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What is the softest brush?

I have to say my brown horse Vielong is the softest brush I have ever tried. I have not had many synthetics though, I only have a T2. But the horse really feels like having a pillow on my face, it's great for my sensitive skin.
 
Seems everyone Has their own pick and I would have to try them All to decide, which of course would prove troublesome. Anyway, I bought the Cashmere from AP. I love it. I Can now build the lather on my face without any irritation and feels heavenly soft.

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Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
When it comes to badger, I find the Oumo Lotus hand tied knots to be the very softest - but they are highly processed (gelled). They are like a marshmallow or a cotton ball on the face. No experience with horse hair in form of a brush, but from handling horsehair quite frequently (brushing both mane or tail on my horse) I think it cannot be very soft.
 
When it comes to badger, I find the Oumo Lotus hand tied knots to be the very softest - but they are highly processed (gelled). They are like a marshmallow or a cotton ball on the face. No experience with horse hair in form of a brush, but from handling horsehair quite frequently (brushing both mane or tail on my horse) I think it cannot be very soft.
Horse tail hair is quite a bit stiffer and a bit pricklier than mane hair. Most horse knots are a mixture of the two types but the Zenith XS is 100% mane. It feels exactly like you’d expect. The extreme softness of the XS brush comes from its floppiness, as well as the fact that the mane tips are not prickly at all. It’s not the same kind of softness as the tips of a synthetic brush, or the smooth pillow of gelled badger tips, but if you used the horse mane brush it would feel very soft indeed on your face. It’s actually a very nice brush and makes a great lather. The horse hairs on Zenith brushes don’t tangle in my experience.

If you get a chance, Rudy, you really should try both the Zenith XS and the Zenith 50/50 horse knots. They’re both very rewarding and they’re like $30-$40. If you enjoy a softer knot, that is. The XS would be too soft for most people’s preferences (but not mine) and the 50/50 is a more balanced knot but still quite soft feeling.
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
Horse tail hair is quite a bit stiffer and a bit pricklier than mane hair. Most horse knots are a mixture of the two types but the Zenith XS is 100% mane. It feels exactly like you’d expect. The extreme softness of the XS brush comes from its floppiness, as well as the fact that the mane tips are not prickly at all. It’s not the same kind of softness as the tips of a synthetic brush, or the smooth pillow of gelled badger tips, but if you used the horse mane brush it would feel very soft indeed on your face. It’s actually a very nice brush and makes a great lather. The horse hairs on Zenith brushes don’t tangle in my experience.

If you get a chance, Rudy, you really should try both the Zenith XS and the Zenith 50/50 horse knots. They’re both very rewarding and they’re like $30-$40. If you enjoy a softer knot, that is. The XS would be too soft for most people’s preferences (but not mine) and the 50/50 is a more balanced knot but still quite soft feeling.
Agree, mane is softer than tail, and they use mainly the hair that has the fine end on top (as it is much shorter than tail). Tail is mostly cut what I have seen, so naturally stiffer and also thicker than mane, and showing the cut ends. Mayube i should cut some mane of and see how it can be stacked.
 
Agree, mane is softer than tail, and they use mainly the hair that has the fine end on top (as it is much shorter than tail). Tail is mostly cut what I have seen, so naturally stiffer and also thicker than mane, and showing the cut ends. Mayube i should cut some mane of and see how it can be stacked.
I did get a Zenith mixed badger/horse knot but to me it feels rather similar to their Manchurian badger and I didn’t see the point of it. But I don’t know what grades of hair they are using for this knot (I guess it might be lower grade badger and horse tail) and I think a mixture of their silvertip badger and horse mane might be interesting.

Yes, the tail hair usually has cut ends. It’s not very prickly but there is some light scritch and I think a 100% tail hair brush wouldn’t be ideal. It does not change or break-in over time.

I think different horses make a difference too. I’ve never used a Vie-Long horse brush but there seem to be big differences between their black, brown, grey and white knots. It is said the white knots are softest, but none of them are very soft. I like to imagine Zenith uses Andalucian horses - maybe they do. They have astonishing manes.

