Thread: to blow dry or not to blow dry?

Originally Posted by shayne

Dear old Gramps would most likely call it a sissy move.

Once he'd stopped laughing or crying

Theres no need to blow dry your brush and it probably wont do it any harm unless you really cane it with the dryer.

I just tend to flick mine dry and then foof it with a towel and hang it up. Job done!

I'm with the others here. I flick the brush until I can't feel droplets hitting my other hand and either hang it up or set it on its base, depending if it came from a hanger or was grabbed from the bunch perched on their bottoms. (I think one can overdo this shaving ceremony - it is, after all, only something one does so others can more easily see the edges of one's face)

I can't see there being any advantage to blow drying the brush. A cold blast from the blow dryer won't hurt the brush, but repeated blasting with hot air could damage the bristles over time so why bother would be my thinking.

The main issue with the brush is just allowing it to dry out so bacteria and other funky stuff doesn't start growing (especially up in towards the handle where the hairs are tightly bunched). If that happens you'll end up with one stinky brush. If you've ever left a damp dish rag sit on the counter all rolled for a day you'll know what I'm talking about.

If it does get all stinky then a 5 min soak in a mild bleach solution should kill off all the nastiness, but that's not something you want to be doing to your brush if you can avoid it.

If you get the excess water off then a normal air dry should be just fine so long as the humidity levels in your bathroom return to normal once the day's showers are done.

After shaving, I wash my brush, squeeze excess water out, and then "lather" with it on a dry towel. It is always dry the next morning.

Originally Posted by shayne

You are right of course except for the simple fact I don't have a stand and always let it sit upright upon the base.
Dear old Gramps would most likely call it a sissy move.

An easy way round not having a stand , is to just glue a magnet on the end of brush , if have a shelf you can hang it under just screw a screw in there and hang all ya brush's

Never had a brush go bad like that, even though I only purchased a brush stand fairly recently - mind you my old brush was very small (travel size) so it would dry very quickly. Nevertheless, under usual conditions and unless the brush is kept in a closed container (they do put those warning on the box for a reason...), I don't think this could happen that easily

I'm also in favour of the natural approach. On a purely sentimental level, one of the things i like about wet shaving is the relative quiet of the ritual. Only the sound of soothing water .... for me, the sound of a blowdryer breaks the spell

Originally Posted by golfnshaver

The main issue with the brush is just allowing it to dry out so bacteria and other funky stuff doesn't start growing (especially up in towards the handle where the hairs are tightly bunched). If that happens you'll end up with one stinky brush. If you've ever left a damp dish rag sit on the counter all rolled for a day you'll know what I'm talking about.

I'd think split ends would occur with use eventually. Hair dryers are used when you groom to straighten and align your hair for appearance, not the health of the hair. The brush hair is naturally going to stay straight once dries on it's own.

I agree brushes have been inattentively cared for through out history, so don't over think it.

BUT, I don't see harm blow drying any moisture from the razors pivot if that happens to get wet. Even the whole blade if stored closed soon after shaving. Those neglected areas often have water damage.