What's new

Badger Allergies?

Wifey gifted me (for X-Mass) a beautiful shave brush, a Simpson's Chubby 3 in Best Badger. I did a write up here-
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...ta-bringing-you-a-brush?p=3699894#post3699894

So I've used it 5 X's now and ever since the first shave, I've noticed a slight allergic reaction to what I percieve, the badger hair tips. What I notice is after the shaves, a sensation of warmth and tingliness, a perception if you will. Me thinks it's an allergic reaction of sorts. Nothing major as far as distress goes but a perceptable feeling that something is causing a reaction, and the only thing I can pin point is the new brush. I've used a few different soaps and creams these past 5 shaves but nothing I haven't used before and none of the soaps and creams used have ever reacted with my skin negatively

I need to metnion that I have been using a few Omega 48 boar brushes like day in and day out since about late last spring. When i started wet shaivng in Feb. of this year I started out using a Parker Best Badger which I liked, until I fell in love with boar brushes, their soft tips and plenty of backbone. The Parker Best Badger is way floppy in comparason (to the Omega Boar Brush I mentioned). Now of course, this Chubby 3 has soft tips and the fact that it is so densely packed with hair, backbone it has, but I have a slight concern over this mild reaction I'm sensing from using my new brush. So what do the list brush authoritarians have to say about this dileama? Do I give it time and let it settle in, letting my face get used to it or do I soak the brush in a cleaning solution?, or? The brush was packaged stating it was sterilized so I didn't bother washing it at all. Could this have something to do with it, the brush needing further laundering?

I have to laugh, a few times when I've recommended for n00bs to try an Omega boar shave brush (after they bitterly complained how prickly the $7 Chinese drug store boar brushes felt), several list members have cautioned that the Omega 48 Pro is a big brush. What would they think about the Chubby 3's girth?=:) The Omega Boar #48 feels downright diminutive compared to the Chubby 3


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
 
Jake, it could be an allergy or it could be that your skin is sensitive to the slight scritch of Simpson Best. Best bet is to go to your fallback setup (the Omega boar and a well tolerated soap) and see if the issue goes away. Once it does, introduce the suspect tool/product again (the Chubby) and see if you get the same reaction.
 
Badger allergy = extremely unlikely. I would gently clean the brush anyway. Check the brush cleaning tutorials.

That is one dense, scrubby brush. What's probably happening is that you are getting "brush burn" from using it, and that combined with the way the brush works (applying a lot of concentrated soap/cream to your "burnt" face) is causing the burn. Imagine rubbing your skin with sandpaper, then rubbing a bar of soap into the roughed up area. It's going to burn.

I would let your face heal then go back to your old setup. Try the new brush again and be a little more gentle with it on your face. You might want to try pre-mixing the lather more either on top of your soap puck or in the palm of your hand rather than building it 100% on your face. I would also soak the brush a bit longer before use, like at least 15-20 minutes.
 
Last edited:
Jake, it could be an allergy or it could be that your skin is sensitive to the slight scritch of Simpson Best.

~~~that was my thought, an allergy or skin sensitivity if you will


Best bet is to go to your fallback setup (the Omega boar and a well tolerated soap) and see if the issue goes away. O


~~~I used my Omega 48 last night along with Tabac, and no reaction. There's no doubt in my mind it is the Chubby 3 causing the reaction, or some type of skin sensitivity


nce it does, introduce the suspect tool/product again (the Chubby) and see if you get the same reaction.



~~~I have an idea when I use the Chubby 3 next, as is, I will experience the same sensitivity. Thanks for your help Franz


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
 
Badger allergy = extremely unlikely. I would gently clean the brush anyway. Check the brush cleaning tutorials.

That is one dense, scrubby brush. What's probably happening is that you are getting "brush burn" from using it, and that combined with the way the brush works (applying a lot of concentrated soap/cream to your "burnt" face) is causing the burn. Imagine rubbing your skin with sandpaper, then rubbing a bar of soap into the roughed up area. It's going to burn.

I would let your face heal then go back to your old setup. Try the new brush again and be a little more gentle with it on your face. You might want to try pre-mixing the lather more either on top of your soap puck or in the palm of your hand rather than building it 100% on your face. I would also soak the brush a bit longer before use, like at least 15-20 minutes.

+1. Do you face or bowl-lather? If you lather on your face, that might increase your unease. And I always wash and clean a new brush, you never know what's been in it. Good luck!
 
Badger allergy = extremely unlikely. I would gently clean the brush anyway. Check the brush cleaning tutorials.

