I have been using my new Semogue 620 for about 2 weeks now and have gotten lots of great advice from the members on this forum. The problem I am running into is the lather for my first pass is very dry (I face lather with creams and shaving sticks). I tried dripping extra water in the brush but it just runs out and doesn't make it to my face. I dipped the brush tips in the water in my scuttle and that helps but I can never get enough water on my face to sufficiently thin out the lather for my first pass. My second and third passes have really good lather but the first is really dry. This is my first boar brush and I figure it will get better once it gets more broken in, but I never had this much trouble with my badger brush.
What am I doing wrong with my 620
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Eventually, the bristle will break in a little more. While this will encourage the tip to soften, it mostly is going to help the water absorption properties of the bristle.
Try soaking the brush for 5-8 minutes in hot water to really saturate the knot; when you pull the brush from your cup, allow the water to drip out,then gently shake out a bit of water. Many people will encourage you to begin lathering with a fairly wet brush, but not so wet that it's dripping out water. It's a different starting point than conventional lathering wisdom, but a lot of people have found it to work. This is the way I lather personally, although I use soaps instead of creams (I lather them similarly, so no big deal).
Try soaking the brush for 5-8 minutes in hot water to really saturate the knot; when you pull the brush from your cup, allow the water to drip out,then gently shake out a bit of water. Many people will encourage you to begin lathering with a fairly wet brush, but not so wet that it's dripping out water. It's a different starting point than conventional lathering wisdom, but a lot of people have found it to work. This is the way I lather personally, although I use soaps instead of creams (I lather them similarly, so no big deal).
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Thanks for the advice. I soak the brush in my brush scuttle while I'm in the shower, so it's good and saturated when I use it. I do pretty much exactly what you say when I face lather and it works well but not as well as my badgers. I'll just keep using it daily until it breaks in and hope it turns out well.
Do you find that runny lather builds up in the center of the brush? If so, you might be able to even out the mix. Try gently squeezing the bottom of the brush, so you can see the core lather start to come up, then go back to lathering.
Badger will pretty much work as intended from the first couple of shaves.
Boars need a bit of patience. Jessie' advice is sound. A good soak and more product til it breaks will see you through. I jsut dipped the brsuh in the sink to add extra water - you need more than a few sprinkles as with bowl lathering.
I think it's worth it, the 620 is a great face lather brush. It'll come good.
Boars need a bit of patience. Jessie' advice is sound. A good soak and more product til it breaks will see you through. I jsut dipped the brsuh in the sink to add extra water - you need more than a few sprinkles as with bowl lathering.
I think it's worth it, the 620 is a great face lather brush. It'll come good.
