Thread: L'Occitane Cade Plisson Brush

Originally Posted by Steve56

Thanks Bob,

I agree 100%. Synthetic fibers are really in their infancy and I look forward to better and better brushes. They can, or soon will be able to stand with badger I think, with no apologies. I just brought up the comparison to illustrate that I believed they currently have a uniform spring constant along the fiber. One complaint is that they can sling lather, and that's what made me think the fibers are uniform. BTW, my Muhle STF v2 doesn't seem to exhibit this behavior, or at least not much.

They are still a ways off from replacing a Simpson Chubby's "wall of badger" feeling though!

Cheers, Steve

Yea well, synthetics are not really in their infancy if you take the failed attempt of the 1950's, I think, to popularize nylon knots. That did nothing to help that class of knot and people have long memories. It has been just recently that the idea of a useful synthetic knot has taken hold and a fair effort has been put into improving the class in a relatively short time has been made.

I think they are already able to stand on their own as compared to badger, boar or horse hair knot offering a useful but different set of characteristics from the others. The downfall of synthetics is the constant comparison to badger rather than recognizing and accepting the different attributes they offer. After all, if you want what a badger, boar or horse hair brush has to offer you buy one of them. You don't/shouldn't expect the same performance from a badger as opposed to a boar, they are different.

Yea, you certainly can sling lather with most synthetics if you are an enthusiastic user of painting strokes to apply your lather with. As you say they tend to be springy by nature and most factory lofts are set too high for my tastes making sling lather all the more likely as with a floppy badger silver tip. I have had most of my synthetics reset to lower lofts and face lather using circular strokes to build the lather and painting strokes spread it. I did this after using the very low lofted Chubby2 synthetic and finding it great for face lathering with slinging the lather around. With the Plisson OTH you can almost "crack the whip" with it and will most assuredly sling lather if you get carried away painting with it.

Bob

The Edwin Jagger XL is not springy, has backbone, and is soft, and performs so well that I ended up selling my Simpson Cubby 2 Manchurian, as well as many other badgers, as they just couldn't compete.

Mine arrived yesterday and I took it for a spin this morning. It is very soft, but that did not impede its ability to make a first-rate lather. I was using Martin de Candre which lathers well and is sort of in between in hardness. I loaded it for 30 swirls and did not soak the brush.

When using back-and-forth strokes, the fibers wanted to clump into a wedge shape. Circular motion with finishing the edges with back-and-forth motions worked well.

Compared to the Mühle, it has less backbone and springiness, but as noted both seem to make equally good lather. Soap seems to work its way deep into the Muhle and a gentle squeeze of the knot on the second or third pass seems to help. The Mühle fibers do not clump. I did not have to squeeze the Plisson to get three full passes from a 30-swirl loading. Had some left over.

Anyway, that's the news based on one use. It's a good brush.

Cheers, Steve

Yes, the Plisson is the softest synthetic I have used. I get very little sensation when face lathering with it, like there was nothing there. The strangest feeling synthetic brush I have used yet it does work very well as a lather maker.

Bob

I've face lathered with the Plisson Synthetic brush over a month with hard & soft soaps & creams. It has become one of my favorite brushes. It splays soft & easy for mixing up the lather, then has soft paint strokes to smooth out the lather. It builds rich lather better than badger because no soap or water are absorbed by the fibers, all goes into building the lather. The Plisson knot is soft yet not really floppy. Synthetics are improving as another brush type. Frankly, i enjoy using the Plisson. Badger silvertips are too expensive, these new synthetics provide needed competition.

Oh, and I forgot to add, mine came with a well-made sturdy brush holder, the kind you wall mount.

Cheers, Steve

Silvertip softness + boar backbone = L'Occitane Plisson

Perfect brush!

If it's too expensive for you consider HJM Mühle Black Fibre. You'll be surprised with performance.

Hey, I'm planing to get myself one of those, can anyone compare it to Semogue 2000?

I've used the 2000 one and its magnificent but i see a lot of advantages to useing the L'occitane as it does not need to be left to dry out that long, etc...

I just bought on for £35, they are sold out online but you can but instores. Use the website to find nearest store that has in stock. Sellers on EBay selling for £60 and people are buying WTF? I was told by the cashier they were not being discountiued and they used to cost £60 before being reduced though she did not sound sure.

This is my 2nd ever brush, the first being a vulfix 404 mixed boar/badger. First time touching the tips, I was amazed by the softness, that was enough to convince me to purchase. I feel the knot feels very light and you can pass your finger through very very easily, some may feel too light. I found myslef reaching for the brush just to feel the tips on my fingers and cheeks. I've made a lather to test it, it lathered a lot faster than the vulfix and appeared thicker, I did a quick face lather and it felt great. I'll have to try it properly before recommending it 100% but I'm loving it at the moment. IMO some may find it too soft and light, those with thick beards who like scritch may not like it.
Before purchasing, I was not expecting much TBH, I liked my fulfix a lot and was just curious to all the hype and £35 seemed quite resonable. I was initially going to buy a thater or savile row but then I thought I'd give this a try since I could pick up at the store instead of waiting weeks for shipping. Very impressed, I may buy a few more. Not sure how long they will last so may need a back up, they would be very handy for a gift.

Welcome to the brave new world of synthetics. Glad you had a good experience.

Bob