@LCBurt , one of our new members, posted a great question about care for his brush. Then he asked about drying the brush with a towel. Another great question as this man does not want to destroy his brush! So I'm shaving this morning, and thinking, what else, shaving related thoughts. I'm thinking perhaps even more critical than the drying of the brush is the rinsing of the brush. Residual lather left to build up over time can hinder the performance of your brush, or, even worse, lead to premature catastrophic failure. Besides, I think it looks tacky, but that's me. So, what to do? Here's what I do to make sure I've rinsed out as much lather as possible: 1) Hold the brush under running faucet (warm, cold, doesn't matter), rotating the brush. B) "Lather" your free hand with the brush while it's under the running faucet. Third) Lay the knot in your hand, bristles pointing up, and close your hand around the knot. Now hold the knot so the water is running straight down into the knot. Slightly open and close your your hand around the knot to squeeze out the soapy water, then allow fresh water to get in. IV) Now shake out as much water from the knot as you can, hold the base of the knot up to your ear and squeeze it several times. If you don't hear anything, all lather has been rinsed out of the knot. If you hear a squishy sound, repeat the process. That squishy sound is, obviously, lather hiding in your brush. 5) Dry your brush in any way it pleases you, then place it out of harms way. Just DO NOT put a damp brush in an enclosed medicine cabinet or closet! Anyway, just some thoughts while shaving this morning.
The only thing I'd add is periodically if you find your the knot of you brush is feeling waxy and doesn't lather like it did in the past, you have tallow or oil build up. I have found it in a few brushes (my son's) and was able to correct it by preforming two or three lathers with dish soap (I've used Palmolive or Dawn). It removes the remnants of tallow or oil without fear of damaging the bristle and can be done on any type of knot.
I give a Dawn clearing lather now and then myself. I also clean a brush much the same as @swarden43 was saying after use. I have a lot of older brushes.
I don't know why some people have trouble with their brushes. I had an Eveready C40 for probably 30 years before the bristles simply wore down! Then a Semogue for probably ten years now. I don't do anything fancy for maintenance. Just rinse it and squeeze it out. No toweling, no foolin' around. Set it up on its base to dry. I shave every other day so it does get to dry out. Also I soak it before my shave while I am showering-maybe that helps?
I use mostly boar so they always get soaked. The only problem I’ve had is eventually they lose stiffness and I like a good stiff boar. Although I did have a VDH shed itself to death once but I don’t think that’s uncommon for that brand.
I've still got my VDH brush from an Old Spice set I bought in 1994! I'm not trying to promote it, just saying, it was not treated well and made it through college with me. I honestly don't think it's ever lost a hair, though rarely used the last 5 years or so.
I don't think VDH was a brand in 1994. It was the old Surrey brand back then I think, and I don't think that they made brushes. Can someone correct me if I am wrong? If you got it with an Old Spice set it was probably made by Eveready?
Idk...I call it VDH as it looks like every VDH I've seen. I'm sure it wasn't made by old spice, it came in a box with the typical OS mug and pick of soap. Sold at rite aid. Here it is... Sent from my SM-G977U using Tapatalk
Thanks for the kind words Swarden43! I think this is a great suggestion that I will start trying. I had the VDH brush that came with my razor that started to shed a little, then a lot, then it just fell apart. It looks like some people have had trouble with that brush but I can't rule out some abuse due to ignorance on my part. I did not know that I was supposed to soak the brush before use. I would wet and warm it up with hot water (possibly too hot) for 30 seconds or so and then lather, rinse, shake the water out and let dry. This was my only brush so I'm sure it did not get completely dry every time and that may have contributed as well. I definitely don't want to make that kind of mistake with my new Simpson Trafalgar T3 I am not very knowledgeable with this yet so please correct me if I am wrong. I now believe that before shaving, the recommendation is to soak the badger or boar brushes for at least a few minutes in warm but not HOT water or it could cause premature wear on the bristles. I am very much enjoying the learning process. I have enjoyed wet shaving for the last year or so even though I had no clue what I was doing. I have to laugh when I think about what I used to call lather now that I have gotten it right (or at least close) a couple times.
Soaking prior to the shave is a personal preference. Badgers and synthetics don't benefit much, where as boar it really helps soften 'em up. I soak all my brushes in hot water (not boiling, just what come out of the tap) for a few minutes prior only because it helps make for a warm lather, and I like warm lather.
Thanks for the correction. I thought I read somewhere that using a natural bristle brush before the bristle's were softened up could be hard on them. I have been trying to absorb a lot of info lately so I may have misunderstood or found some bad info. If you read it on the internet it must be true right.
The main time soaking a brush can harm a brush is hand tied or wooden handled brushes. Other times I've seen damage is the older ones filled with plaster they can crack. Synthetic brushed are fine in soaking and I'll be honest, my Omega brushes (because they are inexpensive and nearly bullet proof) get tortured by me. The worst thing to happen to my Omega is the knot popped out and after it dried out, I weighted it and epoxyed it back in ..... still going strong! It survived the African bush with me.
In reality, the only way to soften a boar brush is to use it. That will cause the ends to split (desired) giving you a softer feel. Soaking a boar before the shave takes the stiffness out. Once it dries, the bristles will stiffen up again.
Surely you mean "machine made" knots. Hand tied knots are usually trouble-free. I agree with you on the wooden handles. Those are a twofer, either the bristles (if boar) soak up water and swell, splitting the wood, or the wood, after repeated soak and dry cycles, just splits. I suspect that teak might be immune to this, if properly cared for.
Oh, I don't know, a long roast at low temperature with lots of garlic softens them up pretty nicely too.
I was specifically speaking of people over soaking Simpson brushes (20 - 30 minutes) and wondering why they begin to fall apart ..... I've seen that on a few occasions.