Made a mistake. Need help.

[MichaelB]

I did something stupid yesterday morning. My wife bought me a tube of Alba shave cream. I did not realize it is a brushless, latherless cream. I didn't read the label. I put a dab into my mug and tried to lather it with my B&B Silvertip. Then, I realized what I was dealing with.

This morning I was looking forward to using my QED sandalwood shave stick. I applied the soap to my face, but just could not get any lather using my B&B brush. I used a different brush and that worked fine.

I am pretty sure that the Alba somehow gunked up my brush and has made it dysfunctional. I rinsed it multiple times in very hot water, but still no lather. How do you gents clean a gunked up brush? Does the brush cleaner sold by Classic Shaving work? Is there an effective solvent that won't harm the bristles? Do you clean your brushes regularly?

Thanks for the advice.

Michael

[ada8356]

Go to your local Target (or wherever) and pick up some borax.

At my Target they sell 20 Mule Team Borax in the same section as laudry detergents. It should cost you less than $3 for a big box.

Mix some borax with some warm water and soak your brush in it.:smile:

[rtaylor61]

Michael,

If you don't have Borax at home, just give it a thorough shampoo and a good rinse. That should make a major difference.

Randy

[gigemlee]

I use shampoo on mine, too. It's very effective.

But, I should try borax - my wife mixes it 50/50 with washing soda, shavings of Fels-Naptha and essential oil for our laundry detergent - which is very, very inexpensive and works very, very well.

[Limey]

Go to your local Target (or wherever) and pick up some borax.

At my Target they sell 20 Mule Team Borax in the same section as laudry detergents. It should cost you less than $3 for a big box.

Mix some borax with some warm water and soak your brush in it.:smile:

That's what I would do...

[BroJohn]

1 Tsp of Dawn Dish Detergent in a bowl of hot water, wash and soak brush. follow with a borax/water soak. Repeat if necessary. It'll be OK.

Good luck, Michael.

-- John Gehman

[rikrdo]

All good advice, Gents !
No worries, Michael.....
it'll be OK :thumbup1:

[fritz]

I did something stupid yesterday morning. My wife bought me a tube of Alba shave cream. I did not realize it is a brushless, latherless cream.
There really outta be a law against advertising this crap as "shaving cream". What if somebody added red food coloring to mustard and advertised it as ketchup? Don't you think the public would demand some action?

[MichaelB]

You guys are great. After reading your posts, I soaked the brush in hot water/dish liquid. Then I soaked it in hot water/borax (after a trip to Target). I rinsed thoroughly after each soak. This morning, the brush was back to its old magnificent self. Thank you for your wonderful advice.

To give myself a treat, I used Floris soap this morning for the very first time (I bought it in London months ago). What a luxurious shave!

Michael

[Suzuki]

There really outta be a law against advertising this crap as "shaving cream". What if somebody added red food coloring to mustard and advertised it as ketchup? Don't you think the public would demand some action?

I agree its not shave "cream" as such, but I think the manufacturer thought it would be confusing to call it shave lotion or something else.

To Alba's defence, the packaging clearly indicates that the product is to be applied by hand sparingly to one's face.

So, experiment if you will, but don't blame the manufacturer if you gunk up your brush using a product that was intended to be used brushless.

Fortunately, a good shampoo or soak in Borax will more than likley solve the problem.

[MichaelB]

I agree its not shave "cream" as such, but I think the manufacturer thought it would be confusing to call it shave lotion or something else.

To Alba's defence, the packaging clearly indicates that the product is to be applied by hand sparingly to one's face.

So, experiment if you will, but don't blame the manufacturer if you gunk up your brush using a product that was intended to be used brushless.

Fortunately, a good shampoo or soak in Borax will more than likley solve the problem.

For the record, after I made the mistake with my brush -- which, I admit, was my fault for not reading the label -- I did continue to shave with the Alba as specified on the label. Perhaps I am just not skilled at using such a product, but the shave I got was really very poor. I won't be using it again.

Michael

[Prince]

There really outta be a law against advertising this crap as "shaving cream". What if somebody added red food coloring to mustard and advertised it as ketchup? Don't you think the public would demand some action?

Actually, using the red and yellow make orange theory, you could advertise it as Tennessee ketchup.:biggrin:

[SharpClaw]

shampoo ,glycine
make sure to work it into the brush as if you where making a lather
then add hot water and let it soak. and as you rinse the brush
swirl it in a bowl or mug full of clean water. and that should do it.:biggrin: