Thread: Bent Brush Tips

Hello all,
Is it normal for the tips of your brush to get hooked or bent over with use? I have read about people having this happen when boiling their brush or overheating their brush. However, I am pretty gentle with my brush and I use warm to cold water for my shaves. I am currently using a Rooney 3/1 Super Silvertip brush. Thanks for all help.

Barbed bristles happen, even with the finest badger brushes and grades. I did a lot of searching looking for a cause several years ago when one of mine developed barbs. I never found a definitive answer. Some badger just seems more prone to barbing and it does not seem to be a result of how the brush is used or the maker. Just happens to some batches of hair.

Other than how the bristles look, I never noticed any change in performance.

Try rinsing your brush in cold water after you use it, I had a
Chubby #1 Super with somewhat barbed tips that seemed to
be remedied by this technique (although it could have been
something else entirely).

- Scott

I had one that I bought used at a flea market and someone had left it in the cup and it was bent bad. I tried all the suggestions and nothing straightened it completely.

Of course you could use some hair straightener on it but personally I wouldn't worry about it. It should not affect performance.

Originally Posted by altshaver

Hello all,
Is it normal for the tips of your brush to get hooked or bent over with use? I have read about people having this happen when boiling their brush or overheating their brush. However, I am pretty gentle with my brush and I use warm to cold water for my shaves. I am currently using a Rooney 3/1 Super Silvertip brush. Thanks for all help.

I have a Rooney myself, Although I don't have a problem, this is what I do. When I'm finished, I hold it upside down while grasping the bristles in my hand. I let cold water run into it and squeeze at the same time until all the soap is gone, I shake it dry, and hang it in it's stand.

Once a week, usually on Sunday, I rub some hair conditioner in it, then rinse. It's natural hair, and this keeps it nice and soft....

Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions. They definitely helped to put me at ease. I am at the point where I am fretting over every detail of every shaving item I have. With the kind of investment you make in this stuff, you sure do want it to be what it should be. Hopefully, I'll be leaving this stage shortly.

I found another post in another forum that dealt with the same topic. Here is a link:

Badger Hair - Badger & Blade

My brush has the same characteristics as shown in the picture. If I have time, I'll post pictures of my brush as well.

Thanks again.

I finally found the time to get some pictures of the brush that I am having trouble with. Here is a link to the pictures if anyone is interested to see what I am talking about. Thanks!

Rooney 3-1 pictures by altphoto - Photobucket

You could try giving the brush a little shampoo and some hair conditioner to keep the hair soft. Looks like split ends from dry hair.

As far as I know that is perfectly normal. Every one of mine look that way once I've used them a few times.