Brush differences

I have had a silvertip brush I have been using for quite some time. I love it but I bought a new stand and I needed a brush of a different size. So I bought a super badger brush. Seems nice but I notice the difference in firmness. It's not that I don't like it but it's quite different and I notice that the firmness of the bristles almost seem to want to wipe away the lather. I mean it massages the face very nicely but it keeps wiping the lather off my face. I imagine it's simply a matter of getting used to a new brush but anyone out there notice the same?

Tried it again this AM. Never have I had so much lather wind up in the sink before I touch a blade to my face :)

I wish I could give you some insight but I only have one brush that I have been using for a long time..even though it should be replaced. Once the funds come in again I will get another one.

Super Badger's usually hold a ton and I mean a ton of lather. So.......Not seeing how you do things or the size of the brush, I can only guess too much water or too much pressure on the brush when loaded up with suds. I get so much lather from mine that I can plaster the lather and cover my face, which my wife appreciates, but I also try to just use the tips of the brush so that the lather really stays on the top half of the bristles. The stiffer bristles really helps with this.

Have fun.

If you have a big glob of lather that's about to fall off then you can wipe it off in your mug and use it later or gently paint it onto your face. the painting motion should spread lather rather than wipe it.

I face lather and barely ever have lather falling off any more. The trick is to do something before the lather falls off

I guess I will chalk it up to technique. I don't have these issues with my silvertip brush so maybe I could afford to be sloppier. I can get alot of lather. The problems lie when I apply it to my face! :)

You know how these forums are. Sometimes you just look for a response like "Oh yeah! I had that same experience and this is what I did..." :)

The tips shouldn't be that stiff. maybe a pure badger but I have never seen any two bander or super badger with tips so stiff it does that.

Do they soften with use/time?

I'm shamefully new and inexperienced at this, but here's something very general I've noticed about the brushes I have: the ones that hold together tighter in more of a rod don't lather up as well as the ones that spread out. One particularly irritating example is a travel brush that is stored in a tight tube. I haven't used it much, and I think I'm going to have to use it until it starts to spread out, and not keep it packed in the tube--as it is now, it doesn't work at all. On the other hand, I have a $3 horse brush, wide and loose with lots of internal space, that's a maniac foam machine.

So maybe some break-in is in order?

I think you are absolutely right. I also read on another site that this is a FAQ! They said that alot of times users in my situation try to press too hard with the firmer brush and we should try to use the tips more. They also said to trying "painting strokes" instead of circles. I think all of this along with your point about the break-in is what I need.

I wanted to bring this thread to closure. I like to do that in case someone searches and find this 5 years from now :)

This brush has broken in BUT I have definitely noticed that I had to lighten up on the brush strokes. My silvertip is alot softer and can tolerate a much harder stroke. With this new brush I have to lighten up and use only the brush tips. Have a good one!

An update on this one: After reading this thread, I dug into the offending brush in earnest, and managed, through brute force over a week or so, to get it to spread out and looking like a normal brush. It's been working fine since, and so I am not going to store it in the tube, pressed it back into the tight little bundle that didn't work so well before.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mdarnton

I'm shamefully new and inexperienced at this, but here's something very general I've noticed about the brushes I have: the ones that hold together tighter in more of a rod don't lather up as well as the ones that spread out. One particularly irritating example is a travel brush that is stored in a tight tube. I haven't used it much, and I think I'm going to have to use it until it starts to spread out, and not keep it packed in the tube--as it is now, it doesn't work at all. On the other hand, I have a $3 horse brush, wide and loose with lots of internal space, that's a maniac foam machine.

So maybe some break-in is in order?

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