~~~I have cleaned every shave brush I own/use in the past. Most of the time I use a dilute solution of expresso machine cleaner (Joe Glo) which is glorified TSP (tri sodium phosphate) with rinse agents, which ensure thorough rinsing of the TSP, but I have also used a generic Palmolive dishwashing liquid, also dilute along with warm water followed by a warm to hot water rinse...and I've used dilute white vinegar w/water. FWIW, I've heard (read) peeps on this site knock cleaning shave brushes citing that they are dipped in soap therefore they are clean yet I've always found my shave brushes to not only feel better on my face after a cleaning but I have also percieved increased performance. Something else I've done while cleaning is to soak for a bit (10 minutes?) in a dilute solution of citric acid (sour salt) and warm water. This soaking does the same thing that vinegar does in that it helps to remove calcium deposits from the brush hairs. That's what the sleptics do not realize they get in a thorough cleaning...the removal of calcium which inhibits the hair to do it's thing. I believe my next step with my Chubby 3 is to do a proprietary cleaning and see what I get from that. Although the package states my brush was sterilized, how do we know what we know? Perhaps the packer just returned from the Ladies room applying some type of a perfume, left on her hands, which got onto my brush. sometimes truth is stranger than fiction



That is one dense, scrubby brush. What's probably happening is that you are getting "brush burn" from using it, and that combined with the way the brush works (applying a lot of concentrated soap/cream to your "burnt" face) is causing the burn. Imagine rubbing your skin with sandpaper, then rubbing a bar of soap into the roughed up area. It's going to burn.

~~~something is burning my skin, at least that is what it feels like

I would let your face heal then go back to your old setup.


~~~the burn does not last long (maybe several hours at most), nor is it a heavy burn. I would describe it as a very light sensation of a burn, and again, it doesn't last but an hour or two, if that long. it's really more of a tingly sensation, leaving me with a sensation that something is amiss


Try the new brush again and be a little more gentle with it on your face. You might want to try pre-mixing the lather more either on top of your soap puck or in the palm of your hand rather than building it 100% on your face.


~~Mmm...I like to face lather. No!, I prefer to face lather, though infrequently I'll build lather in my scuttle. If I can't face lather with this brush, I may as well sell it... perish the thought as it was a gift to me from my wife


I would also soak the brush a bit longer before use, like at least 15-20 minutes.


~~~would you please explain what this will accomplish? As far as that goes, there have been several times in the last 5 uses with this brush that I have let the brush soak while I am in the shower, and I always take long hot showers, so it's soaking for your prescribed amount of time.

Thank you for your thoughts on this. At this point, I think my next move will be to clean the brush and see if that changes anything. As I mentioned in my reply to Franz, I used my Omega boar (#48) last shave along with Tabac soap and I had no reaction to that brush whatsoever, so I at least know the cause of my reaction is the Chubby brush, and not the soap product I am using. And i think you are on to something concerning the brush tips scrubbing my skin yet they feel quite soft to my face, which leads me to believe it's possible that there is something on the surface of the brush tips I might be able to remove with a cleaning. We'll see what happens after a cleaning=:)


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
 
+1. Do you face or bowl-lather? If you lather on your face, that might increase your unease. And I always wash and clean a new brush, you never know what's been in it. Good luck!


~~~I mainly face lather (99% of the time), but admittedly, the 5 X's I've used the Chubby 3, several times I built the lather I used in my 1.5 dirty bird scuttle. I have to agree with you about not knowing what came on the brush...I'm thinking I may have recieved bonus product=:)


Thinking about the ways I've used this brush, and it's only been 5 X's, only twice I face lathered, maybe thrice. In my mind, looking back, it didn't seen to matter if I built lather on my face or in the scuttle, the end result has always been the same with this brush...a slight mild burning sensation, and although it's been suggested that perhaps the brush tips are scrubbing my face causing the irritation, I really doubt there is sanding action going on as the brush tips feel uber smooth to my skin, yet I'm not discounting anything at this point for I don't really know what is going on


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
 
This may not apply to your situation Jake, but I eventually had to give up facelathering with Simpson Best because my skin simply could not take it.
 
I know that several manufacturer's mention a "preservative" or "disinfectant" on the hairs that contribute to the break-in odors. It might be these products that are giving you the reaction. Since hair is porous and could certainly absorb these products, it could take several cleanings and several fresh water soaks to get the majority of those products removed from the hairs.

Good luck with the irritation. I'd hate to see you unable to use and enjoy your new present!!!!
 
This may not apply to your situation Jake, but I eventually had to give up facelathering with Simpson Best because my skin simply could not take it.



~~~~Hi Franz, So are you able to use the Super Badger Simpson brushes?

...curious minds


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
 
I know that several manufacturer's mention a "preservative" or "disinfectant" on the hairs that contribute to the break-in odors. It might be these products that are giving you the reaction. Since hair is porous and could certainly absorb these products, it could take several cleanings and several fresh water soaks to get the majority of those products removed from the hairs.

Good luck with the irritation. I'd hate to see you unable to use and enjoy your new present!!!!



