Thread: Mild detergent?

Baby shampoo & the finest hair conditioner you can afford,,, treat it like your own hair.

What if you have no hair?????

Originally Posted by S0LITARYS0LDIER

It was a very nice gift from her! She's a keeper. Here's a pic of the brush I have to say it looks better in real life.

And.... No but she's got a brother that is a little fruity.. I'm not quite sure about him.. But he doesn't have a job.. So don't expect gifts.. Hahah
nice brush I like the handle on it. I am a newby I just bought 2 new Simpson brushes. I just know in time I will work my way to getting one of those as well. I think brushes are just as much fun to collect and use as razors. They never cut or nick, never have to be stropped, and never have to be sent out for honing. Nice brush..enjoy.

Attachment 216261

Nice brush I really like the handle. I just bought myself 2 Simpson brushes this week. I am a newby at this hobby, but I know it will just be a matter of time before I have one of those beautys as well.
I think brushes are more fun to have and use and collect than razors. They never cut or nick, never need honing or stropping.
Enjoy

I know this is a somewhat older threat, and I also know I'm fairly new to this wet-shaving world, but am in the medical field and also grew up with a father that used his badger-hair brush daily. My main question would be : why do you need to wash it with a detergent? You "wash" it with soap and warm water daily just by building your lather & rinsing it off! Do you ever wash your loofah? (I don't use a loofah, ...so maybe people do, but that seems equally silly.) Certainly it has regular contact with your face which may contain some grime & skin oils depending on whether you shower before you shave or not, but you rub it repeatedly in soap, to a thick lather, no less, and then rinse all that off with hot water... it probably gets "washed" far more often than some guy's underwear! Your shaving soap is certainly capable of binding to the small amount of grime/oils in your face unless you have an extremely dirty face... in which case THOROUGHLY WASH ALL THAT GRIME OFF BEFORE SHAVING or you're gonna nick yourself & get an infection. Just my .02 cents. Saw my dad lather up with the same badger brush for two decades with a mom that was a clean freak, especially about the bathroom, and never once did she think she needed to wash that brush, because it was "washed" with soap daily, and sometimes twice a day if they were going out in the evening to something fancy/special.

Added thought: on the other hand, the idea of using a conditioner on it is interesting... although this might speed up the brush's breakdown. You have to remember that the hair on your head grows & grows, so you're not exposing the same hair to the chemicals in conditioner over & over. I've cared for someone in the ER with mild chemical burns to her scalp & some hair falling out due to putting on a large amount of conditioner on & leaving it on for a long amount of time (I believe she had put it on, wrapped it with cellophane or aluminum foil or something, and sat on a recliner waiting for the few minutes before washing it back out, but had fallen asleep & awoke hours later, with her hair falling out, so came to the ER, where I treated her.) The hair on your badger brush does NOT continually grow, so repeatedly exposing it to conditioner would be the same as you washing your hair with conditioner over & over & over & over on the same time frame, before new hair grows out, which I assume could cause damage.

Many new brushes are dirty. The first suds can and often turn grey. Some don't. It depends on who made the knot.

Washing a brush first, regardless of the manufacturer is a safe step to take. It will also allow the knot to bloom.

Originally Posted by rolodave

Washing a brush first, regardless of the manufacturer is a safe step to take. It will also allow the knot to bloom.

Oh, absolutely... I'm not against washing a brand new (or new to you) brush a couple of times before applying it to your face... after all, you have no idea what kind of environment it was produced in, held in before packaging, what kinds of chemicals they have there to clean/etch/disinfect not just the brushes, but that could have accidentally been spilled on a batch of badger hair, etc... and before the hair even gets to a manufacturer... it was on a badger for its whole life... getting exposed to dirt (and depending on where the hair is from on the animal) badger feces, urine, and, umm... other love-stricken badgers! I'm sure the hair is thoroughly sanitized before production, but one or two washes before applying it to the face is sound judgment, I think.

What I was disputing was the people suggesting you had to wash your brush frequently, like once a month, with detergent and what kind they should use... you already use soap on it every day.

FIL

I rarely ever wash my brushes. Some people do a monthly maintenance.

You do what works for you. If you see no need then leave them alone.

All I do is a thorough rinse after a shave and let them dry with the hair hanging down.

On rare occasions I have given a brush a Pantene rub.

Soap scum accumulates in the fine badger hairs over time leading to hairs breaking. I enjoy washing my beautiful expensive brush out from time to time.. besides that it's in the manufacturers instructions. Why wouldn't I listen to that. After all they know best as they made it..

Johnson's baby shampoo works very well for my brushes.

That's a good choice.