Any ideas how to remove menthol from a brush?

I tried out one of Mama Bears mentholated soaps the other day, and the brush seems to have picked up a lot of the menthol. I mean its not a huge bother, but I wanted to try out other soaps and creams and I can't get the menthol off the brush. I tried shampooing the brush with super hot water, but it still has the menthol feel to it when I use it.

And just to make sure I'm not a complete idiot, I was testing the Proraso White soap. As far as the description shows on the container, there should be no menthol on that soap. Is it just something I have to wait for it to wear out on its own, or is there some way I can speed up the process?

Just take a non-mentholated soap and make several lathers in the palm of your hand.

Or you can use shampoo. Just another way to Rome.

If the above does not work try some Borax.

I have no idea. I know that is not helpful. I do however keep a Simpson Commodore dedicated for use with menthol soaps and creams to avoid the very issue you are having.

Worst case, an oz of white vinegar, in a cup of water and soak for 15-20 mins, then shampoo and rinse. Vinegar will loosen the soap up and shampoo will remove it. Hand lather as said.

I bought a nice old Badger brush that had a lot of soap in it and was very stiff.

I soaked it in vinegar and shampooed several times and shaved with it for a couple of weeks before it all came out. Now it is very soft and quite a lather maker.

Don’t know what soap the original owner used it was very strong, but it did smell good.

When I finish lathering my last pass, I do 1 lather passes, I soak the brush in clean hot water while I do my ATG and water pass.

I'll give the vinegar a try. I shampooed it twice and ran soap through it, the menthol was still there. That mama bears menthol soap is no joke. That thing is icy cool. But for the life of me, I could not get it to lather proper. I was trying to load the soap on the brush though. I'll probably try loading the soap on my face next time.

If I were you I would set it aside for menthol Mondays and get yourself another one or more for the rest of your soaps. You will end up with more brushes anyway. [BAD] I don't mind a little residual menthol in my other shaves so not a problem for me. bj

About every six months I do the vinegar thing and it seems to soften and clean my brushes well.

Weird, I use mentholated soaps all the time, and sometimes add more menthol to it... I've never had an issue with menthol staying on the brush. I'm not even sure how this is possible. A simple rinse should take care of anything and certainly the shampoo should have taken care of anything stubborn. Maybe try dishsoap? I soak all vintage brushes in a cup of dishsoap and water when I first get them.

I finally got it off. It just took a lot of shampooing and other soaps. If you guys like the menthol stuff, try mama bears iceberg soap. And it wasn't just a little that was left behind. It was freaking strong. when I had the brush under my eye area, I could feel the menthol raise up to my eyes. It was like Icy hot status menthol. A bit much for me. I don't think I will be using that scent anymore.

I think I know how it got that way. I didn't know how to load this soap up properly, so I kept lathering for a long time. It never built up a good lather because the brush was too dry, but it picked up a ton of the soap into the brush. I'm pretty sure this is way the menthol stuck behind for so strong and so long after. So last night I revisited a different mama bears soap with the same problem trying to whip up a lather. So this time I soaked my brush up really wet and that did the trick. Just a little nuisance to get this brand of soap to work. I was able to get a really good lather this way.

There are so many different things to pick up in this hobby, I'm always excited for my next shave so I can try other products.

Tabac or Arko will help your situation...

I rub Mama Bear soaps onto my wet face, loading the damp brush right from my face, then add water a little at a time. Works really well. (Of course, I do this with most soaps!)

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Originally Posted by dngrspapercut

I finally got it off. It just took a lot of shampooing and other soaps. If you guys like the menthol stuff, try mama bears iceberg soap. And it wasn't just a little that was left behind. It was freaking strong. when I had the brush under my eye area, I could feel the menthol raise up to my eyes. It was like Icy hot status menthol. A bit much for me. I don't think I will be using that scent anymore.

I think I know how it got that way. I didn't know how to load this soap up properly, so I kept lathering for a long time. It never built up a good lather because the brush was too dry, but it picked up a ton of the soap into the brush. I'm pretty sure this is way the menthol stuck behind for so strong and so long after. So last night I revisited a different mama bears soap with the same problem trying to whip up a lather. So this time I soaked my brush up really wet and that did the trick. Just a little nuisance to get this brand of soap to work. I was able to get a really good lather this way.

There are so many different things to pick up in this hobby, I'm always excited for my next shave so I can try other products.

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If it doesn't work for you there are many things else to try in our short time on this planet.

I am glad you got rid of the residue!

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Originally Posted by thevez2

Weird, I use mentholated soaps all the time, and sometimes add more menthol to it... I've never had an issue with menthol staying on the brush

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Me too
But i case that i would remove that smell i would use white vinegar-hot water soluble.