~~~~AHhhh!, I have good news on this front, but a hint, I have a feeling you are right, and yes, it would be a shame not to enjoy this fine gift


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
 
Problem solved! I cleaned the brush with Joe Glo espresso machine cleaner powder mixed in a dilute solution with warm to hot water. Just added some powder, kept it on the weak side...added the powder to my one and only Old Spice shave mug, mixed it up with the very warm water, added the brush so the hairs were totally immersed, left it like that for about 10 minutes, swished (worked) it around some then used warm to almost hot water to rinse, and I rinsed well, then I sat it aside for several hours in that mug with water, changing the water several times to make sure I got a good clear water rinse. Then I went for a shave

Lucky for me a new puck (refill) of Tabac showed up in my rural mailbox* Saturday so I positioned it in my white glass Tabac jar, and allowed hot water to rest on top of the soap while I got my sink going for the upcomong shave. Previously (just a little before) I stropped the straight I was going to use, this one-
proxy.php

one of my favorite straight razors, a user grade 6/8 round point Goldedge. Since I didn't shower beforehand, I did Kyle's prep but first with Proraso pre shave cream, then lathered up the new Tabac soap puck, applied to my beard and on the hot wet towel went, and keeping in mind what some of the fellows said here, to try and build most of the lather on my soap instead of my face, that's what I did, and I have to say thank you for that tip because, it forced me to focus more time and attention to what is going on with the soap and brush, while the brush is going to town on the soap surface, and what a brilliant show it is

I still like to spend time on my face with the lather yet I was mindful of the suggestion to work the brush on the soap, building more of the lather there, so that's what I did, but at the risk of repeating myself, I felt I spent almost as much time as I normally do with the brush on my face working the soap, and for this first pass, I could tell there was not going to be any irritation, and there wasn't

I need to stop here and state, I never felt that I spent an appreciable amount of time with the brush on my face while face lathering. Mind you, I face lather 9 out of 10 X's I shave, but I must have this technique down pat in wood as it never seems like much work at all to get the soap loaded in my brush (using the Omega boar I've been using) then transferred on to my face. As a straight razor shaver, I'm more concerned that my lather is slick and wet rather than billowy and thick, so I've never felt that I spent much time with the brush on my face, yet *I like to face lather*

2nd pass, I worked the brush on the soap more and enjoyed watching a slow emulsification appear before my eyes. This big Chubby brush slowly grinds away at the soap churning it into a creamy lather. I don't know if I'm the only one to feel this way but it's a sight to behold, plus I love the fragrance of Tabac filling my shave den. Some say they don't like the smell of Tabac, that it's an old man's scent. Well, I'm 55, does liking the fragrance of this soap make me an old man? don't answer that, it's a rhetorical question:a19:



3rd pass, same verse, same as the first, and the 2nd, in that I worked the Chubby on top of the Tabac to get the soap to turn more into cream, and this brush does it, but the really good news for this shave is that anytime I worked the soap on my face, I never got any sort of a burning sensation, not even a hint, during the shave or after the shave, as I did before, and not only did I do a 3 pass shave but I also did a bunch of touch ups to get BBS. I like to do two north to south passes on both sides of my face (to the bottom of my neck) then the third pas I work on going ATG. Same with the touch ups, those blade moves are more aggressive strokes and they require soap to get on my skin, so the theory that my Chubby brush was acting like sandpaper and the soap then was burning my wounded skin, wasn't happening at all


I'm telling you lads, the problem all along (me thinks) was some sort of foriegn agent on this new brush, and what I should have done from the get go was to treat this brush like I do with any new to me brush, new or used (& I've purchased and used several used brushes), in other words, give it a thorough cleaning. But I'm a program guy and typically follow directions, and the directions that came with this brush stated that it was not necessary to clean this brush berfore using. What a misnomer. So any and all reading this thread, make sure you thoroughly clean a new to you shave brush before using, even if the peep you got it from said he cleaned it before sending it to you so don't bother. Achtung! Fuhgedabowdit, clean that brush before using, always...you never know what someone else had on their skin while handling that brush


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.

*FYI, I've read here others saying they purchased from fragrancex.com this is where I bought this refill puck of Tabac. I didn't need any other shave shwag and only wanted to get a puck of Tabac, fragrancex had what I thought was a fair price. Paid for it online the 27th, it was in my mailbox the 31st, so 4 days to get here. Not bad considering the order had to be processed before shipping out but still not as fast as the superiorshave (Jarrod) ships
 
Another update with good news:thumbup:....I used the Chubby 3 in Best to face lather this past evening...I face lathered using Tabac soap, and I shaved using this ERN straight razor-
proxy.php


I had absolutely no irritation whatsoever using this shave brush. I'm so relieved that the irritation I was getting was due to the brush needing cleaning and not some more nefarious reason, concluding with a departure from ever using this brush again. It's a really fun brush to face lather with. Definitely a product hog yet that is a small price to pay for luxurious face lather shave brushing:001_wub::001_wub:


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
 
I'm so happy you've got the problem solved! Great news, enjoy your newest brush :001_smile!


~~~I forgot to thank you for the obvious concern you've shown, so thank you!, and yes, the problem has been solved and I am getting along quite well with this particular brush. As a new (less than a month) Simpson Chubby (3) user, I've enjoyed reading the various threads where Chubby brushes are discussed and the discussions usually lead to "what a product hog they are'...and I've also read where some say you can learn to use less product and still enjoy the brush, but I have to say, I don't mind the extra soap consumed when fully loading this brush. It just adds to the enjoyment=:)
:w00t:

Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.
 
Top Bottom