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I was curious if you are supposed to clean your shaving brush every now and then. I saw some brush cleaning tablets at classicshaving.com and it got me wondering. So does anyone clean there brush? If so, how and how often? Does it improve the quality of the shave any?
Some do and some don't. I clean mine with borax 1x a year just for GPs but they don't really need it. I find if you thoroughly clean your brushes after each use you avoid problems down the road.
in my 10 years of using low quality vdh brushes.. i never washed them.. now that i'm using higher quality brushes.. i may start.. so far i just thoroughly rinse after the shave, shake out as much water as i can.. swirl the brush on a clean towel to dry a little more.. then i leave the brush sitting out to continue air drying..
mantic59 has a video that explains how to clean a brush by soaking in borax.. i havn't done it yet and i'm still trying to decide whether i should listen to everything his videos suggest. as quite a few of them seem to be overkill.
Thanks for the replies. I'll just keep on thoroughly washing out my brush with water after each shave and not worry any farther.
A key is hanging your brush, not setting it upside down with the bristles up in the air...that's a no-no IMO. If you rinse your brush well in the hot water, shake it out well and hang it in a holder bristle down, you should get mucho use out of it no matter if it's a $10 boar or a $200+ custom...
I clean the brush before first using it, and whenever I start to see some soap buildup at the base of the shafts. That may take years, depending on how many brushes you use in rotation, but it is important as the buildup may cause weakening of the hair shaft.
Here are a couple of good instructional videos from Em's Place.
+1. I basically do the same thing. I will follow the cleaning instructions from Em's Place when I see some soap buildup at the base of bristles.Quote:
Originally Posted by RayG
I do wash mine. A dab in Borax, followed by gentle detergent rub, followed by a vinegar (20%)/Glycerin (few drops) solution. Rinse and Viola...you are good to go.
I use a brush that is made from natural badger hair so I treat it just like I would treat the hair on my head. My experience is that if I use hand soap to wash my hair, my hair feels like it it has a coating on it. When I use shampoo my hair feels clean. Following this reasoning every few weeks I get a small dot of shampoo and wash my brush. I don't know if it makes the bristles any better but it makes me feel better.
Every once in a while I soak it in alcohol for about 15 minutes, and also do it if I purchase a used brush.Quote:
Originally Posted by RaiderShaver
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan82
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.
Additional info....Quote:
Originally Posted by BladeRunner001
"Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound,"
So while not calcium bicarbonate the point is correct that the sodium
replaces Ca and Mg making the soap scum soluble/ mobile and
the Ca and Mg boron compounds are more soluble so they
all rinse down the drain.
Baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) and common table
salt can also help mobilize the soap related deposits.
Prevention is important.... rinse well, shake to near dry and
then air dry.
My bad...I the time I wrote it, I was thinking Baking Soda (rather than Borax)...:)
Quote:
Originally Posted by niftyshaving
I've often times thought about why some guys seem to have so much trouble with their brushes getting all gunked up. I've wondered whether its because of hard water issues or a lack of cleaning or they make their lather too concentrated or a combination of those things. I rotate between 5 brushes but 2 are pretty new so for years I have used the same 3 and I've never had a build up problem. I'm pretty fanatical about rinsing my brushes after use and shaking the excess water out.
I have had the same brush for thirty years and I have never washed it. I just rinse it, shake it into the tub and hang it upside down. It looks and performs great. I use shaving soap and water when I use it I don't see how it could get dirty. Am I missing something?
Kurt
Never...............
I don't wash mine either. I bought one at Hoffritz For Cutlery in the early '70s and used it exclusively for over thirty years. After about 30 years the knot fell out and I siliconed it back in. Still have it and use it once in awhile. Anyhow, I washed a couple of second hand brushes I bought off of the bay but I've never washed any others. Not against it, just never felt the need.
I figure if its dirty, it's dirty with soap. I will rinse out the old soap just prior to the next shave. A used or brand new brush may be a different story.
I clean my brushes every month by immersing them in a bathroom sink of warm water and hair shampoo.Quote:
Originally Posted by RaiderShaver
I have never really cleaned any of my brushes. I just thoroughly rinse them, flick out the water and hang them. Occasionally I rub the wet brush on an alum block to kill any bacteria and make sure it is well rinsed prior to using it again.
Regards,
Neil
I am with you and suspect that a lot of this is just being fussy but not all.Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigspendur
A good shave brush will last decades. Simply using it keeps it clean
for me.
.....But like kitchen sponges -- if you rinse them out after you use
them they last ten times longer than if you don't rinse them out.