Thread: Do you clean your brush?

I thoroughly rinse mine out after use, no build-up whatsoever. I have seen some nasty pictures of pretty dirty brushes. Never have I used (so far) borax or vinegar to clean a brush, no need. I think rinsing all the soap/cream residue out after use takes care of cleaning the brush.

I used a mystery brand "Best Badger" for twenty years (from 1988 till 2008). It lived in the shower, and never once did it occur to me to clean it. I never noticed soap build up or any foul odors , nor did I hang it to dry. One day, the knot fell out, and I threw the whole thing in the garbage. In hind sight, I coulda glued it back together and probably carried on for another 20 years. But then I wouldn't have found this and other great Wet-shaving sites.
IMHO, brushes aren't just low maintenance, they are NO maintenance. Mind you, I just have a fairly cheap Shavemac now, not a truly expensive brush, so 20 years for a $75.00 tool is a pretty good return on investment.

I was thinking about this today.

For a badger or boar, being natural fibres, could you use a pet shampoo tht is formulated for such hair?

I cleaned my brushes the before the first use, but not since. Mostly that was to get rid of the animal scent. I figure it's getting swished around in soap all the time, isn't that what "washing" is? I just make sure to rinse it well after each use.

No need for specialty shampoos, a regular brand will do, and don't use 2-in-1. I usually use my wife's brand on my brushes as she spends more than I do . Every now and then I'll put a dab of shampoo on my palm and ''lather'' it really well with the brush, rinse well and let it dry. I find this restores the performance back to where it should be.

I don't know about all this talk of using borax, vinegar or alcohol. How bad does your brush have to get for you to have to use these products? I thought those would be used just for the initial cleaning, but IME I've never had to give a brush that treatment even out of the box.

A brush is hair, treat it as such. Now and then, use some shampoo on it, sneak a few drops of the wifes hair conditioner and work some in and rinse it out per the manufacturers recommendations. That will keep the badger hair clean and soft for years to come. A lot of shaving soap will leave a residue, harsh chemicals will dry out the hair and cause it to crack, break or even develop split ends. Clean it like you would clean the hair on your head.

Hi Ryan,
Sometimes people ignore rinsing their brushes well. This, over time, will lead to build up (I haven't had this problem long enough to know, so I am speaking theoretically here).

For others, the hardness of the water in their local communities will affect the deposits on the brushes...again, speaking theoretically. This will affect the brush regardless of how well you rinse.

I tend to want to treat the brush like I would for my own hair. Shampooing is great, but over time, tends to form deposits on the scalp (due to soap reacting with excess minerals in hard water to form insoluble calcium and magnesium salts, which need to be cleaned out once in awhile). Borax (technically calcium bicarbonate) allows for exchange of the Ca and Mg with Na ions, making this more soluble and easy to rinse off.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

No need for specialty shampoos, a regular brand will do, and don't use 2-in-1. I usually use my wife's brand on my brushes as she spends more than I do . Every now and then I'll put a dab of shampoo on my palm and ''lather'' it really well with the brush, rinse well and let it dry. I find this restores the performance back to where it should be.

I don't know about all this talk of using borax, vinegar or alcohol. How bad does your brush have to get for you to have to use these products? I thought those would be used just for the initial cleaning, but IME I've never had to give a brush that treatment even out of the box.

Just a good rinse after every shave (thorough enough to ensure little or no soap/cream scent remains in the brush). And into the shower for a little hair conditioner followed by a rinse once every 2-3 months.

I'm a fan of pre-shave oils so I shampoo mine if it feels like the oil is building up on the badger hair. Not very often.

Rinse thoroughly after each use.

Pay attention to your local water.

Like anything in the bathroom you will get soap scum
build up and depending on your water you may also
get mineral build up. i.e. shave soap is soap. Minerals
will mostly self clean with flex. Soap scum is insoluble
and most of the power cleaners are hard on hair/ bristles.

Rinse your brush clean with clear water
and shake out the extra water to minimize
the buildup and thus minimize the need
for a "cleaner" product.

Borax is one of the safer suggestions
I saw pass by. Baking soda is a common
bathroom solution and while slightly abrasive
it is soluble enough to rinse clean.

The packaged "brush cleaner" makes sense
when used sparingly.