Hey all, I'm looking at what kind of brush to get. I seen an $8 brush/bowl combo at Wal-mart. Any experience, anyone?? I'll pbly pick it up for a starter. B/c you can't go wrong for $8, right?? Thanks, -Greg
Good choice Greg. I will advise to face lather with it and it will do just great. I cant seem to get it to bowl lather that well. Good choice and does a great job!
Is that the van der hagen set? its good soap and an ok start brush. The brush is a bit rough on the face, but it will work. *IMO* an omega boar brush is far better, yet more expensive (20 bucks). Omega boar is cheaper than badger and it is surprisingly soft. But there is nothing wrong with the VDH and it gets the job done.
The VDH set from Walmart will make you a good starting set, it was for me. In fact I still use the VDH soap which I alternate with Williams. I have no problem lathering either in the bowl/mug. I thought the VDH brush was the cat's meow until I bought my first Omega, a #10049 on ebay for the princely sum of $10.99 and now I won't use anything else. Worst thing about the VDH (walmart) brush is they generally lose a lot of bristles especially at first. If you're lucky you may get one that loses only one or two each shave at first and lessens with time. A quality Omega boar will lose few if any hairs. Mine has lost maybe four or five and that was in the first couple of weeks, since then none at all. Also if you're a beginner you need to know about the odor you sometimes get with a new animal hair brush whether boar or badger. Actually it's more than sometimes, it's almost inevitable at least in my experience. Wash your new brush with some shampoo and or conditioner a time or two and let dry. That helps but usually is not a cure. However after two or three days of use the odor will be gone. Till then just try not to "sniff" it lol.
The VDH brush from walmart will serve you well. I've had mine for several years now. It is soft, lathers everything well and I just plain like it. Good luck
Yup, forgot to tell you about the smell. Try washing the brush with shampoo and conditioner a couple of times. That should help alot. The smell will go away quickly though
I bought the combo that has deluxe soap, a dark blue bowl and a brush with a dark blue handle. Looking at the brush today I see that the outside bristles are different from the bulk of the inside. Seems kinda phony to me. But I'm using the brush for now. for now......
It was the VDH brush and deluxe soap that convinced me to splurge and get a "better" brush and soap (although the soap has become a favorite). As for the outside bristles being different, that's only for looks. The company dies a band of color around the brush to make it look more like a badger brush. Take a look at the Omega 49 if you think you might want to upgrade. It can be found for $9 over at www.westcoastshaving.com I just purchased one and had my third shave with it this morning. I'm liking it. The smell is almost gone, thank goodness!
The VDH kit is of acceptable quality. The soap is actually fairly good. It has a short life, and you can get better for more money, but it's likely the best bargain soap you can get. The brush is just usable to me. Good enough but I get better lather from most other brushes and it's clearly not top quality. I've moved it to me travel kit, since I won't be very upset if something happens to it.
Went to walmart but really didn't like the quality of the brush I saw there. I think I'll shoot for a used C&E brush instead
Agreed. I've had brushes that cost 25 times the price of the VDH. I currently use the VDH 5 or 6 days out of the week. I've come to love this cheap little brush. I've got a Boreal coming. I bought it only because it has a great handle but is supposed to have the backbone and similar stiffness of the VDH. We have to remember not to let price be our guide to quality. If that were the case we would covet incredibly expensive Fusion blades. For some reason, when I take several days away from the VDH brush, my skin starts reacting. When I go back to nothing but the VDH for a long period of time, my skin is nearly flawless. I think the scrubby/"scritchiness" is something that my skin craves. edit: special K, I see you have a Scottish background as well. Maybe it's our frugal nature. Scottish meat pies rock.
I actually picked up another VDH this week. Why? Because it was lonely sitting on the rack at Walgreens. This one cam in a green handle while my 1st one has a blue handle.
The VDH brush is a good starter brush. Durable and softens over time. A major problem is that it does not hold lather well--much flows outside. The soap is good. Excellent lather and nice skincare. As noted it does not last too long.
