Thread: 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.