Plisson Synthetic

[Jarick]

Picked up one of these at the L'Occitane store.

I always thought they looked like cheap synthetics, but I have one of those as well and the Plisson has much finer hairs, softer tips, and more hair.

The handle is surprisingly weighty, more so than my Semogue SOC. Fit and finish are good. Handle has some kind of water resistant stain. It looks nice but I would prefer an acrylic handle.

I lathered up a number of soaps and creams. The Plisson loads up quickly, like the Muhle, but because of the density it's actually easier to load. It builds lather quickly as well, slight different because it's not as splayed out. The lather quickly goes from foam to incorporated and well mixed.

Because of the fine hairs and density, it actually holds water and heat, unlike the Muhle. It also holds more lather, kind of. The Muhle holds more toward the tips while the Plisson holds throughout the knot. Lather flow is still pretty good.

Softness is pretty much identical to the Muhle, far softer than natural brushes. It is less springy but because the knot is tighter and more dense it doesn't splay quite as easily. Of course my Muhle is 19mm. I recall my larger Muhle brushes were harder to splay and far more likely to flop around.

I'll keep updating as I use it. Here are some pictures comparing the Plisson with a Shea Moisture synthetic and Muhle STF v2 19mm:

 

[celestino]

It is the best synthetic I have tried, so far. I only wish it were denser as in 28mm to compensate for the high loft.

 

[Attila]

Yep, best synthetic overall for me too. Though I am still enjoying my Muhle V2 25mm. Different feel.

 

[bosseb]

The Plisson synthetic is the one synth that really surprised me. I have used some synths since the original version of the Silvertip Fibre (STF) from Mühle. Somehow I had assumed that the newer versions of the fibres always were better than the previous ones. This brush proves me wrong, simply wrong.

It's not the latest bristles but the very nice construction that just works so very well. I have a write up about my synths here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/392181-Synthetic-brush-shootout .

Mühle 23 mm STF2, Plisson, Pur Tech 26 mm and Pur Tech 31 mm​

 

[Jarick]

First shave with it today, it really makes the lather much thicker than normal. More mixed perhaps? Or just quicker?

It's very, very dense and plush. Much more so than the Muhle STF or any natural brush.

You can legitimately do the Marco method with this synthetic. It holds water like a cross between boar and badger.

I also tried some face lathering and it worked great. Again, you can load plenty of soap and water in the brush.

Two downsides are, face feel is so plush some might not like it. And it doesn't want to splay as easily as badger. Not that it's stiff, but when the brush is wet, it likes to clump a bit. It will still splay and work on the face better than a Muhle STF though.

 

[rsp1202]

My complaint was having to buy it online since the L'Occitane stores around here only carried the brush as part of their expensive shave kit, but I just found out that the local shop is selling it separately, so now that I can pick and choose for myself, I think I'll grab another.

 

[StuMcB]

At £65 ($105) here in the UK from their own stores, I'm keeping to my Kent syntex. Looks OK but for that kinda of money I'd expect a fella to come round and shave me with it.

 

[yomuppet]

You could probably get someone in the US to ship you one cheaper, retail is about half that here. It's well worth the price IMO

 

[Atalk]

I took a business trip over the pond and used my Plisson Cade extensively. Performance was wonderful and generating lather was easy-peasy. I do wonder how it will perform when loading from a hard soap as the tips are extremely soft and the bristles tend to move as one cohesive column as opposed to individually splaying and digging in.

As expected, drying time was considerably shorter than my boar and badger brushes.

At £65 ($105) here in the UK from their own stores, I'm keeping to my Kent syntex. Looks OK but for that kinda of money I'd expect a fella to come round and shave me with it.

Eek! That is definitely a lot to pay for this brush. Here in the States, the brush alone costs $55.

 

[Jarick]

Some palm lathers, about 15 seconds of loading...

Tabac, Cella, Stirling, Proraso, VDH Deluxe

 

[beginish]

Damn, that's a great looking lather. I have an L'O here in town, and I've purposely steered clear in an attempt to not buy this brush.

YOU'RE NOT HELPING.

 

[saj_j]

3 days ago, i just got their soap with the aluminum container but didn't buy the brush because i thought synth brush doesn't work, looks like i was wrong. now i am itching to buy one

 

[bourneoo]

Since 1808, Plisson has been crafting exclusive shaving accessories In France using traditional methods of master barbers.
Made from hard wearing wood this brush features specific synthetic fibers, to produce a thick, comfortable lather for a unique shaving experience.

In order to create a perfect lather, place a small amount of shaving cream in a shaving bowl, then rapidly swirl the damp brush around the bowl for about 30 seconds.
Apply directly to your face, massaging with the brush.

 

[Jarick]

Face lathered today with some Omega croap. Had two fantastic passes. It is amazing how this brush holds on to water. Every other synthetic I've tried, including three Muhle STF v2 brushes, released water upon contact. The Plisson does not. I was able to load up and work on the face, then add water 2-3 times until I got to the desired hydration, and never had an issue with water running down the face.

The cool part is that badger will hold a lot of water, but it holds almost too much, and then the soap turns foamy. Boar holds a lot less water but doesn't release it, which makes for thicker lather, but sometimes it's hard to incorporate enough air in the mix. The Plisson is perfect here.

I did notice the slightest bit of irritation while scrubbing. The tips are plush soft but something felt a bit off a handful of times. Not scratchy, but not pleasing.

 

[strop]

Had a chance to use it for a couple days prior ro it going home with my son. I was favorably impressed as well. I just wish they wouldn't dye the tips.

 

[bosseb]

I just wish they wouldn't dye the tips.

This is my only complaint about the brush. I think the dying of the fibres is just plain ugly, especially considering the other brushes Plisson makes...

 

[Peter_A]

I just wish they wouldn't dye the tips.

I agree. The tips are dyed a rather strange color.

 

[AngryGreek]

Ugly dye or not this brush is fantastic. Hard soaps,croaps, cream does great with them all. Sometimes it makes it hard for me to use my other brushes.

 

[Elbe]

Ugly dye our not this brush is fantastic. Hard soaps,croaps, cream does great with them all. Sometimes it makes it hard for me to use my other brushes.

I agree with you. And I like the dying, at least they don't try to imitate a badger brush.

 

[Jarick]

I'd really like to see the brush in a nice acrylic handle. I was going to say I'd like to see a 24mm fan with a slightly shorter loft, but I don't know what affect that would have on the brush performance.

Maybe it's worth $55 to buy another brush and have Rudy Vey try and extract the knot and put in a nice handle?