Thread: First horse hair brush

I just picked up my first horse hair brush. My only other brushes are a cheepo vdh synthetic and a Smauge pure bristle. Do I need to do anything special with it? I have heard that you shouldn’t swirl horse hair, any truth to that? It is a Creamo brand (but made by Vie-Long) that my work had on clearance for about 10 bucks. So if I wreck it, I won’t be too sad. Just don’t want to mess it up the first time out.

Nah, I wouldn't worry about using it wrong. My advice, just use it the way you would use any other brush. You might find it has a different smell to it though.

Congrats on the new brush. I have a Vie-Long horse hair and I love it. I hope you enjoy using yours, if it has an animal smell that will go away with use the same as with any badger or boar.

I have three horse hair brushes from Vie Long. They are not my favorite brushes, but I do enjoy using them. Because horse hair is a lot like human hair, it can become tangled. I have a coarse dressing comb that I use to comb out the knot whenever I see any evidence of tangling. If the knot gets badly tangled, try using a hair conditioner designed to help hair detangle more easily. However, if you do not let it get tangled badly in the first place, this may not be necessary.

One thing I like about horse hair brushes is that they seem to work well for all soap types (creams, croaps, and hard milled pucks).

I hope to be able to try a horsehair brush sometime.

I would imagine it would make a difference whether the knot was made from tail hair or mane hair. Tail hair is quite stiff and mane hair is just the opposite as it's quite soft.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

I hope to be able to try a horsehair brush sometime.

I would imagine it would make a difference whether the knot was made from tail hair or mane hair. Tail hair is quite stiff and mane hair is just the opposite as it's quite soft.

As for the Vie-Longs, the white and banded horse-hair knots are 50/50 tail/mane hair whereas the brown horse-hair knots are 65/35 tail/mane hair. Personally, I prefer the former for general use, although the long-loft barber's knots in brown hair (75/25 tail/mane) with the metal/wooden handles are quite nice in their way for dedicated bowl-lathering.

Damn, now i got to buy a horse hair brush! You guys just never stop. Lol.

I find it amusing we discuss the merits of horsehair brushes here as though we have all discovered something new.

Back in the day Horse was the most common brush used by "the common man" and it was only the anthrax scares that caused boar to replace it.

I've never used one for shaving though I have several for other purposes and they work great.

I like my horsie brush. Not my favorite, but fun on occasion. Pretty good performer!
Do get a new one wet and stick it to your nose. A coffee cup with a few tablespoons of Oxyclean/water and put it in hairs-down.

Might have to de-stink it!

Aloha!

Congrats on the new brush.

My 2 bits;

I like my Vie-Long Horsehair. I find it a nice mix between Badger and Boar. Horsehair brushes were super popular "back in the day" until the Anthrax Scare put Horsehair out of everyone's shave den. But that was a long time ago, and there is no concern now of course.

Use it and enjoy it. I will probably buy another soon. I give mine a workout often. It's a great brush for lathering-up before a mighty fine shave.

-Zip