I decided it is time to say goodbye to the caned shaving gel and switch to a brush and cream so I purchase a cheap ($9) OMEGA boar brush in a local drug store. I got home , soaked it in some water , added some shaving cream and start lathering – it went very nice till I got the brush close to my face… Oh man, what a horrible repulsive smell !!! I was not able to continue with the save, so I asked my good old friend Google for help… I found some tips and instructions which I like to share, so here is what I did: 1. Soaked the brush in dishwashing liquid soap for 2-3 hours. (It didn't help - still very bad smell). 2. Make lather with the brush an leave it with the lather overnight (It didn't help - still very bad smell mixed with the scent of the lather ). 3. Repeat step 1 and 2 on the next day. Now it smell a little less bad but still very unpleasant. The brush got softer though and I was able to get a good shave with it. 4. My wife suggested soaking the brush in lemon juice for few hours, which I did – but unfortunately there was no effect at all. At this stage I started to give up… I thought maybe to buy a synthetic one instead. Fortunately mY colleague KLP had some more suggestions: 5. Soak the brush in some vinegar diluted with water. This got the situation even worse: Now the smell is a mixture of vinegar and the original boar bad smell… 6. Soak the brush for a few hours in a hair shampoo solution – Ahh… now we getting something! It seems that the brush is starting to lose the battle… The smell is not so bad (but still noticeable if you poke your nose into the brush) and there is the nice fragrance of the shampoo… much better! 7. And now it's time to activate the last weapon: I Soaked the brush in a baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate) and water solution for a few hours. The Result: I won the battle!!! The brush is almost odor free!!! I assume that with few more shaves it will be gone completely.
"New badger and boar brushes and older brushes that have been unused for a time have a pungent odor. This smell can be strong or faint when you first get the brush. Over time, as you use the brush the smell will go away. There are also cleaners manufactured specifically for cleaning cosmetic brushes. Using these cleaners is the recommended method of sanitizing, cleaning and "de-funking" a brush." -from this thread: http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/the-brush-basic-information-everyone-should-know.29125/ We could have saved you some time and effort. But at least you seemed to have found something that works for you! Cleaning the brush in a solution of dissolved Borax is helpful too.
I usually use borax and water for a short soak, then Dawn Dish Soap, the one they clean oil off of birds with. When lazy I've used just Dial hand soap with good results on horse. So it should work on boar.
No that's victory also..it's all good. Arnon the smell will wear off as you continue to use your brush..just bear with it. My Omega seems to smell only of soap these days...
Each brush is different. Of my three boars I purchased new, one took a week of shaves to be odor free, one took a little over two weeks, and one took over a month. They are all now free from stink and almost as soft as my silvertip. I let them all develop their own character over time simply by using them in the way they were intended. Kinda like my blue jeans - I buy 'em dark and let 'em fade naturally.
Thanks for the tips and the encouraging comments ! I wonder why brush manufactures does not offer odor free brushes out of the box. I'm willing to pay 20-25% more for such a brush.
All I did was use some Col. Conk and lathered with it everyday til the smell went away. Now my boar brush is my go to brush.
They do. Synthetics. I'm pretty sure when the brushes are made they are mostly odor free, having been recently sterilized. Remember what I said about old brushes sometimes smelling funky? It's a natural odor thing and the natural odor of the brush eventually comes through.
Smells on the brush hairs come from natural oils. Shampoo may break down some oils that soap misses. It's worth trying once.
