Are All Badger Brushes Prickly?

As some of you know,I have a VDH Badger Brush that I was fighting to get rid of the animal smell which I finally did.Ive been using it for quite awhile and never realized how prickly it is compared to the VDH Boar brushes I have.The badger builds a great lather,but feels awful on my face.It doesnt irritate me,but im not liking the feeling of it.Whereas the boar brush feels much softer on my face.I know there are much better badger brushes out there than the VDH one,but I cant spend lots of money on a custom knot or an expensive brush.
Will this brush always be prickly or will it break in down the road becoming much softer?How good are Tweezermans compared to the VDH?
thanks

Not all badger brushes are prickly. Unlike boar, badger doesn't change that much with use. Better badger brushes also rarely have any funk. You can buy or assemble a decent badger at a reasonable price but quality boars will be less expensive.

Face&Head said:

Not all badger brushes are prickly. Unlike boar, badger doesn't change that much with use. Better badger brushes also rarely have any funk. You can buy or assemble a decent badger at a reasonable price but quality boars will be less expensive.

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+1. If you want softness find a nice boar or upgrade to a best or silvertip badger.

My Tweezerman badger brush was prickly at first, but now its softened up considerably...

In a word, NOPE!

I would add my $.02, but I would only be repeating the fine gentlemen above.

Some are horrible. They are the exceptions. After a dozen lathers badger don't change much if any.

Phil

Badger stays pretty much the same after the initial 2-3 week break-in period. If it is prickly, it will probably stay prickly. The backbone may weaken a bit and make it more tolerable, but that's about it.

If your budget is small, then get a good quality boar, it will soften up in about 4-6 weeks and have nice back bone. If you can afford it, then you will have to spring for a better badger if you want it to be less prickly. I would say $50 is the ground floor price for badger that is a step up from pure badger.

...and then there is horse hair, which I have no experience with. I'm certain someone will be along shortly to sing its praises.

All I have to say is some badger brushes feel like angel wings kissing your face...

Brent said:

All I have to say is some badger brushes feel like angel wings kissing your face...

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+1. Or fairies merrily dusting cream on your face.

A horse brush will be soft as well but does not retain heat as well as a badger and not all horse brushes feel the same either. You'd have to experiment.

I don't want any fairies dusting cream on my face.

Neognosis said:

I don't want any fairies dusting cream on my face.

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Bad experience, huh?

Pure badgers are pretty much all prickly.
Finest can go either way, Best and Silvertip are both generally very soft.

I have a tweezerman that is a bit prickly. I made some of my own from the nib silvertip and a best that are smoooooth

You can soften badge brushes a bit by applying some hair conditioner on the hairs after cleaning it. Let the hair conditioner sit on the bristles for a few minutes and then rinse out with vinegar and water and let it dry.

LouBarraza said:

Are All Badger Brushes Prickly?

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Nope. The grade makes a difference. Don't overlook the Wiki:
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Shave_Brush_Hair_Grades

Pure badger is generally prickly, mostly because many manufacturers clip the ends of the hair shaft in order to form the bulb shape. VDH's badger brushes are clipped. Best and Silvers do not have the tips clipped, but rather are left with the actual hair tips, creating much softer ends. On the Pure's, it's the clipped off ends that are giving you the prickly feeling. Upgrade to a Best or Silvertip, and you'll probably discover the softness difference.

If looking at a badger hair brush, and you notice that the very tips are flat across instead of tapering to a natural point... then the tips have been clipped.

TheGRman said:

Pure badger is generally prickly, mostly because many manufacturers clip the ends of the hair shaft in order to form the bulb shape. VDH's badger brushes are clipped. Best and Silvers do not have the tips clipped, but rather are left with the actual hair tips, creating much softer ends. On the Pure's, it's the clipped off ends that are giving you the prickly feeling. Upgrade to a Best or Silvertip, and you'll probably discover the softness difference.

If looking at a badger hair brush, and you notice that the very tips are flat across instead of tapering to a natural point... then the tips have been clipped.

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Exactly what I was going to post

Like others have said. It depends on the brush and grade of hair used.

My Rooney heritage 3XL is like getting hit in the face with a soapy cloud

My girlfriend compared them all to her makeup brushes, and if you're comparing it to makeup brushes, then yes they're all prickly. They are supposed to exfoliate your skin somewhat.

My $45 omega silvertip was like rubbing a fuzzy pillow across my face from day 1.
No pricklyness to be had.