So much discussion. I envy people who don't get buildup on their gear. I use the same cleaning method on each kind of brush. The boars need the most attention in my house, but it's also possible that I've been extra careful about keeping the badgers clean. I've been pretty hard on my boars. I think it's a matter of determining when the buildup is affecting the performance of your equipment. You can sometimes see a white ring gathering at the base of the hairs on your brush. When I use Proraso, I notice that I accumulate a lot more scum and it gathers more quickly than using other kinds of soaps. If you're seeing white accumulated at the base of hairs or around the ring where the handle meets the knot, then you need to clean. The hardness of your water also affects how quickly this buildup accumulates. In cities, apparently, the water is "hard." When lime from hard water starts to stick to your razor or brush, scum instantly starts to stick to the lime. This is my limited understanding. I believe that this is one of the reasons why vinegar helps. I've used vinegar to clean out lime scale before: the acid and base react and release from the surface of whatever you're cleaning. If you live in the country-side -- maybe you don't have hard water and maybe the soap acts as a cleaning agent on your gear rather than sticking to lime deposits. Sorry to drag on the conversation; but some people have a problem with hard water and some people don't. You have to figure out for yourself how bad it is in your house.
I guess I have never "cleaned" a brush, but I also probably spend more time rinsing it in warm water than I do lathering with it. I also don't have any soaps in my den that leave white scum all over everything. (Excet Tabac which gets a pass because it is, well,,,, Tabac. ) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Been using a single Simpsons brush for 1.5 years as my den been in storage.... Moving. Have not "washed it " yet.
I clean mine with Dawn about once a month. Like someone else said, if its good enough to clean oil off of live animals, its good enough for a shave brush.
This is an interesting thread. Obviously we all do it a bit different. For what its worth: The brush on the far left, ivory handle, in the photo is a Macy Associate pure badger which I bought in 1968. My first brush and it is still in excellent shape. All I have ever done to this brush and all my other brushes, is rinse it out under the tap with warm water, shake it out, rub it on a towel a few times, and hang to dry. View attachment 121300
I prefer the rinsing in warm water, haven't thought much about cleaning methods, although Lee at WSP included an instructional on cleaning, along with my Pure Badger.