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I have a shedder

I just received my first Badger brush. I went with a Frank Shaving best badger. I thought I would start with an inexpensive brush to give me a reference point with badger brushes. I could see if I would like a brush that is softer, stiffer or larger or smaller. I found it is a huge difference from what I was using and I am sold on badger brushes. I have one issue. The thing is shedding like a golden retriever in the spring. I have lost 10-12 hairs so far. Is this normal or is he shedding because this is a cheep brush or possibly a defective one? Would a Simpson brush do this?
 
Almost all brushes shed a little when brand new. But it should stop on its own within the first couple uses.

If it doesn't stop, then it will be a problem. I'm not sure how much you paid for your Frank, or where you got it from, but you may want to contact the vendor and see about a replacement.

If you get a major brand like Simpson/Rooney/EJ/etc, these manufacturers and vendors will stand behind their product. But of course, you pay many times what the Frank cost you.

You'll have to decide how much effort you want to put into getting a replacement for your Frank, if it needs it. It may just be easier to chalk it up as a loss and move on.
 
Mine was a terrible shedder but it suddenly stopped shedding yesterday.


I cut the knot out of it (to be replaced by a TGN 2 band).:tongue_sm
 
It is inexpensive but most Brushes will shed the first few lathers, if it doesn't stop after ~7-8 lathers I'd contact the seller and let him help solve your problem. I had a Frank Shave Silver-tip which shed the first 3-4 lathers than stopped, it was a nice Brush but a bit too soft for me, it did satisfy my curiosity and I PIFed it to a co-worker who mainly uses creams, I'm a Soap guy.
 
I have 3 Simpson brushes and 3 other Badgers. One Simpson never lost a hair ,one lost 8 or 9 and one lost close to 20 I would say. It was a Chubby2 so I'll never miss them. The other brushes all lost about the same which was 1 to around 15. If it still sheds after a month or the shedding speeds up there may be a problem but getting a brush that sheds some hairs is normal and not to be concerned with in the beginning.
 
It is inexpensive but most Brushes will shed the first few lathers, if it doesn't stop after ~7-8 lathers I'd contact the seller and let him help solve your problem.

I have to disagree, in general, I think 7-8 lathers can be too soon for some brushes. If it's a densely-packed (even high-end) brush, it could shed a single hair for each lather for over a month.

What to look out for is signficant shedding in single latherings. Like 5-10 hairs per lather over several lathers. There you have a problem with the knot.

Not unsurprisingly a lot of us get really concerned when our brush loses more than a single hair, especially if we've paid a bit on the brush. But we needn't worry so much. I changed my view after reading the following article, which was forwarded to me by Bernd Blos of Shavemac after I sent him e-mails freaking out about my shedding brush. Helped me, maybe it'll help someone else...

http://www.shaving101.com/index.php...sh-basics/80-the-facts-on-brush-shedding.html
 
I have to disagree, in general, I think 7-8 lathers can be too soon for some brushes. If it's a densely-packed (even high-end) brush, it could shed a single hair for each lather for over a month.

What to look out for is signficant shedding in single latherings. Like 5-10 hairs per lather over several lathers. There you have a problem with the knot.

Not unsurprisingly a lot of us get really concerned when our brush loses more than a single hair, especially if we've paid a bit on the brush. But we needn't worry so much. I changed my view after reading the following article, which was forwarded to me by Bernd Blos of Shavemac after I sent him e-mails freaking out about my shedding brush. Helped me, maybe it'll help someone else...

http://www.shaving101.com/index.php...sh-basics/80-the-facts-on-brush-shedding.html

My Simpson Chubby 2 shed a a hair or two almost every shave it seemed for about 6 weeks and just as as I was starting to be concerned it stopped shedding and hasn't lost another hair since. You can imagine i wasn't pleased to spend $150+ on a brush and shed for 6 weeks but now I am glad I kept it as the knot is perfect to me.
 
I have to disagree, in general, I think 7-8 lathers can be too soon for some brushes. If it's a densely-packed (even high-end) brush, it could shed a single hair for each lather for over a month.

What to look out for is signficant shedding in single latherings. Like 5-10 hairs per lather over several lathers. There you have a problem with the knot.

Not unsurprisingly a lot of us get really concerned when our brush loses more than a single hair, especially if we've paid a bit on the brush. But we needn't worry so much. I changed my view after reading the following article, which was forwarded to me by Bernd Blos of Shavemac after I sent him e-mails freaking out about my shedding brush. Helped me, maybe it'll help someone else...

http://www.shaving101.com/index.php...sh-basics/80-the-facts-on-brush-shedding.html

Thanks for the article, very interesting with some good tips. The 7-8 lathers was solely based on My experience, apologies for not being clear.
I found it surprising that some higher-end brushes would shed that long, I've not had the pleasure to own or try a Simpson or other well reputed Brush. I've owned some Vie-long Horse, a couple of Semogue's and two low end Badgers. All have been perfectly functional and keeps the PEACE with my Wife, one day Maybe :thumbup1:
 
The Frank Shaving brush can shed like crazy for a couple of weeks and then suddenly stop. This is what happened to mine. The seller told me to keep using it for 2 weeks and if it doesn't stop, to contact him for further action. It was shedding 10-15 per shave!!!...after about 10 days, it stopped shedding and hasn't shed since then!
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
Shedding the loose hairs that are not properly tied and glued in is a pretty common thing. Don't freak out if your brush looses some hair in the first weeks of use. Remember there are about 1000 single hairs in a gram of badger hair, a 24 mm knot has about 20000 hairs, so loosing a few is not a big deal.
Check out this video on brush making and how they remove the loose, stray hairs by combing them out and using a kitchen knife to remove the loose hairs.
http://www.davinci-defet.com/deutsch/kosmetikpinsel/pinselvideos/uomo-rasierpinsel-293-.html
 
I had the same problem with a Franks Shaving Co. brush over the last few months. The vendor -- Star Shaving -- replaced it quickly and courteously.
 
http://www.shaving101.com/index.php...sh-basics/80-the-facts-on-brush-shedding.html[/QUOTE]

Great artilce. Thanks. I will give it some time. It looks great. I hope I just got a great deal and not a dud. It is amazing the differnence in lather between this brush and the cheep immitation brush I was using. It has been only a couple of days and I am now letting it soak to get that varmint smell out of it. I soaked it in Pomolive dish soap and it is sitting with a lather of Omega shaving soap on it. I hope it will not smell like I rubbed Vicks Vapor Rub on a wet dog. Now that I know a little more about this, I am shopping for my next brush. I am looking for one that is good with soap, has a nice firm loft, and doesn't have to be super soft. I kinda like the slight scratchy feel. Most likely will go with a EJ Best for my next step up. Thanks for all the help.
 
Hey Rudy,
'If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.'
Is that from A Bronx Tale?
 
Thanks for the video Rudy...I enjoyed it over my morning coffee. OP, some excellent advice from some extremely knowledgeable folks already so I won't repeat it. If it makes you feel any better, almost all of today's dense knots with the exception of a select few will shed for the first few shaves/weeks. The knot will then settle down and will not shed unless you break a hair...one of my chubby 2 shed a hair or two for weeks and then settled down...it's sister brush shed about 5-6 and stopped...the only brushes that have never shed for me have been my plissons and the finest but I don't classify them as super dense either...just keep an eye on the length of the strand that came out to determine how deep it goes...most likely it was sitting about the glue plug anyways...
 
I have read about this issue before with FS brushed. From what I have read if you email him he will replace the brush if it truly is shedding a lot
 
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