Semogue 620 thoughts and break in.

I read a lot of this forum though I don't make many posts, but I thought I might have some information that would be useful to anyone considering a Semogue 620 brush. I recently purchased mine the other week, my only other brush being a Vulfix #374 super badger. To start, it is a very good quality brush, I love the handle and the brush overall is very durably constructed. I have used it twice so far. My face is very sensitive, so unfortunately I have experienced some irritation (I am a face latherer) but nothing that shouldn't be overcome once the brush is completely broken in. I don't know how else to describe this, but it seems to have more "personality" than the Vulfix badger I have, as in it doesn't look/feel/smell like it just came out of the box when it is finished drying after use. I think it is a very fun brush for a nice price, even though my face is very sensitive I feel like I can make the brush work for me with regular use.

I have been working towards breaking this brush in, using some of what I read on the forums here and doing a bit of my own thing, with very good success. I have actually used the brush only twice so far, but have made lather (palm lather) with the brush a total of five or six times. I let the brush dry at least a day between the lathers, like I read here. Also, twice I have lathered the brush and let it sit overnight with the soap in the brush, using D.R. Harris Arlington. I then rinse the soap out in the morning with warm and then cold water. Afterwards I gently paint the brush dry on a towel, and then lightly swirl the tips on the towel. The second time I did the lather treatment I first used the brush for shaving at about midday, and then made a second lather that night and let it sit until morning. All of this seems to have made great strides towards breaking the brush in, the tips have become much softer while still maintaining the backbone that is characteristic of this model of brush. The tips of the bristles are splitting quite a bit, I can see a few bristles that have even split into four sections. I noticed the test lathers are getting much better as well. I will try my third shave with it tomorrow, I know it's going to be good this time. Hopefully this helps someone with tips for breaking in a boar, or anyone who is on the fence about a 620. I'm glad I made the decision to pick this one up. A couple of (bad) pictures of the brush are below!

The 620 is a good brush. Sounds like you're doing all the right things!

I got my 620 in the mail on Tuesday and used it for the first time yesterday. I'm very happy with it. I'm also a face latherer and thought the 620 did pretty good for the first time knowing that it is not broken in yet. It's definitely a marked improvement over the cheap VDH boar I bought first.

I have my first boar coming, it's not a 620, but an I think somewhat similar Vulfix 2189.

Do I need to do break-in steps before using it or can I jump straight to using it and have the break in be done with normal shaving?

I'm sure you could just use it like normal and it will eventually break in fine. I just wanted to speed up the process a bit so I could get a better lather and make the bristles become more gentle. But that will still happen with regular use.

I'm just breaking mine in by lathering. Did a couple test hand lathers before using it on my face. I believe it's important with a boar-especially at first -to allow brush to fully dry each time. It's the drying cycles that cause the bristle tips to split and "break in".
Mine is starting to lather a little better with each use now-love it. Solid brush-great size and density.

Dlskier said:

I have my first boar coming, it's not a 620, but an I think somewhat similar Vulfix 2189.

Do I need to do break-in steps before using it or can I jump straight to using it and have the break in be done with normal shaving?

Click to expand...

Great, thanks for the feedback.

Yeap that's my thread. ONLY 5 years late...

I ordered a Semogue 620 and my Proraso Blue Cream is waiting for the break in. Lather & leave it overnight to dry with the cream on the bristles. So well made this brush. I am sure it will be my favourite one.

I own only Omega boar brushes so it will be a change for me..

I bought a Semologue 620 two months ago. I used it daily for the first 30 days to break it in. Like you I towel dried my brush after use and hung it handle up until the next day. It took about 3-4 weeks for the bristle ends to split. It was a nice brush with good backbone when I first started using it. As it became broken in, the tips softened while the brush still maintained its firm backbone. Its a great brush, well worth the wait till the tips soften.