Why is my brush shedding so much?

I haven’t had a lot of brushes but the one I currently have is pure badger hair, was about $20, and is now shedding a ton in the last few weeks. Is this more likely to be the hairs breaking, or coming loose from the knot? Do better brushes secure the hairs in the knot more securely? What brands have good longevity?

 

Well, you can tell if the hairs are breaking or if they are simply coming loose. Sounds like a poorly glued knot. Time to upgrade.

 

Larry at Whipped Dog once told me not to soak a brush in hot water. I now get it wet, make my lather and I'm fine. My brush hasn't lost a hair since.

Herm

 

Yea it seems like they are just coming out of the knot but I wasn’t sure if that was common. Are the “better” brands better at glueing the hairs into the handle?

 

If it's a nice handle, replace the knot.

 

Every badger brush I have had sheds, from a hair here and there, to fist fulls at a time, including a Simpson brush. That is, until I got a Shavemac knot. To my knowledge, my Shavemac has never shed a hair.

I will never buy another knot that is not a Shavemac.

 

Unfortunately a $20 badger (and “pure” is generally the lowest grade) is unlikely to be a high quality brush.

I have Simpson and Edwin Jagger badgers that have never shed more than a hair or two in their first days of use.

 

You can get a shedder with any brand. My favorite badger is a cheap chinese knot in a vintage handle. Does not shed at all for the most part. Just paying more does not mean better.

 

Not always true, Fuzzy. It can cost more to source better hair; use higher quality rod-stock and hand-tying knots. Now, I agree that there is a law of diminishing returns...

 

Of all the badgers I have owned, only ONE ever shed a hair or two. From the cheapest (Stirling) to the most expensive (Simpson CH3 Manchurian), not a hair. The culprit...a Rooney Style 2 Medium.

 

It can true. But I have had a lot of cheaper stuff over the years that worked as well or better the the expensive things. Cost does not always equal quality.

 

Van Der Hagen, formally Surrey brand are known to start dropping boar bristle if left unused for a while. I bought one of those sets with the blue & green bowls, soap puck, and brush. Enjoyed it until I got a couple other products so it sat. When I came back to it the bristles started dropping like they never did when it was daily driver. Could be the bristle swells when wet and then dries out loosening the glue grip.

 

Alternate theory is that the bristle dries out and becomes brittle. With mine, a long soak in water with a bit of glycerine rehabbed it nicely, but it still needs a good soak before use. I don't have this issue with my Semogue so I wonder if it is something in the quality of Boar that VdH used or in how it was processed (chemical strip?).

A pretty safe theory is to always soak a natural fibre brush before use.

 

I need to get a bottle of that stuff. I like it as an ingredient in soaps, pre & post shave products.

"Must be your skin that I'm sinking in
Must be for real 'cause now I can feel
And I didn't mind
It's not my kind
It's not my time to wonder why
Everything's gone white
And everything's grey" - Gavin Rossdale

 

Agreed.

 

Indeed. Learn a few things over the years eh? Of course you have been over MORE years then me....just saying

 

Thanks Fuzzy. Now start showing your elders some respect....just sayin'

 

Ha!!!

 

My Edwin Jagger (Best) badger brush looks like the center has worn out. See attached photos. It looks like the center hairs are "broken off", or worn away, rather than "fallen out". I googled around, and people said that a good quality brush should not wear out that quickly. Some last for 10-20 years. I had mine replaced 3 years ago, an now I noticed the same thing is happening again. Is this typical of a 3-year old brush? I believe the brush is good quality, so I would imagine a brush should last a long, long time. (I bought the brush as part of this set, with the best badger option). Anyone seen this before? Is this normal? Am I pressing the brush too hard on my face? Is it the brush?

 

Do you splay the brush on your face to apply lather or just paint it on, if it is a soft badger then painting and swirling would imo be better, or get a stiffer backbone brush that you can work heavier, probably try a shorter lofted brush if you are going to scrub n swirl, you can still paint with that too, looks to me you have splayed it out and done that for some time, and the brush has taken the shape and lost the centre bristles through rough handling...not all brushes like to be splayed hard onto the face, you need to find out what you prefer...hard pressed splay, a scritchy shorter brush, or a soft paint brush, many can do a couple of jobs, but not them all. My advice would be get a big omega boar...i think it is the 10048 or 10049, in various colours It is £10 or under on ebay, softish at the tips but plenty backbone get a good scrub, I use mine often.