Am I supporting animal slaughtering when I buy a brush? I hate the idea of buying one and having it be made from a huge farm made for that purpose. At least, not when they use the animal in full. Is there any retailers that sell ones that would be a bit more "kosher" I suppose? Or maybe vegan is the word?
My understanding is that most badger hair comes from China where it is considered to be a pest. Horse hair comes from the manes and tails of horses. So, to my knowledge, the only "humane" hair is the horsehair. Many companies also offer synthetic brushes.
I've really enjoyed my Muhle 31K256 Silvertip Fibre brush! It's a synthetic, and I think it's safe to say that synthetic brushes have come a long way. IMHO, it would be a good choice for someone with your concerns.
Badger - Some come from badger farming, some from pest kills. Boar - Bristles from the pigs which would be killed anyway. Horsehair - Made from the grooming process. Synthetic - Everyone friendly, not made from any animal products unless you get a special handle of your choosing. Badger doesn't really contribute to animal slaughter though, as they're killed as pests to begin with in Asia. Boar, the pigs are killed anyway for food, so you're just using up extra leftovers. Horsehair brushes are like you using their sweepings from under a barber chair LOL.
Badger meat is considered a delicacy in many parts of China. If I remember correctly I believe parts of badgers are also used in traditional Chinese medicine. Like Ray said, it is also considered a pest animal, much like coyotes, racoons and opossums here in the U.S.A. The animal would be killed regardless, so you need not think that an animal was killed just so you could rub it's fur on your face. All modern Badger brushes use fur sourced from Asia. If this is a subject you feel very strongly about, you may want to avoid vintage badger brushes, which were made with American and European badger fur. Those animals were killed for their fur. In America at least, badger populations have recovered enough to remove them from the protected species list in many states and you can get badger hunting/trapping licenses in some states. The H.I.S. brush recently got excellent reviews here in the Shave Den. Send a message to GDCarrington, he is the den's expert on synthetic brushes.
I don't feel so horrible now! I have nothing against the killing of animals if it is for the correct reasons of living, and if this is just a means of using the left overs, then that's better than nothing at all.
I am no expert on synthetic brushes, but they do have an environmental disadvantage. They are not biodegradable and, since nothing lasts forever, a worn-out synthetic brush knot will eventually just take up space in a landfill, indefinitely. BTW, I see your point about preferring to use an luxury animal product that comes from an animal that was not killed JUST for that purpose.
I wonder if I can start badger farming and just use grooming to get hair. Then again I'd have a farm full of butt naked badgers...that's...disturbing.
Actually, nylon is recyclable, particularly nylon fibers like those used in synthetic brushes. There are facilities which can repurpose the nylon for a variety of other products. Now I'm assuming that most synthetics are produced with nylon fibers?? Anyway, just FYI.
Good point, but it depends where you live. Around here, no one recycles nylon, so it would indeed end up in a landfill. I would say a person should do some checking in their own area.
Well, Sara, and more relevant still is the fact that very few of us would think to recycle it when we were done with it. So in a practical sense, I'm realizing you're probably more right—most of the time it will end up in a landfill.
Also a good point. The reduced environmental impact is among the things I like about DE shaving. Blades can be recycled (when my blade bank is full) and handles can be re-knotted. The products I make, like shaving soap & pre-shave oil go into re-usable containers. And the badger, boar or horse hair from an old knot will eventually degrade.
Just think of the brush as not wasting the part of a animal that would have been discarded anyway, kinda green shaving. It's true.
I love my badger hair brushes but I have in the past used a synthetic from Omega. I thought it would be garbage, but it actually had a very nice feel so if you are very concerned about it there are some good options that way I think.
I just don't like the idea of killing animals for one purpose. I am one who believes in using the WHOLE animal, so in a way it's a good thing most definitely.
Thank goodness (for us) that the badger is killed as a pest and is overly abundant in China so we can use the hair for brushes. I agree as well. The same for boar hair.
