Thread: New Brush Smell?

Someone recently told me they had good luck with Oxydol stain remover. Another person mentioned vinegar soaks.

I was talking to a supplier of badger hair brushes the other day. They spray the knots with Lysol.

I haven't tried the above processes.

When I bought my new Vie-Long badger, it did have a bit of an odor to it ( even though it is a beautiful brush ). I soaked it in a solution of warm water and Dawn dishsoap for a few hours. Dawn is known for being a mild soap.

Thanks to everyone who posted answers... I almost posted a new thread about new brush smell. Mine's a Muhle travel brush, described as pure badger, but it sure smells piggy. I don't remember that my other badger brush smelled piggy, but it's so long ago that I'd have forgotten.

Anyone else had a badger brush that smelled more like a boar brush?

Thanks for all the good tips everyone!!! I was also noticing that the brush it self could use a little softening as far as the bristles went. So I put some hair conditioner on it and left it for about 24 hours, wow did that soften things up!

Originally Posted by roughkype

Thanks to everyone who posted answers... I almost posted a new thread about new brush smell. Mine's a Muhle travel brush, described as pure badger, but it sure smells piggy. I don't remember that my other badger brush smelled piggy, but it's so long ago that I'd have forgotten.

Anyone else had a badger brush that smelled more like a boar brush?

The stink everyone notices is not so much the badger or the boar as it is whatever the factory sterilized it with... so yes, most likely.

That makes sense. If it were the badger hair itself it would probably have more of a "smells like chicken" fragrance.

Originally Posted by garth

That makes sense. If it were the badger hair itself it would probably have more of a "smells like chicken" fragrance.

The other white smell.

"Badgers? We don't need no stinking badgers!"

Heehee. Sorry I couldn't resist.

Someone told me it's like new car smell and after awhile he misses it. I'm not sure I could handle riding in a car that smells like a badger though at least not with the windows up.

I'm breaking in a new brush too. It's a little funky but not too bad. I dipped mine in Febreeze and let it sit for a few minutes and then washed it out with shampoo and hair conditioner.

Tabac soap masks the odour nicely

I remember when i got a new "art of shaving" brush in a set for x-mas, real badger btw. I used a dishsoap known as "yes" in sweden, whipped it up realy good 4-5 times and rinsed it clean. Then i used a hair conditioner and soaped it up good and let it rest for about 5 mins then rinsed it clean, repated it about 3 times. And with that the smell was gone and it was MUCH softer. You can use the conditioner on brushes that getting stiffer too. Hope this helps anyone