Shifting to Synthetics away from natural fiber

I was a die-hard boar brush user for the past 40+ years of wet shaving. I had one boar brush and used it until it died and then purchased another...I could usually get a few years out of each brush. Then I discovered online shopping and I picked up several badger and other boar brushes. I didn't dip my toe into the synthetic brush waters for a long time. How could a synthetic fiber be as good as natural fiber!? For shame!

Not to be closed minded, over the past couple of years I picked up four synthetic brushes and over time I find I am reaching for my synths more...and my boars and badgers are gathering dust! My favourite is the Edwin Jagger Synthetic.
Anyone else making the shift to synthetic brushes away from natural fibers?

 

I bought my first plisson style synthetic brush about 3 years ago. Now I have 3 synthetics with similar knots. My one badger, one boar and one horse have not been used since. They are just so easy and low maintenance, whip up a fast and wonderful lather and dry right away. I'll likely never go back to natural hair brushes. My youngest son has only used a synthetic brush and he knows no difference.

 

I want to love badgers and boars and i have many, but synthetics just do it better. It is a night and day difference in how i lather with one over the other. When i use a synthetic i feel like a grandmaster shaver ... lol with a natural bristles... its as if it were my first day wetshaving

 

Interesting - for me it's the other way around and I discovered my love for boar brushes. I found my lather to be somewhat slicker.

Also all my synthetics got a dent on top in the long run - maybe I'm pressing too hard loading the soap and lathering. But the boars seem to be indestructible.

 

No shift for me.
I have 11 badger, 6 boar, 4 synthetic, 1 badger/boar mix.
They are all in a pretty set rotation and all get used when it's their turn for lather duty. I have no issues with any of them.
That said, I do prefer badger.

 

Why are you only getting "a few years" out of a boar brush? My current Semouge brush is at least ten years old and the Eveready I had before that I must have used for 30 years. I have had a few synthetics (and have one now for traveling) and have always found them to be vastly inferior to my boar brush except in one area: they dry out quicker. I am curious as to what exactly you prefer about the synthetics and why your boar brushes only last a few years.

 

Back in the days when I was a one razor, one brush, one soap kind of guy the brushes I had access to were the cheap drug store boar brushes. One brush, low quality, daily use...yea, a few years was normal for me. Why do I prefer synthetics? For me, I prefer the feel of a synthetic. YMMV.

 

Unlike many here, I’ve never had a large number of brushes, having 4 boars, and no badgers. About 2013 I purchased an H.I.S. 1865 synthetic, one of the latest generation of synthetic brushes recommended by Mr. Carrington, for business travel purposes due to it’s quick drying. It was readily apparent this brush was superior in every way to the boars I had, creating a ton of lather, plus it did indeed dry quickly. Even with Williams, the H.I.S. lathers like a champ. Since then, I have probably not used any of my boars more than a dozen times combined. I will probably buy a badger at some point just to say I’ve tried one, but honestly cannot imagine it lathering any better than my one synthetic.

 

I also prefer the feel of a synthetic brush, I didn't have many badgers and boars but the last ones left the house last month.

 

If I’m in a hurry, I’ll grab a synth. Otherwise, I generally use my boar brushes or my horse brushes. My badgers collect dust.

 

I prefer the "texture" and "face-feel" of the natural hair. Synthetics do work very well and I take my CH2 synthetic with me when traveling.

 

Love the shelf!

 

Thanks. My wife found it at Hobby Lobby. It's worked great for the last 2 or 3 years, but I've allowed my collection to grow a bit since starting the YouTube channel...

 

Some fine looking brushes on that shelf!

 

Hmmm....
My Eveready C-40 was a drugstore brush purchased in the 70's as part of an Old Spice kit I think. That thing lasted forever!

I have never heard of someone only getting a few years out of a boar brush.

 

I have a boar, a badger or two, and several synthetics that I much prefer over the others. Everything works better for me with them, and I prefer the feel on my face as well.

 

I'm a synthetic brush Fanboy but recently bought some natural hair brushes on sale, Yaqi Boar and Badger brushes to give them a try. I would of not bought them at regular prices but they offered some their higher end two band badgers and one High Mountain silvertip badger at great prices. Not that long ago(6 or 7 years ago) boar & badger were the go to brushes and they still sell a lot of them. The synthetic brush technology has come a long way in such a short time period & really have the big foot print in the brush market now IMO.

 

My brush collection is about 98-99% synthetic brushes. I love the soft feel of them as well as ease of lathering and the price is nice too.

 

I still have an Eveready brush from the 70’s, but every time I try to use it it will lose several bristles. Same for the Semogues. By comparison my synthetic has never lost a bristle. No idea how long my boars would last if still used daily. Perhaps with my limited number of boars I’ve just had bad luck. I like some things about the feel of the boars on my face, and some things about the synthetic. Need to find a good middle ground!