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I think different horses make a difference too. I’ve never used a Vie-Long horse brush but there seem to be big differences between their black, brown, grey and white knots.
I own two and still don't have it figured out. I didn't really understand anything about what I was getting until I got it. The brown feels about the same as Simpsons Best, but mine has a more bulb like shape. It's also less floppy, but doesn't lather as well.
 
I never tried horse brushes and honestly, I'm not really inclined to do so.

I Also think the gelled badger tips could be great. I don't have a budget for a silvertip badger yet and I would like to try one in the future, then a gelled badger.

But for now, synthetics are cheap, easy to use and maintain and very soft. My next one will be STF or the G5 line from AP, maybe both since AP now carries the STF.

My softest still remains - the Cashmere, with Razorock Plissoft in close second. But I want to try it all just for the fun of it. I Can get away with some scritchy scratchy brushes if I palm lather and only paint on the face, just like my cheap pure badger.

But for the most part, I enjoy the softness of the brush, it's soothing, relaxing and goes Well with my sensitive face.
 
Horsehair is an interesting material. I think once the ends start fraying ("flagging" I think they call it) it gets much softer and creates better lather too. At least from my comparisons of from a hank of 50/50 mane to tail, a Vielong, and an old vintage Rubberset I have. The vintage is a gentle as any brush I've tried but the ends are considerably more flagged. I've tried to replicate that with the fresh hair using sandpaper with limited results so far.
 
I got a high loft silvertip from shavemac to have the same character of a Kent silvertip I used to have. The brush is extremely soft but still has a nice face feel it's as soft as the motherlode synthetic but you feel tips of the silvertip it's just a nice luxurious feeling
 
I got a high loft silvertip from shavemac to have the same character of a Kent silvertip I used to have. The brush is extremely soft but still has a nice face feel it's as soft as the motherlode synthetic but you feel tips of the silvertip it's just a nice luxurious feeling
I've had multiple examples of Savile Row silvertip 3-bands over the years. I assume those are still being made by Shavemac, so I sort of know what you mean. If ever I was to go back to badger, the SR's would be my first choice. (Thaters for 2-band.) The cush was very appealing.
 
Hi everyone.

I would appreciate your tips for the softest brush ever. Also I have a few questions.

I own a Razorock Plissoft, a cheap NOM pure badger and Omega for Proraso boar. That is the order from softest to "scritchiest" for me.

I like to face lather since I find it so easy to get the most hydrated, shiny, slick lather. In the bowl, the lather doesn't absorb the water and becomes bubbly and thin.

Unfortunately I had to switch to palm lathering since I get "brush burn" if I face lather too long, even with the heavenly soft plissoft. My face is irritated before picking up the razor. This is the case even with "sensitive" labeled soaps, so it's not ingridiences in the soap that my face is reacting to. I would like to be able to splay the brush on my face and massage the lather in the beard, without irritation.
So I wonder...

Is there a softer loft than RazoRock's plissoft?
Does a broken in boar like my omega or, for example a Semogue 830 get anywhere near synthetic level softness?
Is Mühle STF softer than a then RazoRock's plissoft?

I Don't care about backbone at all. I can load hard soaps no problem and create great lather easily with a floppy brush. My only goal is to find the softest tips in order to get the pleasure from working them on my face without getting irritated.
Why don't you bowl lather and then continue to face lather? This way you have made a great lather in the bowl and build upon that when it's on your face. This will minimize irritation on your face as the lather is already prepped.
 
Why don't you bowl lather and then continue to face lather? This way you have made a great lather in the bowl and build upon that when it's on your face. This will minimize irritation on your face as the lather is already prepped.
Bowl lathering doesn't make a good enough lather for me. It becomes bubbly and thin. It's just not worth it for me to use a bowl. I did use a bowl for about a year but I make far better lather faster on my palm/face. I like to make nearly dripping, shiny lather, that's overhydrated a little bit. It gives me more glide and I don't mind sacrificing the cushion effect. But my thick hair gives a lot of resistance to even the sharpest blades and my shaves profit from extra slickness. I never got that slickness with bowl lathering.
 
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