Shaving brush way too stiff.

Hey everyone,

So I just very recently got into "Wet Shaving". Got a DE Razor as a gift, that came along with 5 DE Blades.
My DE razor is a Wilkinsons Sword "Classic", I like it alot its really good for beginners. So I also picked out a shaving brush, me being a beginner didn't know what I was picking out, so I picked the only brush that was there for about 1,50€, and let me tell you, I don't know if this is normal or not, but the bristles are extrmely stiff and hard, I tried leaving it in warm water, and still the bristles were hard, I read somewhere that the bristles have to "Break-In" I don't know if this is true or not, thats why I'm writing here to get an answer from someone that has expirence in "wet shaving" and brushes. Thank you for the help.

- Peter

Peter

Hi and welcome to the forum. Could you tell us what type of hair/bristles the brush has? I am going to take bristles to mean boar bristles as opposed to badger hair and say that boar brushes do need to break in, so do badger hair brushes. Two to three weeks of everyday use should do the trick and they will be as soft as they are going to get. If the bristles are synthetic I think no amount of breaking in will change them, they just are what they are.

Bob

Bob

Thank you for welcoming me. There is no saying what type of bristles are on the brush, I don't think it is badger hair, it's got the be boar or something of that nature. I mean I have watched videos of people shaving on YouTube, and the bristles on their brushes looks so soft, they spread the lather with ease, with my brush I have to "paint" it on my face. If I try to put pressure on the brush or push down it starts scratching real bad. So, I don't know..I'll just wait then.

Sounds like a Boar bristle brush I had, as Bob said it took a few weeks to soften up a bit but it was never really "soft" that is compared to the Badger hair brushes. Once I switched to badger about 6 years ago I havent looked back since. Also one wierd way to tell if its Boar bristles is there will be a musty smell once wet. I'm not an expert but that is what i found with mine, for what its worth. Have a great day.
Christian

Christian

Yeah exactly with the brush I have, when it was new and dry didn't have any smell, after using it with shaving gel..I know I know I still have yet to buy a shaving creme..It had a musty odor to it, and still does.

Any chance you could post a pic of the brush? That would help us determine what it is. As for me, whenever I get a new brush I try to speed up the break in period by letting it soak, whipping up some lather, let it sit in the lather for a bit, rinse and repeat the whole process a few times. I find it helps with the odour and softening it up :)

It took mine a good while to get rid of the odor, and while I have pretty strong facial growth and would prefer a bit of a rougher brush Boar was a bit too rough for me, that is once i tried the Pure Badger brushes. I have since gotten rid of that brush, I forgot why, it was still a great brush as Omega doesn't really make a bad brush but I did. Once thing i have learned on this site is there are tons of amazing places to get high quality everything for a very very reasonable price. i.e. Badger brushes

Yeah heres a pic of the brush, tried to get it as sharp as possible.Attachment 121524

Peter

Using shaving gel may be part of the problem as I don't think it will create a good lather. That is just a guess never having used shaving gel and a brush to make lather. I would really get some decent shave soap/cream to work with.

Boar brushes can be nice and soft on the face and still have stiffness/backbone. When I first got my Semogue 1350 boar brush it was prickly enough that if I did circles on my face with it to build a lather I would get a red rash from the irritation. I really wondered what I had gotten into with that brush. I went easy on the pressure and circles for about 2 weeks or so and now that brush is plenty soft on the face and I have no trouble face lathering with it. Yet it still has enough backbone to eat into a hard soap like MWF or Tabac. Maybe you could try some hair conditioning shampoo on it a few times and see if that helps in the meantime.

Bob

Just saw your photo pop up and it sure looks like a boar brush to me.

Bob

Bob

Yes, exactly what I do with my brush, I have to run circles on my face, and literally turns red due to the irritation.

Bob, and as you mentioned the gel with the brush, there isn't much to choose from here were I live, tomorrow I'm going into town to pick up an exclusive shaving creme thats only made here in Slovakia called "Barbus Shaving Creme" it's going to be my very first time trying shaving creme, and I also have to learn the creme/water ratio for the perfect lather which will also take time. I would LOVE to try other shaving cremes but im afraid most internet site don't ship internationally, and sites that are based here in the UK are too expensive, I would like to try something basic, I've seen a shaving creme called "Palmolive Shaving Creme for Men" with Palm Extracts, that or any other basic shaving creme.. just have no luck. I still have lots of places to look for, as I have only been living here for 2 years.

Try a body shop creme, or a soft soap like cella. Somtimes those boar brush are stay stiff and hard.
You can try a cheap badger brush.

Peter

I had to look up the shave cream you mentioned as I did not know of it. It gets pretty good comments so you should be all set with that decent soap to use. I would use lighter pressure when doing circles to build lather on the face for the time being.

I would suggest that when you try the new soap out that you practice making it in the palm of your hand to get the feel of it and how it lathers. Try loading some soap on the brush after you have given it a couple of shakes to get rid of the excess water. Dip the hand in water that you are going to build the lather in so it is wet like your face would be. Start working the brush to build the lather adding a little more water a bit at a time by just dipping the tips of the brush in water when needed. Keep adding water a little at a time till you get the lather the way you want it, like a good whipping cream that peaks when you pull the brush away from it.

I can't get Palmolive locally either and have to order it in too. I picked some up in my travels and found it to my liking for a cream. Let us know how you make out with the new soap and lather building.

Bob

Bob

If you would like to try that Barbus shaving creme, I could buy you one and send it to you if you like, it's made exclusivley here in Slovakia, so getting your hands on it might be very hard.. and yes, the reviews on it are great, I can't wait to try it.

But ultimately I would really like to use that Palmolive, I hear thats a really great product aswell, and then when I get better at DE shaving and making lather, I would like to try some of that Taylor of Old Bond Street (Sandlewood) Creme, that stuff has to be amazing. But It would be a big waste for a beginner like me to use something like that, because I would really mess up the lather and stuff.