Thread: What am I missing out on?

I started with the VDH "deluxe" brush from CVS. I believe it's the same as the Walmart kit brush, but with a white handle.

After ~ 3 weeks, I bought a Stevenson's Silvertip brush ($75 from SRD). In comparison, the silvertip brush:
1. Holds a lot more water. I only have to add about a 1/2 a tablespoon of water 1-2 times during the lather making process, and only have to add about 1/8 a tablesppon between passes. With the VDH boar brush, I had to add a tablespoon of water 3-4 times during the lather making process, and a 1/4 tablespoon between passes. This "water holding" aspect was the main reason I bought a badger brush. In retrospect, I found I had to shake much of the extra water out of the brush because otherwise it runs down my chest while I'm lathering... However, even after gently shaking the extra water out of the brush, the badger's water holding ability causes the lather to stay warmer much, much longer and that's very nice.
2. It is a little stiffer, and this seems to make the lather a tiny bit faster.
3. It feels a tiny bit scritchier on my sensitive neck skin. (Despite the reputation of the boar hair being scritchier). I attribute this to the brush being more densely packed with bristles.
4. It "blooms" when I shake the water out, and this seems to help it dry significantly faster - and keeps the bristles "brush shaped". The VDH boar brush got a swirly pattern in the middle and hollow spots between the swirls. Looked like it was really bad off. Didn't work any worse for lathering though.
5. It smelled a lot worse for the first several days (even though I shampooed it 4-5 times).

So, am I happy I bought it ? Yes.

Would I do it again if I was short on cash ? Not sure. Crabtree & Evelyn (in most malls) has renewed their relationship with Jagger and will be stocking the $35 "best" badger brushes again soon. I'd probably check them out, and decide based on what I saw.

I've also noticed that the soap or cream seems to make a lot more difference than the brush. I'm on my fourth...

This is very helpful. I might be willing to sink $35 into a brush. I can't imagine myself spending more than that.