, I feel nauseous. I have a strong stomach, but this was beyond the pale. It was like sticking my nose in the south end of a north-facing badger.
I interrupt my shave, rinse the brush out, douse it with my strongest-smelling shave product (Proraso Wood & Spice Beard Wash), build a lather, then take the brush downstairs and leave it in the laundry sink overnight. I found the whole situation very disturbing, so I went unshaved today.
Day 5: The laundry tub is concrete, so I can't tell if there's any brown water under the brush. All I can smell is Wood & Spice, so I'm hoping that the odour has gone away. I rinse the brush... nope, still stinks! The added Wood & Spice scent has created an extremely pungent combination. I take the brush back upstairs and go through my initial cleaning routine again (vinegar solution and Dawn dish soap), then let the brush dry until evening. After supper, I soak the brush in warm water as if I was getting ready to shave, but then leave it on the tub edge overnight. I want to see if the brown water is from the soaps/shampoos that I've used or if it's coming from the brush itself.
Day 6: A brown puddle again, this morning. Well, that answers that question. The putrid odour also remains. This time, I remember to take photos of the stains:
It's eating into the caulking. I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I rinsed the brush out and left it on the counter to dry. After supper, I lathered it again with the Wood & Spice beard wash in hopes that it will be strong enough to mask the rotting/dead animal odour.
It's now the early morning of Day 7. I can smell the Wood & Spice scent permeating the house. I'm absolutely exhausted by this ordeal. It's unlike anything that I've experienced with any other brush. The funny/ironic/sad thing is that the brush lathers like crazy; the performance is amazing... but I can't bear to bring it anywhere near my face. Also, the fact that muddy water is still coming out of the brush is extremely unsettling.
Frankly, the only good thing that I can think of is that it hasn't shed any hairs in a couple of days.
So, what now? Can anybody think of something that I haven't tried, yet?