Chandu
I Waxed The Badger.
That's kind of what I was able to find by digging too. These days most hair that is not silvertip and probably even some of that is lightened or bleached. (Silvertip hair being finer is easy to damage, so that is why the industry tends to leave it alone.) The gel feeling / behavior was a by product of the process. A process in my opinion exists almost entirely to make less good hair a bit softer and more saleable or worth more on the market.It seems that so called 'gel' tips have been around in one form or another for a decade or so. There are some interesting posts in the thread below suggesting they are an intentional property of many brushes, including Paladin, and have been for several years. The use of heat and bleaching is confirmed as I read it unless I misunderstand. Gel tips are seemingly an accepted feature and even desirable by some.
Paladin Shave Brushes
What I said...:001_rolle;) What you said is true as well. How processing affects hair also depends on the hair, and not all hair is the same. It generally gets mixed up and blended, but that doesn't mean it turns out to be homogeneous.www.badgerandblade.com
Personally, I'm not on board with that. The alternatives to my way of thinking are to avoid them when possible. Silvertip is probably a good bet minimize your chances, or buy from someone that says they don't used gelled hair. It's easy to tell if that is the truth once you wet the brush. If they bottom two thirds or more of the hair feels normal, but the tip feels slick or coated when wet, you have one that was gelled. Then of course there is the clumping. Shake the brush out and give it a few light strokes on a dry towel, if gelled you will see spiky clumped tips. If not gelled you will see individual hairs.
Many may like gelled. I don't. I won't knowingly pay for it. To me, it's a lesser grade of hair in every way.
I should add that many brush makers are probably behind the 8 ball here. They don't have the clout to demand hair that this hasn't been processed in this way, and there may not be enough unmolested hair to go around.
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