Thread: care and maintenance of badger brush... bleach?

hi, my badger brush is about a year old and is going green from what i think is lime? i shake my brush out over the tub when im done and hang it upside down in the holder. any sugestions on how to clean it without causing any damage. i was thinking of bleaching it but seems too harsh, so i thought id give this post a try first.
thanks for all suggestions!

I've heard tales of brushes taking on the color of the soap they are exposed to. IRecently someone used a lavender soap and the brush was colored from the one use. I haven't seen a pic but the person has been reliable thus far...over several years.
I'd stay far away from bleach.
I know what it does to human hair and human's is being replaced all the time.

Try a borax or a vinegar solution. vinegar : water = 1:10
If you do use bleach let us know how that worked.

I clean my brushes every month or two with a tsp of borax in a cup of hot water, soak the brush for a few mins or so, rinse and then lather up some baby shampoo, rinse thoroughly and shake dry.

Here's a handy dandy link to EM's video instructions on cleaning shaving brushes. I would not want to use anything harsher than those two methods.

Regards

Christian

I've been using my current brush for a couple of years. Never had to wash it. If I did, I'd use some baby shampoo (it's hair, afterall), that I use for washing my helmets. I just don't see a point to cleaning something that soaks up soap lather and gets rinsed with every use.

thanks everyone for the great info, i only use col. conk to shave with. it lathers great doesnt dry too fast and washes off the blade easily. will give the borax and baby shampoo meathod a try.

I use detergent such as Palmolive. I fill up the bowl with some water, put in a few drops, and then pretty much make lather. After this, I wash all the soap out.

So far (I do this 2-3 times a month and I've had the brush for a year), I have not had problems. In fact, after a such a wash, the brush seems to hold more water afterwards.

Here is an excellent video from Emms'. Check it out the woman know what is good for cleaning brushes.

http://www.shaveinfo.com/videos/brush_cleaning.htm


Later,
Richard