I grabbed one of the $30 Plisson pour L'Occitane brushes and have been using it all week. And all week I've been comparing it, in my head, to my only other synthetic brush: a Muhle Black Fibre v2. Buying the Muhle from Connaught, it also sells for about $30 (a little less than $30 for the hjm handle; a little more than $30 for a handle like mine). Today I got them both out for my shave to do a direct comparison. First, take a look: They are about the same size. The Plisson's knot is a little bigger at the base, but the more fan shaped Muhle is wider at its widest point than the Plisson. The loft is just about the same, but the bulb shape makes the Plisson look a little shorter. In the overhead shot, the black color of the the Muhle's fibers makes it difficult to see its density, but take my word for it: the Plisson is much more dense. The tips of both brushes are extremely soft. Comparing them dry against the inside of my wrist, the Muhle's tips are very slightly softer. So for my shave, I got out Barrister & Mann's Caledonia Rose, which Will claims didn't come out right, but which I am beginning to really love. A great, warm comforting scent that will get a lot of use this winter. His vegan Tre Citta formula performs exceptionally as usual. I soaked the puck for a few moments while I arranged everything, and then loaded the Muhle for 30 seconds and face lathered. During loading, it has the feel I expect, requires a similar amount of pressure as my boar and 2-band badger brushes. As I lathered, I recalled that when I first got it, I couldn't get it to splay on my face. I'd push a bit and instead of opening up at all, it'd push back. Not pleasant, but trial-and-error quickly taught me how to use the brush, and now getting it to splay the way I want it to is completely a matter of muscle memory, not something I think of consciously at all. I added a few drips of water and before long I had a nice lather on my face and went ahead with my first pass. Before my 2nd pass, I loaded for 30 seconds with the Plisson. It seemed to load more quickly and for the last ten seconds or so of that loading, I was really more beginning to build lather than loading. A characteristic of the brush, or due to the fact that the surface of the soap was already moist and had a bit of proto-lather on the surface? Hard to say, though because I soaked the puck, in both cases the soap was already moist when I brought the brush to it. I put the Plisson to my face and immediately felt the difference: it feels much softer in use. Though both have extremely soft tips, the Muhle's greater backbone gives it a very different feel on the face. Not that the Muhle is uncomfortable by any means. I'd put it like this: with the Muhle, it feels like you're lathering with a very soft brush. With the Plisson, it feels like you're lathering with a cloud of lather. It's almost like the brush itself disappears. But its lack of backbone doesn't result in any of the problems you normally associate with that: it's not floppy and it loads just fine. I apparently got the water just right, as I had to add none when lathering for the 2nd pass with the Plisson. For the 3rd pass, I did half my face with the Muhle and half with the Plisson, and switched back and forth a few times as I painted on lather. Both have excellent flowthrough. I pulled the remaining lather from the center of both brushes and found a bit more in the Plisson than in the Muhle, but both would have had enough for a 4th pass. Both work great and feel great, though you'd never mistake one for the other. The winner? It's a tough call. Right now I'm enamored of the Plisson, but it's the new kid. I can't say I'm unhappy at all with the Muhle. So my advice: get 'em both!
Floppiness is subjective and relative. I think the Plisson is floppy. I also don't like that with the Plisson, during use, the knot becomes more narrow and takes a tube form. This is a personal preference of course but I prefer the greater splay and backbone of the Muhle STF and BF. I will give props to the Plisson in that it is softer than both those brushes. If you look carefully the hairs are much finer on the Plisson than the Muhles. The Plisson also seems to hold water better - if I am careful the Plisson won't have excess water/lather running down the handle. This is a peeve of mine that I don't get with a badger but I don't like the floppiness and unhygienic nature of one among other things. But everything in life is a trade off... So far I still like the STF the best because I feel it is the most balanced overall, but time will tell where the Plisson fits in my brush line up.
Interesting. I find the Plisson splays easily and naturally. With the Muhle, I had to learn how to get it to splay.
Excellent review! I received a Plisson/L'Occitane today, and can't wait to compare it to my WD synthetic over the coming days.
Solid review. That is why I tell people that there are differences even within the Generation classes of fibers. I tend to give a slight preference nod to the Mühle over the Plisson in that range but will definitely go more with larger Mühle and other Gen 4 fibers (H.I.S., T.G.N. or Virginia Sheng) over the Plisson for the reasons Fram mentioned. That does not mean that I dislike the Plisson but I like the others more.
