Oh no! The Shedding has begun!!! :(

Okay, so I have a CS "super badger" brush. I've had it about a year now. It lasted up until this winter with no shedding issues but the past month or so it has begun to shed in earnest (two to three hairs per usage, sometimes more).

Is the CS just a bad brand, did I get unlucky with this particular brush, or is there possibly something I'm doing wrong?

My VDH "natural bristle" brush had the same shedding schedule which makes me want to latch onto User Error. With the VDH I always made sure to hang the brush upside down. Given what happened to that one, I always store the badger bristles-up. I occasionally (but pretty rarely, I'll admit) shampoo the brush. I use a variety of soaps and creams.

What could I have done to prevent this (i.e. how does everyone else treat their brush)? Is it beyond saving or can I still show it some love?

Any help is appreciated, gents... :chapeau

I think once a brush starts to shed multiple hairs with each use it is pretty well down the road to ruin. Sorry, I have no idea what would case that after only a year of use and that does seem a bit quick to me.

Bob

Thanks, Bob. It seems a bit early to me, as well, for a $50 product to go downhill after only a year. I'm trying to think what might be the cause; like maybe I soaked it in water too hot? My water is really hard, could that be it? This is two brushes in a row and I'm really leery about dropping money on a more expensive brush by blaming it on the brush if the problem is me or my water or in any other way the treatment of the brush.

Does anyone else use Classic Shaving's "super badger" brushes? If anyone has any experience with the quality (or lack thereof) of these brushes that'd be helpful...

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Originally Posted by DarthLord

Okay, so I have a CS "super badger" brush. I've had it about a year now. It lasted up until this winter with no shedding issues but the past month or so it has begun to shed in earnest (two to three hairs per usage, sometimes more).

Is the CS just a bad brand, did I get unlucky with this particular brush, or is there possibly something I'm doing wrong?

My VDH "natural bristle" brush had the same shedding schedule which makes me want to latch onto User Error. With the VDH I always made sure to hang the brush upside down. Given what happened to that one, I always store the badger bristles-up. I occasionally (but pretty rarely, I'll admit) shampoo the brush. I use a variety of soaps and creams.

What could I have done to prevent this (i.e. how does everyone else treat their brush)? Is it beyond saving or can I still show it some love?

Any help is appreciated, gents... :chapeau

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What's your clean up regime like after your shave? I rinse my brushes in warm running water making sure that the centre of the brush is well rinsed. I then do a final rinse in cold water and always hang the brush upside down to dry. About once a month I clean them with a borax and vinegar solution to remove soap deposits. My oldest brush is about 10 years old and sheds no hairs

They don't make their own brushes. My guess is it's a Vulfix. Probably some issue with the knot. Sometimes they seem fine and then start to go south. Once they start well....

DarthLord

I really don't know what causes premature brush failure as I have not been plagued by it. I have had a brush fail like that once after many years of service and thought that was normal.

I do not now soak my brushes in hot water and when I did do that never deep enough to be near where the knot meets the handle. I do not regularly shampoo my brushes just rinse under cold running water, a light squeeze of the knot, several shakes and hang inverted to dry. I try not to put too much pressure/force on the brush when loading the puck or face lathering. Our city water is not hard so I don't know what bearing if any that would have. That is about all I do and so far, touch wood, things have been just fine.

Bob

Try giving it a good cleaning as Anthony suggested, maybe you can salvage it, worth a try, sounds like the knot is deteriating.

I have two knots from the same supplier, one never stopped shedding from new. The other one (the replacement) hasn't shed at all-and is a slightly different color.

It ain't you. It's a bad badger, a knotty one!

Get another brush or knot asap. Life is too short to spend it digging odd varmint hairs out of your lather.

wait, i need coffee...

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Originally Posted by DarthLord

Okay, so I have a CS "super badger" brush. I've had it about a year now. It lasted up until this winter with no shedding issues but the past month or so it has begun to shed in earnest (two to three hairs per usage, sometimes more).

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IME with a high end shedder ...... it began to lose 5 to 10 bristles per shave a few weeks in. I notified the vendor and he told me to use the brush for 3 months and if it continued to shed throughout that time period he would replace it. I began to save the shed bristles and at the end of the 3 months I took a photo of the brush alongside the bristles and emailed the picture to him. He replaced the brush. Looking at the brush, and using it, in spite of over 100 shed bristles, it didn't show a perceptible reduction in hair and it still worked well.

