Thread: Travel brush...

Hello all, I am in the market for a travel brush.

I have a couple of decent badger brushes (Kent and Simpson) but I am loathed to pack them for travel. I was thinking that something in synthetic hair might be a good choice because they are easier (so I have heard) to care for in terms of drying time etc.

My dilemma comes when I go to websites that I have used here in the UK that the prices range from £5.95 for an Omega S brush to pretty much anything you want to pay even rivalling silver tip badger prices. I have no experience with synthetic hair other than a supermarket branded brush I had twenty years ago which was just awful.

I keep reading that things have moved on a lot since then. So I am open to suggestion really and any recommendations and advice would be very welcome.

I was in a Loccitane store recently and they had a synthetic brush which felt fantastic, it was £35 which is reasonable until you compare it to the Omega S brush mentioned earlier...

I hope this isn't the start of SBAD, as I am not sure I have the funds for another acquisition disorder!

Personally, I don't think you can go far wrong with a synthetic for a travel brush because they do dry very quickly and yes they have come a long way in the past few years. The one caveat with synthetics is that you will have to modify the way you load and lather up because they do not hold water like a boar or badger brush.

You can go 2 ways in looking for a travel brush. You can buy one specifically made as a travel brush. Simpsons have one and so does Muhle. The other way is to buy a regular synthetic brush of your choice and just drop it into a pill/prescription bottle for travel. Be sure and drill a few holes in the bottle top/bottom to allow air flow.

As to which synthetic brush to get all I can say is the choices are almost as wide as with badger brushes. I do have a L'Occitaine synthetic, it is really a Plisson, and is like lathering with a cloud. The other synthetics I have range from Simpsons which are stiffer to a few customs which are in-between the L'Occitaine/Plisson and Simpsons in feel. At a guess since you have a Kent you may really like the L'Occtaine/Plisson brush.

Good luck in your search.

Bob

The synthetic brush i have was made with a knot from TGN. Mine will soak up a ton of water compared to my badger and boar brushes, but like stated above it won't hold it. A couple shakes and most of the water is gone. Just means you have tip dip it in water more often. You could get an old travel brush and replace the knot with a synthetic one. This one I put a silvertip in it. Packs up nice and small in its own container.