Thread: Went from New walmart boar brush to used badger brush... questions about difference.

The badger brush makes waaaaaaaay better lather, but requires a good deal more soap to do it. It is also extremely soft, like silk on my face. Whereas the boar was more like, well, a straw broom. Are these traits due to:

A: Really low quality boar brush
B: Differences between boar and badger hair
or
C: The badger brush, being used is worn and broken in, thus much softer.

Someone with experience with brushes care to chime in?

Id say B

The boar hair is allot stiffer than badger hair is. Therefore the badger brush takes allot more time on a soap to get up the same amount in the brush.

Badger is much much softer naturally, until you get your boar brush properly broken in anyway. Badger brushes also don't have that breaking in period, they are about as good as they get fresh out of the box. I have never used by badger with soap, but if the badger has a larger knot it will likely take more soap to lather up.

Boar hair has a much bigger knot, but like you guys are saying, the badger picks up soap very slowly.

I guess using the badger with soap will make it wear out fairly quick... otherwise I have no idea why anyone would ever use a boar brush. Seriously, silk vs straw broom, and I'm not even exaggerating. I may try some serious abuse of the boar (as it's very cheap) just to see if it will soften up... but I can't see myself ever using it again.

I recommend getting an Omega before giving up on boar entirely, particularly if you are a soap user. I absolutely love mine. You do have to give boar brushes time. The tips will split over time, making the tips easily as soft as quality badger while giving it more backbone than anything else. I think a lot of the hype around badger is just that, hype. For a long time it was something only the wealthy could use, so there is a sense of prestige to it even though it isn't necessarily better, just different.

Originally Posted by IanS

Boar hair has a much bigger knot, but like you guys are saying, the badger picks up soap very slowly.

I guess using the badger with soap will make it wear out fairly quick... otherwise I have no idea why anyone would ever use a boar brush. Seriously, silk vs straw broom, and I'm not even exaggerating. I may try some serious abuse of the boar (as it's very cheap) just to see if it will soften up... but I can't see myself ever using it again.

A and B. Boars are stiffer, but should not be scratchier. If the ends of the boar brush are clipped, then it's crap and should not be used. (Same with Badger, actually...clipping the hairs is bad news...).

I dunno if it's clipped. It's from the Van Der Hagen PREMIUM set. I would have gotten the basic set, but I figured I could splurg on the whole $7.50. (Also, there was no basic set). I'd say it's probably a good bet it's as crappy as they come.

Couldn't you remedy clipping by "faking" wear on the ends by say sandwiching them between a couple rocks and rubbing back and forth a few times?

On another note, my lather always seems more on the sudsy side, less on the slippery side. It's like really fine-bubbled bubble bath. Whipping it more doesn't seem to help. Is this what it should look like or am I doing something wrong?

I soak brush 5-10 mins, shake it, swirl it on the soap until lather starts to form on edges of soap, put it in mug and run it around in circles, occasionally reversing a swoop to gather stuff off the rim. Volume increases as I whip it more, but it doesn't really get any silkier. I've tried not adding water, and adding a drop or two every 20 or so seconds, both to the mug and to the cup... nothing seems to change the final result much if at all.

I also use a VDH Boar brush (got it at CVS, not Walmart tho.)

I haven't used a Badger brush yet, but I plan on buying a knot and making a handle for it.

While the Boar may not be soft on your skin right away, I kinda enjoy the gentle abrasion I get from it on my face. I think I read someone say it helps exfoliate your skin, and IMO, nothing wrong with that.

Originally Posted by IanS

Couldn't you remedy clipping by "faking" wear on the ends by say sandwiching them between a couple rocks and rubbing back and forth a few times?

First of all, I'm no brush expert, but JimR seems to be pretty knowledgeable on piggybrushes.

I would say at least B, perhaps A. Badger and boar are different animals, as we learnmed in the school.

I would say boar does have a breaking in period where the ends of the hair split and it improves. Unless it is indeed clipped. I have no idea whether those will split.

You could always try that sandwiching on that brush (you could also try swirling/rubbing on stone/sandpaper). I have no idea whether they work. However, I would hazard a guess that the brush doesn't improve that dramatically. Still, I'm interested in the results, if you decide to try that =).

You all say that it won't split at the ends if clipped? Why not? Human hair splits after being cut, so why wouldn't other hair?

I would imagine that swirling the brush on something with a bit of a rough surface might help to split the tips a little, producing a softer tip.

Anyone tried to trim a boar brush and notice if it got softer after a while?