Recently received a Vie-Long 50/50 mane/tail horse hair brush. It's got a good feel and think I'm going to really like it. BUT, the darn thing smells horrible! I've been hand lathering it about 6-7 times with various scented soaps and even washed it out with Dawn dish soap. It still stinks! What's a guy supposed to do?
My Epsilon smelled like formaldehyde when I got it. I did a couple of lathers with a strongly scented soap and let the soap sit in the knot over night and then used it for two weeks straight. The smell will eventually dissipate.
+1 Also just received an epsilon horse hair brush (Vie Long's "premium" line). Mine smelled as well but I hand lathered a few times over the course of two weeks or so and let it sit overnight, rinsed it in the morning, let it dry, and then repeated until it was gone. Seemed to work for me. Let us know how you make out! Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
Sometime in the past I seem to recall a soak in borax water was recomended to de-funk a brush.I wonder if a soak in baking soda water would work?
Vinegar has worked very well for me....a 20% or 25% vinegar in water solution, let is soak for twenty minutes. Rinse, build a lather, rinse and let it dry. repeat as needed. I use a timer as I don't want to forget the brush is in an acidic mixture, even though its weak. I love horse hair brushes, but I can't wait on the stench to go - afraid I'll smell just like it Which model did y0u get. I think some of their handles are really cool.