I know ... I have to use the skill somewhere besides work or all that time spent away from home in the great frozen north is for naught!
I used to soak , but I've stopped since reading this thread. I've cut my shave time down and the quality of my shaves has stayed the same. ?? :shocked002
:happy097 I have to say, I'm glad I started this thread. I almost didn't. Everyone's input has been appreciated. Thanks all!
i always thought about when id lose hair in the brush wondering if the hot water had anything to do with loosening the knot.
This thread has been bouncing around in my head since I first posted. I shared that I pitch my tent in the 'soak' camp but my doing so wasn't really based on anything other than habit.. In my review of the responses here, it seems more folks don't soak than do so this morning I thought it worth a trip to the other camp. Setup.. My favorite brush.. the Made Rite that I reknotted with a TGN Super Badger fan & Speick Stick.. Typically I fill the basin with about two inches of warm water, swirl the brush in the water and stand it up in the basin and let the ends of the bristles soak while I shower. I don't submerge the brush other than for it's final rinse. Once ready to lather, I give it a good shake and off I go with a load & hydrate approach. Today, though I kept all other aspects of the lather the same, I skipped the soak. Once I showered I ran the water in the basin and swirled the brush in the water enough that the little bubble ceased to come out of the bristles and proceeded with the lather.. This will be the one and only time I do this as there was a noticeable difference in all aspects of the lather. First, it was much more laborious to build the initial lather.. This morning it took about four or five dips of the tips to wet them enough to bring the lather to where it would normally be after one or two dips. Once I started to shave I noticed that it was much more difficult to rinse the lather off the razor, which I believe is an indicator that the lather is too dry. So four or five dips in the water weren't sufficient.. The water held at the center of the brush after it soaks must be instrumental to my lather technique. The second and third pass also required extra hydration and the lather wasn't nearly as copious. I like to squeeze the final remnants of lather out of the brush for the last touch-up pass and without doubt, the lather produced with my normal technique is the thickest, slickest and most luxurious. Today's squeeze yielded about a third of what usually comes out and what I did get was far to thick and dry..clearly lacking water. All this could be livable, but without the soak my favorite brush, which until now has not lost a single hair, shedded five hairs.. Coincidence? Maybe. More likely dry, brittle hairs that broke off. The test, as informal as it might be, is conclusive for me. Soaking my brushes provides for easier lathering, and produces a thicker, slicker, longer lasting and cushioning lather. The loss of bristles was a painful close to the experiment and I regret choosing my favorite brush for this experiment.. angry017 ...Surely I had hoped for quite a different outcome... :mad:
Soak? Never "soaked" a brush for the 1st 35 yrs or so. Tried it a couple of times sence hearing about how important it was. Didn't see a big diff, so blew it off. Now the big questions for me are: Shower before or after a shave? I'm an "after" guy because I feel it's most important to get all the soap off your face. Squeeze the soap out of your brush while rinsing or just let it rinse away? I'm a squeezer. Where to hide my set-up so the housekeeper doesn't put it away somewhere when cleaning the bathroom. This has been going on for years.:happy102
Well I am back to soaking OK so after this thread came up it got me thinking about why I soak my brush. I think that is how it worked for a lot of us here. I decided to give not soaking a try and I really did not notice much of a difference. So I stopped soaking the brush. At least for a while. a few days ago I was trying a new blade (the wonderful Voskhod blade) and I was not paying much attention to what I was doing to get ready for my shave because I was all caught up on loading up the pretty new blade. So out of old habit I filled up my lather bowl with hot water and put my brush in the water, took my shower and started my shave. As I applied my lather with the brush - I was surprised by how warm and wonderful it felt. So I spent a little more time with the brush than I had been. So then I did the first pass and went back to the brush. Same thing - so I had to stop and figure out what was different. Then I realized - I soaked my brush. Why did I do that? The next day I went back to not soaking and I decided that I would bo back to soaking it, because, for me, there is a difference. Go figure.
i used to soak in hot tap water while in the shower. but im thinking (and i could be wrong) that might be why my brush is shedding like crazy now after 2 yrs. i bought a new one and now all i do is fill my scuttle and when i get out of the shower i dip the brush into the water since its had time to cool down and thats it. no more soaking for me.
1) use slightly cooler water B) use only enough water that only the hairs/bristles are soaking Red) too hot of water or too much water exposure, I'd assume, could lead to cause the glue to loosen and result in shedding Obtuse Angle) I like random list bullets....
Before I jump in the shower, I fill my scuttle with hot tap water, stick my brush AND my razor in it to soak while I shower. I feel I don't have to add as much water while making lather when I soak as apposed to just getting the brush wet. As for putting my razor in there, I love the feeling of the hot razor head as it goes across my face. My wife heats her razor up too now.
When I first started out I'd soak my brush in the sink while I showered, but quit doing it after a while and never noticed a difference. I've heard that it makes a difference with boar brushes.
That's why I started to do it too! Where are the scientists here to give us some evidence based advice?
I did for a few shaves without soaking... It feels better when the brush is soaked. There's all the evidence I have or need.. Cheers!
I do not soak by T&H Silver Badger Hair brush, but I do run it under hot water prior to latering up. DRW
Everyone has their own personal preference but soaking in water which is too hot can break down the knot and lead to shedding.
I soak it while I shower as well. Though to be honest I would've gel'd, moussed, spiked, spritzed and soaked it in barbecue sauce if that's what's I read I should do.:happy102 So tonight is it Baby Ray's or SouthWest Chipotle?....:drool I'm gonna try just wetting next...
I have been pondering the need to soak brushes and ran across this thread while Googling the Inet. Without flogging a dead horse and reinventing the wheel, it appears folks generally soak boars and generally do not soak badgers. I also have read that boar bristles soak up water while badger bristles "hold" the water between the bristles. In my experience, it does seem the badger bristles "hold" water. When I pick them up and make a sharp downward motion, a bunch of water comes out. With the boars, the bristles do seem to expand and become softer. Perhaps all of this is a old wives tale and it really does not make any difference or not?
