Badger hair brush getting more 'scritchy' as I use it?

Discussion in 'The Brush' started by coche1, Jan 19, 2012.

  1. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    I have been wet shaving for about 3 weeks now using a badger hair brush that my wife got me for Christmas as part of a brush/razor/soap bowl stand setup. I don't really know anything about the brush other than it is badger hair. I think the set is an Edwin Jagger, but I couldn't find a name anywhere on it and the box was just plain white. I can try to get a picture of it tonight if that might help...

    Anyway, I've been using the brush basically every day since I got it on Christmas, and I have noticed that the last couple of days the brush feels much more scratchy or 'scritchy' on my face when I'm applying lather. The bristles also seem to be generally more stiff when loaded with lather than they used to be. Is this normal for badger hair brushes as they 'break in' over time? If so, how much longer should I expect it to continue and how much more 'scritchy' is it likely to get after this much time has passed? Could this be an indication that I'm not getting it rinsed out completely?
     
  2. johnus

    johnus Well-Known Member

    I rotate my brushes so that they can dry out completely. But what your's may need is just a quick wash with hair shampoo. It should wash out any residue that's built up. And it won't hurt the brush.
     
  3. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    Thanks, I'll give that a try!
     
  4. Catalin

    Catalin New Member

    Hi coche. I am in the same boat as you. I am new to DE shaving. I have a pure badger brush and it feels very scratchy .
    If you shave everyday the brush feels more scratchy because the skin is more sensitive. The solution is to get a much softer brush especially if you shave everyday . I ordered a new brush yesterday, until then i lather in the bowl or in the palm.
    Cheers !
     
  5. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    Thanks for the feedback Catalin. I had taken at least 1 day off every week up until this week by coincidence, which could be giving my face an opportunity to heal a bit that I wasn't even thinking about. This week is the first week that I haven't missed a day. However, that said, the brush seems to be behaving differently for me the last 2 or 3 days- it doesn't just seem to be more scratchy, when loaded with lather it seems like the bristles are generally more 'stiff' than they had been. I don't think it transferred the lather to my face as well, particularly this morning, as it has in the past, and I felt like I needed to go back to the bowl to re-load the brush much more frequently than I normally do. I typically bowl lather, so face lathering shouldn't be the issue.

    I am going to try washing the brush out with a little bit of shampoo tonight and use a different brush tomorrow morning (I have 3 different badger hair brushes right now- 2 are from AoS gift starter kits that I've gotten) so that it has a chance to fully dry before my next shave with it. What kind of brush do you recommend that would be softer than pure badger hair?
     
  6. Catalin

    Catalin New Member

  7. CyanideMetal

    CyanideMetal Wild and crazy guy

    How do you clean the brush after you shave?
     
  8. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    I squeeze/pull the leftover lather out with my hand, then rinse it under hot water and ring it out by squeezing & twisting. Repeat that (rinse under running water then wring out) 2-3 times, shake it out good, and hang it to dry until the next day.
     
  9. CyanideMetal

    CyanideMetal Wild and crazy guy

    Sounds good. I have a dense badger knot, so I fill the sink with water and splay the brush on the sink under water and then use my other hand to "ruffle" to brush hairs while it's still splayed under water. It's amazing how much residual soap a brush can hold even when I think it's clean.
     
  10. newb

    newb Resident Newb

    I generally like a little scritch in a brush. Sounds like to me you got a pure badger. The only solution I can think of is to up grade your brush. I'm sure the fine members of TSD can recommend something/
     
  11. Sodapopjones

    Sodapopjones Well-Known Member

    The only thing I can't think of is you've got product build up in the bristle or you were using water that was way too hot and damaged the bristle...

    I would give it the vinegar/borax and water soak, followed by a good shampoo and test lather...
     
  12. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    I hadn't even thought about the possibility of water being too hot and damaging the brush. How hot is 'too hot'? I've seen people make references to using water as hot as their hands can take it and everything seemed like the hotter the water the better?? :confused:
     
  13. Williams Warrior

    Williams Warrior Well-Known Member

    If it's too hot for you to keep your hand in, it's too hot for your brush.
     
  14. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    Well, in that case then yes I've been rinsing it with water that is too hot.... Uh-oh, I really hope I didn't kill this brush...
     
  15. Shayne Redfearn

    Shayne Redfearn Active Member

    I would deffinatly say you should upgrade to a silver tip...no need to spend a ton of money...there are many great silvertip brushes out there for under a $100. good luck...let us know how it goes!
     
  16. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    That's the thing- I actually kind of like the 'scritch' of the pure badger hair. I washed my brush out with a little shampoo last night and this morning I used one a little pure badger hair brushes that came in an AoS 'starter kit' (travel-sized- http://www.theartofshaving.com/shop/shaving-products/shaving-kits/98034). It had a little scritch/scratch to it, but I enjoyed it and got a nice lather both in the bowl and transferred to my face with it. It is sounding to me like I fall under 1 of the following 3 possible scenarios that could have led to my brush getting more 'scritchy' suddenly in the last 3 days after using it for 3 weeks:

    1. I did not adequately clean/rinse the brush after use and extra residue build up. I'd say this is a possibility.
    2. I damaged the brush by rinsing it in water that was too hot. Again, a definite possibility since I have rinsed it under water that was too hot to hold my hand under. However the time that I would have done this has really been pretty minimal as the water runs down onto my hand as I'm rinsing the brush and if it is too hot for my hand I'll turn it down pretty quickly and when I soak I can usually reach in to pick the brush or razor up if they tip over without a problem. I really hope this isn't the case though because the brush matches the stand and has a chrome handle. Plus, I don't think my wife will be too happy with me if I've already ruined a present she got me for Christmas! :(.
    3. The brush is just too scritchy for my skin. I feel this is the least likely since I switched to another new badger brush this morning and it felt just fine. Perhaps the increased scritchiness of the brush was all just a figment of my imagination (Hey, I can hope can't I?)...
     
  17. Sodapopjones

    Sodapopjones Well-Known Member

    Without actually seeing the brush, I can't honestly say what's going on, however even pure badger breaks in and loses some scritch.
     
  18. coche1

    coche1 Actively Wishing Member

    I think that over time the residue had just built up in the brush. I washed it out good with a little bit of shampoo, rinsed thoroughly, and let it hang dry for 2 days before using it again and it was back to feeling like its old self. That was over a week ago and it is still working fine, so I'm thinking I might just have to wash it out with shampoo from time to time. No biggie at all to me, and I really LOVE the little bit of scritch with the pure badger brush on my face. I don't think I'd enjoy using a softer brush without that feeling nearly as much.
     
  19. Dridecker

    Dridecker Sherlock

    Glad to hear you got it figured out, and the brush is back to its old self! :happy088:
     
    Sodapopjones likes this.
  20. Sodapopjones

    Sodapopjones Well-Known Member

    What Bill said...
     

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