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So I just got my first straight razor via a wet shave set from straight razor designs, and the brush that comes with it is badger. I have noticed that the brush itself smells.......less than pleasant to say the least. Does this fade with time? Is there a way to get rid of it?
the brush smells because it is animal hair. dead animal hair. most new brushes smell, except for synthetic ones obviously. after a few shaves with it the smell will go away. just ignore it til then.
if you really want to get the smell out right away, try buying animal shampoo and run it through the brush a few times. other than that, after a few shaves it should be smelling fine.
Thanks a lot! I thought the smell would dissipate but wanted to make sure. I knew the girlfriend would be less inclined to be close to me if the smell lingered. Thanks again!
Use it a few times and you'll be set. No need to buy special shampoo..
Time and use solves this issue.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chemist
If you have a puck of Williams or another inexpensive
shave soap, practice making a lather for a while then
let the brush dry correctly. Another lathering practice
session will do the job for 90%.....
This is one reason to never toss a shave soap.
You can worry some lather out of a soap that you
do not like and not worry about wasting it.
Chemist,
The quickest way to get rid of the 'funk' is to wash the brush with something like baby shampoo (I use Johnsons for this).
Then make a thick lather with the brush and work the lather (Proraso works well for this) well into the body of the brush. Leave the brush to dry overnight with the lather on it.
In the morning, wash and re-shampoo the brush and you should find most of the 'funky' aroma gone :)
(IIRC this method was suggested by Ambrose over at B&B.)
Have fun !
Best regards
Russ
Some brushes are worse than others. Most of the ones I have just needed a quick wash in some borax. My Thater had this thick ugly yellowish material which kept coming out for quite some time.
Gentlemen:
The smell of a new brush is part of the wet shaving experience and it fades with time and use. I do nothing to a new brush except to use it, knowing soon enough the odor will be a memory.
Regards,
Obie
True...Overtime the smell of a new brush will dissipate.
I speed up the process by soaking my new brushes in a solution of warm water and baby shampoo for appox. 20-30 minutes.
I just put a drop of my normal shampoo into my lather dish and lathered as if it was shave soap. It worked well and left no smell at all. Now my brush just smells like my normal shave soap because my shampoo has a very light smell. I'm happy with the result.
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!
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. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by roughkype
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by garth
"Badgers? We don't need no stinking badgers!"
Heehee. Sorry I couldn't resist. :D
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 :)
I be told you can rid the smell from the critter by having a skunk spray on it.
I may be a little mad, but I actually like the smell of new Badger brushes. It tells me that this is the real thing, not an up to date, manipulated, fake, syntetic bit of cake.
That's a good point. I've seen some of the man-made fiber brushes made to look like animal hair. Some of them are very convincing except for the smell.Quote:
Originally Posted by ama015
Lori
Love that new brush smell, and yes it does dissapear with general shaving and nothing special done to it, though the Borax is a popular option if it is unplesant to you. I guess New Brush Smell is connected with antisipation of your new brush, the eagerness of the first lather with it.... ohh fond memories!Quote:
Originally Posted by LoriB