Hey there, gents, I haven't yet got my stuff to even start yet, but it occurred to me to ask a specific set of questions about brush use and storage: With every-day use of a single brush (multi-brush guys can answer, too, but keep in mind I will only have one brush), does your brush dry out the whole way between uses? If not, is it a goal to allow them to totally dry out between uses? I ask that question because I see that it is common to soak a brush in water for a period of time before using it to create lather. Will it hurt badger or boar hair brushes to always stay damp (if that is possible - I may be leaving them in a bathroom that I close off during the day to avoid having to cool it in addition to the rest of the house - so it can, and may, stay humid in there for quite some time, thus maybe not allowing the brush to dry out the whole way each day). And maybe a question for the newbie section regarding brushes, but I'll ask it here because I am here: how well should one rinse the soap out of a brush before hanging it up for the day - just shake the soap out, rinse a little, or rinse all the soap out? ETA: feel free to move this to the "Shave School" forum if it is in the wrong place
I rinse my brush out fully, then a few light shakes and a light squeeze to ensure most of the water is out. I dry the handle off and set it on the counter top standing in an upright position. Then I use it the next day. Is it fully dry deep down inside? I have no idea, I've never checked. In your situation, you may want to consider maybe keeping the brush somewhere outside of your bathroom so there will be more air circulation around it, and probably drier air, too. HTH
I'm a one brush kinda guy, I shave once a day, and my brush completely dries out between uses most of the time. The air circulation is bad in my bathroom and sometimes the humidity's really high and things don't dry all the way. It seems to me that a continuously damp brush would be a good growth source for bacteria and/ or mold. At the very least I think it would damage the knot over time so it would start to shed. I don't know about the logic of washing one's brush out. I do, but it's a hold over from my brief stint with a painting contractor- you always clean off your tools after you finish with them.
Badger hair doesn't absorb water, so if you shake it out really, really well, you can get it almost dry almost right away. Boar bristle does absorb water, so as much as you shake it, it will still be wet, and will need a lot of time to dry out; depending on where you live and the humidity and temperature there, it might not get totally dry by the next morning, but that's not a problem at all, it doesn't have to be bone dry before you soak it again for another lathering. I have never had anything like mold or even a funk in any of my brushes, and I have been using a brush since the early 80s. With regard to rinsing, you should thoroughly rinse out your brush, completely free of soap, after each use, and this is more important for boar than it is for badger. For badger, you will need to make sure you get all the soap out of the thick base of a knot like a Chubby or a Rooney Finest by squeezing water out from the base of the knot and back out into the stream of water. If you don't rinse out a badger well, eventually you will cake up at the knot area and will need to do a thorough cleaning with a borax soak. For boar, since it does absorb water, if you let a load of lather dry out in it, the bristle will absorb the soap and when it does dry out it will after time become noticeably more brittle and inflexible when dry; you'll have to soak this out of the brush with repeated soak / spin in water then allow to dry out cycles.
+1 with Zack. I do take it a step further, though, and dry it a bit further on my towel. I believe the most important advice given is to not let it set in a damp room all day. Too much potential for growth of things you wouldn't want to brush onto your face! And before someone asks, NO - it doesn't matter if you stand your brush on its base or hang it head down.
I beg to differ; the brush will definately dry out better hanging upside down in a ventilated area. Especially with a badger brush. Gravity will do its thang & allow the water to escape out of the knot. I reckon it would be the best option for a boar brush too. Fozz
While it may not make a difference, I always hang my brush upside down. It seems to me that any remaining water, especially in a boar brush, would just run towards the knot and never dry out if not hung bristles down. This is just my opinion but for the peace of mind alone it's worth a few $, £, €, ¥, etc. to be on the safe side and get an inexpensive brush holder.
I think that if it makes you happy, that's reason enough to use a brush stand and to dry your brush out any way you like. While there's no arguing that ventilation is a factor, to say that a brush will definitely dry out better hanging upside down, well, we'll just have to agree to disagree.
I think it's time someone sat down with a stopwatch and moisture detector and timed how long it took the same brush to dry knot up and knot down. :happy102
hi i think most guys do difrent thing,s in the after care of thair shaving brush myself i have a omega boar brush that i use for soap lathering its good for stifness on the face and with a little extra water makes a really good lather, when i finish i soack in clean water,untill all soap hase bean removed then i shack the brush to get most of the water out then i dry out the handle on the towel and the bristle also on towel then a few more flick,s throught the air to get rid of any moisture left then i stand my brush upside down and i find its dry for the next day i hope this help,s a bit but as i said all the guys will have thair owne way to look after thair brushes good luck
I'm with truckman, only difference is that I store mine upside down in a rack specialy made for the purpose.
I'm with Zach. Just my two cents. If water would run toward the knot if left standing on its base, why doesn't a little puddle of water collect under the brush if it is left to hang? Wouldn't it run down toward the end of the brush and drip off? I hang my brushes and I have never had a puddle form under it. I've read elsewhere it is best to stand the brush on its base so "the water can evaporate upwards. It will not evaporate if it cannot escape up." Here's my take: if a wet glass is placed upside down on a dish rack, the inside will dry. It would not if the statement I quoted was true - the bottom of the glass would prevent upward evaporation. Now if the wet glass is set upside down on the counter, thus preventing air to circulate, then the inside would take considerably longer to dry. That being said, to the best of my knowledge, a shaving brush is not air tight and air can circulate between the hairs regardless of the way it is set during storage. By the way, the only reason I hang my badger brush is because it fits in the stand I have to hold it and my razor in use. I have the stand for aesthetic reasons, no other. My boar sits on its base between uses only because it is too big for the stand. I have had no problem with either brush drying.
i need to make a stand for my razor, anyway, so I'll probably create it to also hold the brush with the bristles down. (The razor and brush stands available on the market seem needlessly expensive)
