Thread: Drying Position.

Does it matter what position I leave my silver tip in to dry?

I'd have to say, it's always best to hang your brush with the knot facing down.
If water gets into the handle, and stays, it can make the knot pop out. Or worse, crack the handle.

Yes,,,,,,,,,,,

There are certain universal questions we always get on the forum. Things like does razor size matter or grind, and how many strokes on the strop, and does linen matter and of course which way to dry a brush.

There is no absolute answer. Logic says better to keep the hair down otherwise gravity will cause moisture into the knot however many folks dry up and use the same brush day in and day out with no harm done.

Personally I do it both ways and always have. I've noticed no issues or degradation in any brush no matter which way the hair sits.

I agree it's up to the owner of the brush, but to me, it's better safe than sorry.
Not saying bad things will happen but why chance it

Once your brush clean from lather and well shaken over the sink,or the shower tub, before letting it dry up or downwards, put a towel on your shoulder and brush it with your shaving brush. It will reduce the drying time.

Originally Posted by YoWan

Once your brush clean from latherand well shaken over the sink,or the shower tub, before letting it dry up or downwards, put a towel on your shoulder and brush it with your shaving brush. It will reduce the drying time.

+1 on this. Rinse the brush well. Then shake out all excess water. Then dry the brush on a clean towel. That removes additional water and also separates the hairs/bristles of the brush so they dry more easily.

Due to capillary action, water water will always try to migrate to the area where the bristles are closest together; that means the base of the knot. Thus, that will be the last place to dry. If the brush is left standing upwards, you will have both capillary action and gravity drawing water to the base. Thus, I like to hang my brushes upside down for 24 hours after use. At least gravity is now working for you. After 24 hours, the brush is dry enough to stand up on the shelf.

With natural hair brushes I tend to hang them, mostly because of habit and not wanting a funky smell. With synthetics I tend to stand them, but mostly because I don't have enough stands.

I don't know how much it really matters providing you have done a good job cleaning the brush after use.

I guess the truth is that hanging a brush upside-down will not harm it, but leaving a wet brush to stand might...

There are other factors like air flow in the room, humidity and so on but let's not open that can of worms.

I open the shower door just enough to allow me to stick my arm in. Hold the brush and whip the devil out of it back and forth. Then set it on the counter, handle down. The brush is now dry enough, that any water left in the handle will dry through capillary action. Since I don't shave everyday, the brush has ample time to dry. If you were a daily shaver, and used the same brush, maybe hanging it would be the safest course of action.

This is one of those questions that I researched, became comfortable with the answer, then never cared to remember all I learned. It was probably on Badger & Blade that a fellow did a study, as scientifically as possible. From what I remember, there are advantages to standing it bristles up that I didn't expect. However, the general conclusions was that it didn't matter.

For me, I have one brush stand. The wet brush goes on the stand bristles down. At the end of the day, I stand it on its base with bristles up next to its brothers.