The replacement came and I didn't like the feel (not as scritchy) as much but it was a lovely brush. Never shed a hair until, after about a year with it I lathered up in a bowl of various ends of tallow based soaps that I had grated and pressed to form a decent size puck. The puck was kind of cobbely and after that the brush began to shed like 10 hairs every shave.

This went on for a good year and then one day it stopped shedding. I still have and use it and it looks and feels no worse for the bristle loss. So hang in there, maybe it will stop eventually. From what I understand an average shaving brush has like 15,000 bristles ........ or something like that. :gl:

Can be a conundrum for sure.This is the reason the high end makers advise not to face lather (which I think is bunk)
They claim that face lathering breaks the hairs at the very edges.
Excessive Shedding IME is always caused by a bad Knot,stuff happens,What causes Shedding??
I had one come back to me several mos. ago,was shedding like a banshee,I had not seen this before.
I made a replacement and all was well with the new one.
What I did find was, I cut the handle in half, than turned it to expose the knot base,it was cracked in half,How did this Happen?
I can assure you it was not cracked before I set it.Did it happen when the epoxy Cured? no clue.
Did the owner use boiling water in his scuttle to soak the knot in? No Clue.
If a knot is a bad shedder,is an issue with the knot.As jim says, are alot of hairs in large knot, all will shed a bit from the gitgo,most of the time it will stop,JMO

I have this going on with a Semogue Owners Club Boar, it was fine for a year, then started shedding at an alarming rate. It's a shame because I really like the brush, but it's not going to start sprouting new bristles, so I just ordered a new one.

And quite frankly I'm happy to see something losing hair faster than my head.

I soak mine in very hot sink water but the handle never gets wet. In other words the knot base never gets hot. I face lather, shake the heck out it to get the water out, and then stand it hair up until the next day. IMO the best thing you can do is keep the base out of heat and as dry as possible. We all know if you start having problems in those places where the sun don't shine you got big problems :<0)

Haha I know that feeling! I have an AoS pure badger that usually sheds one or two hairs every time. I just figured it'll settle down. If not.... Well I do want a silver tip eventually anyways :hmmm:

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Originally Posted by 10Pups

I soak mine in very hot sink water but the handle never gets wet. In other words the knot base never gets hot. I face lather, shake the heck out it to get the water out, and then stand it hair up until the next day. IMO the best thing you can do is keep the base out of heat and as dry as possible. We all know if you start having problems in those places where the sun don't shine you got big problems :<0)

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When you soak a brush the water is drawn into the knot. The question is how far does it go? I imagine it goes all the way to the knot. So, whether you just soak the tips or soak up to the handle doesn't matter.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

When you soak a brush the water is drawn into the knot. The question is how far does it go? I imagine it goes all the way to the knot. So, whether you just soak the tips or soak up to the handle doesn't matter.

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As I've seen gssixgun say in his videos...it is wet shaving.

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Originally Posted by Haroldg48

As I've seen gssixgun say in his videos...it is wet shaving.

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True, it is wet shaving,brushes are meant to get wet.any water temp your face can tolorate is just fine.
On the other hand, some use boiling water to soak a brush,Thats a death sentence for the brush long term.

I bought my first brush from a forum member here, and it shed 5 or 6 hairs on the first shave and every shave thereafter. I didn't realize this was abnormal until now.

Not going to replace it. He did a beautiful handle from what looks like Thuya burl. The shedding doesn't bother me. Does make the soap look nasty though...

Got you!!!Attachment 156625

Right now my favorite shaving brush is the Omega 10098 and haven't had any shedding problems and I've been using it for over 2 years. Its made out of 100% boar hair so this may have something to do with it. However, I shampoo my brush at least once a month and rinse it thoroughly with warm water after each use. Try shampooing before getting rid of it. Take a look at the Omegas

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Originally Posted by Johnus

Got you!!!Attachment 156625

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Nice pic of a wolverine:)

If they only started shedding only after being in use for a year, I'd consider looking into both your lathering and cleaning regime. Your influence and your hard water (which may leave some deposits) may both have something to do with it. It seems weird that a defective knot only starts to lose hairs after a year, which is why I think it may be something else.

I avoid using considerable pressure loading and lathering (I don't face lather) and give them a good soak & hand lathering with mild, ph-neutral detergent/shampoo once every month (or two). I only use warm water (never hot, let alone boiling hot).

I have a Simpson's PJ 2 that sheds like crazy, maybe 20 to 30 at each use. Other Simpson's brushes I have don't loose a hair.