Having received my Escali (100% pure badger shave brush) from Amazon today, cost around 13 dollars, same as the tweezerman, as well as receiving a tub of TOBS Mr. Taylor Cream, I decided to test the brush out - prior to breaking it in.
So I guess I'll cover the basic first:
- It lathered well, in fact, better than the free VDH boar I have (though this may have been due to the cream. Will test tomorrow)
- it shed a bit. Not much more than the VDH though, so after the first pass I simply washed my face, and the shed hairs were no longer a problem.
- The handle is light, potentially fake wood. Couldn't really say. Felt good in my hand though.
Now on to the warning:
The brush was pretty scratchy. And when I say pretty, I mean a lot. I had the brush soaking for a while and kept it wet, so I know that it wasn't too dry. In fact, I gave myself (literal) brush burn on my right cheek (though the redness is fading a little bit, and some balm helped cool it). I know it's not razor burn, as nowhere are there bumps, nicks, or scratches on the cheek or anywhere else on the face.
So, I chalk it up to using a new brush (and perhaps going too hard on the cheek) without breaking it in first.
I'm hoping that breaking it in following the methods on the site, will alleviate some scratchiness as well as the smell.
And yes, I used a cartridge razor (but like i said, no problems anywhere else, face is completely smooth) , plan on ordering a Lord l6 next paycheck.
So what can I say about it? I won't call it awful, because it performs (aside from the burn) better than the VDH boar. Though I will keep this updated as I break it in, and see how that goes.
Anyone have any thoughts on the brush, if they've used it, or any ideas on how to break it in for more softness?
So I guess I'll cover the basic first:
- It lathered well, in fact, better than the free VDH boar I have (though this may have been due to the cream. Will test tomorrow)
- it shed a bit. Not much more than the VDH though, so after the first pass I simply washed my face, and the shed hairs were no longer a problem.
- The handle is light, potentially fake wood. Couldn't really say. Felt good in my hand though.
Now on to the warning:
The brush was pretty scratchy. And when I say pretty, I mean a lot. I had the brush soaking for a while and kept it wet, so I know that it wasn't too dry. In fact, I gave myself (literal) brush burn on my right cheek (though the redness is fading a little bit, and some balm helped cool it). I know it's not razor burn, as nowhere are there bumps, nicks, or scratches on the cheek or anywhere else on the face.
So, I chalk it up to using a new brush (and perhaps going too hard on the cheek) without breaking it in first.
I'm hoping that breaking it in following the methods on the site, will alleviate some scratchiness as well as the smell.
And yes, I used a cartridge razor (but like i said, no problems anywhere else, face is completely smooth) , plan on ordering a Lord l6 next paycheck.
So what can I say about it? I won't call it awful, because it performs (aside from the burn) better than the VDH boar. Though I will keep this updated as I break it in, and see how that goes.
Anyone have any thoughts on the brush, if they've used it, or any ideas on how to break it in for more softness?
