Omega boar brush - Worst $9 I've ever spent on shaving

OK guys, boar hair must not be for me.

I bought an Omega Professional boar brush from WCS with my last order. I've practice lathered it on my palm once, shaved with it twice, and I'm sick of it. Literally.

My 'Tweezerman' badger brush had a funk to it when it came out of the box, but this 'funk' was pretty damn mild anyway, and dissipated quickly.

The Omega brush has a more agressive funk than that badger brush...It smells like pig farm, it makes me actually sick to my stomach sometimes, and in my hands I get a poor lather thats good for one pass IF that.

clean it -vinegar and/or shampoo- to get rid of the smell, then work on the lather

Take it in the shower with you and shampoo it when you do. Then practice lather it a few times. The smell will be gone after a few days.

I soak and shampoo my new brushes a few times with Head and Shoulders (just because that's the shampoo I have in my shower), and the funk completely disappears.

Yeah, I have the exact same brush and I put it through some de-funkifying procedures before using it. There are a couple threads on specific methods. I went with the standard vinegar/shampoo/lather with it methods. Also, bear in mind that boar has a longer break-in time than badger does. The hairs on mine split after a couple months of use and it's much softer now than it was when I first got it. Give it a fair shake before you pronounce it a complete waste.

OK, OK...But what if I don't have shampoo?

#1 buzz-cuts clean up with a block of soap and hot water...

Boar brushes take some time to break in. You need to give it at least 15 shaves before you can really tell about the brush

Hansel said:

OK, OK...But what if I don't have shampoo?

#1 buzz-cuts clean up with a block of soap and hot water...

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Get a small bottle of trave sized shampoo from your local drug store.

Grace said:

Yeah, I have the exact same brush and I put it through some de-funkifying procedures before using it. There are a couple threads on specific methods. I went with the standard vinegar/shampoo/lather with it methods. Also, bear in mind that boar has a longer break-in time than badger does. The hairs on mine split after a couple months of use and it's much softer now than it was when I first got it. Give it a fair shake before you pronounce it a complete waste.

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+2

Good answer.

Hansel said:

OK, OK...But what if I don't have shampoo?

#1 buzz-cuts clean up with a block of soap and hot water...

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Just whip up some lather and work it in and let it sit. Rinse, repeat, rinse repeat. Those are good brushes.

If I can get the smell out, I'll keep using it for soaps. Honestly, I'm really starting to realize how much I love my cheap-a** badger brush...

To get rid of the smell, whip up a bunch of hot lather and let it sit and soak in it for a few hours, then rinse and repeat around 4-6 times.

To split up the ends, dry it out, hold it by the middle of the loft and rub the tips on your palm like you're whipping up soap lather for 10-15 minutes.

A good break-in and a week or two of steady use, and you'll find your boar much softer on the face than your cheap badger.

Hansel said:

If I can get the smell out, I'll keep using it for soaps. Honestly, I'm really starting to realize how much I love my cheap-a** badger brush...

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Give it some time. After you're all defunkified and broken in, you'll wonder why you ever bought a badger!

Hansel said:

and in my hands I get a poor lather thats good for one pass IF that.

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That is not by any means the fault of the brush. Don't blame the brush for your lack of lathering technique.

You probably bought the Omega #49, which is a very large brush when compared to most badgers (the Tweezerman is probably about a 22mm knot, the #49 is 27mm), as such you will need to use more product to accommodate for the bigger brush.

Make sure you thoroughly squeeze out the brush, and give it a few good shakes too. Regardless if you are using shaving cream, or shaving soap you need to start out with a fairly dry brush.

Every time you purchase a new brush, you will have to tweak the water/product ratio as this will very from brush to brush.

My Omega #49 is every bit as good as my Penworks finest badger brush.

don't give up yet men. I washed mine with shampoo a couple of times before the odor was gone. I am now the proud owner of a broken in, split hairs beauty

LinuxMintyFresh said:

Give it some time. After you're all defunkified and broken in, you'll wonder why you ever bought a badger!

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+1 not to bash badgers but cheap ones (I've had a tweezerman) really don't come close to a broken in quality boar.

I gave up on my Omega Pro 49 (I'm nearly certain that's the same brush WCS sells) but kept reading so many good things about it that I went back and gave it some more time. Took two weeks and it ended up being an excellent brush. I didn't apply any special techniques -- just used it a lot.

But I agree the initial funk is hard to get past.

Just another "keep working with it" exhortation. That will turn out to be a great brush. It just takes a bit of time to break in and learning how to lather with it. Don't give up, Sir

I have several Omega Pros in my rotation; they are by far my favorites; I like them better than any badger.

Never had a smell issue, never had any break in issues; they are excellent products and good from the git go

Send me your problem one for extended testing and rehabilitation; it could take years, but I will straignten it out

ken

Only two days and you're throwing in the towel? Come on, you should to give boar around two weeks of use to see its potential. As for the smell, practice lathers will work just fine. Whip up a few, and in no time the smell should be gone.