I received my new Semogue 620 today, my first boar, from a fine forum vendor.
Any Semogue junkies care to share your favorite tricks to get them broken in
Any Semogue junkies care to share your favorite tricks to get them broken in
New Semogue Day - Favorite break-in tricks?
- Thread starter bosenberg
- Start date
A nice bath in your favorite shampoo, followed by a quick lather with any product of your choice. Let sit for a few minutes before rinsing and letting dry completely.
Lather it up ~everyday for about a week and that little porker should be good to go.
The more you use it, the less lather it will hog and as the tips begin to breakdown and split, she'll get good and soft on your face.
If you're really bothered by the scent of the brush (I'm not) I know some people are big advocates of letting it sit in some conditioner or vinegar rinses but I think that's a little overkill. Use it the way it was intended and the break in will come naturally.
Lather it up ~everyday for about a week and that little porker should be good to go.
The more you use it, the less lather it will hog and as the tips begin to breakdown and split, she'll get good and soft on your face.
If you're really bothered by the scent of the brush (I'm not) I know some people are big advocates of letting it sit in some conditioner or vinegar rinses but I think that's a little overkill. Use it the way it was intended and the break in will come naturally.
1st: shampoo. Shampoo well. Then let the brush (with the shampoo still in it) soak in water for 30 minutes or so. Agitate the water every 10 minutes. Rinse really well; it is harder to get shampoo out than shave soap. Then let dry for 48 hours.
2nd: Hand lather, but do not apply any lather to your face. Let dry at least 48 hours. Then hand lather again let dry for 48 hours. Keep doing this until you think the brush is ready. I hand lathered mine every 48-72 hours for 2 months before I used it. Maybe overkill, but when the brush went to my face, it was really soft.
P.S. Some guys say allow drying time of 24 hours between uses. I want the brush to be completely dry, and 24 hours does not seem enough time. My boars are still slightly damp after 24 hours.
2nd: Hand lather, but do not apply any lather to your face. Let dry at least 48 hours. Then hand lather again let dry for 48 hours. Keep doing this until you think the brush is ready. I hand lathered mine every 48-72 hours for 2 months before I used it. Maybe overkill, but when the brush went to my face, it was really soft.
P.S. Some guys say allow drying time of 24 hours between uses. I want the brush to be completely dry, and 24 hours does not seem enough time. My boars are still slightly damp after 24 hours.
I'd agree with both...I did a little bath in some shampoo (hers, cause I like the way it smells) and let it sit in a cup for 30 min or so. Initially, it really didn't have much funk anyways. After the soak, I couldn't detect any. Then, I just started using mine. Granted, it got better each day within the first 2 weeks...but once I hit a month, I remember that specific day when I said "Woah, it must be broken in now." The SOC boar is now my favorite brush...until the 2-Band gets here 
- Thread starter
- #5
Thanks for the tips everyone, hopefully it is the first of several
I just got my Semogue brush last week, I actually didn't experience any of the pig funk, I have heard of. Did one test lather, and it has been good to go lathers up a storm, and I have been told it will just get better as it breaks in. About the brush funk, I like the smell of arko and GFT Eucris, so maybe the lack of brush funk is just me 
Use them! 
On the topic, my 1305 started breaking in the 2nd-3rd time I used it. Only thing I did was use it every other day. My Pro 49 took like a month to really break in. I don't do a big initial routine on my brush. Maybe a test lather just to "clean" it. But I actually like the boar smell. lol
On the topic, my 1305 started breaking in the 2nd-3rd time I used it. Only thing I did was use it every other day. My Pro 49 took like a month to really break in. I don't do a big initial routine on my brush. Maybe a test lather just to "clean" it. But I actually like the boar smell. lol
My 620 should be arriving in the next day or 2!
Did a couple hand lathers to break it in. Didn't have any funk. Used it the next day...and most since. And yes, keeps getting better.
I've broken in several of my boars in less than a week by soaking the bristles in a mug of warm water for 5 minutes, test lathering, rinsing, drying with a hair dryer for a minute or two on the low setting, then repeating. You can do this 5-10 times in one evening if you've got an hour. Some will say using a hair dryer on a brush is madness (and on a $100+ badger brush it would be), but as long as you don't let it get too hot, it will do no harm, and the tips of the bristles will start to split (the desired result) in a hurry. I've found that while boars don't necessarily like to be abused, they don't need to be babied either.
Just use 'em!!
There's no trick. I always give it a quick washing in dish soap just to help de-funk. After that the best way to break it in is to just use it everyday. It will take a few weeks to get fully broken in but it will improve quite a bit in the first few shaves.
There are no short cuts to breaking in a brush. You just have to use it and enjoy the journey. There's something very rewarding about having broken in a brush yourself.
There are no short cuts to breaking in a brush. You just have to use it and enjoy the journey. There's something very rewarding about having broken in a brush yourself.
+1. that's what i have done with my boars. the only other specific thing that i have done, other than use 'em, is to let it dry 48 hours between use.
+2, except I let mine dry 24 hours between use since I live in the desert. Also I dry it off with a towel gently after each use.
Just got my first boar, a Semogue 1250. Going to wash and test lather today. Not a lot of funk that I can detect after rinsing.
My 1438 arrived on Monday. No funk to it unless I really shoved my nose in there and tried to smell it. Did a hand lather with Speick (stick grated into bowl) right away, and it released a little bit of dye. No special treatment, just a regular old hand lather, rinse and hang to dry.
What was crazy is that when I went to pick it up 1.5 days later to lather it again, I could already see some of the ends had split. After just one lather and a day and a half of drying! My Omega 10275 definitely took a lot longer than that. Lathered it a second time Wednesday morning with some Arlington soap. Just another hand lather, thorough rinse, and hang to dry.
Then yesterday I actually used it for my shave. Face lathered some Mudder Focker. Much to my surprise, the 1438 is already the softest-tipped brush I have... after just two lathers and drying cycles. It built the lather on my face really well, but didn't seem to have very much stored in the brush when I squeezed it out after my 1-pass shave. I figure it will get better about that as it breaks in. Seriously though, the tips are already super soft. Almost TOO soft. I prefer a little scritch, and it has virtually none that I can detect compared to my Semogue 2011 LE Badger and Simpsons Berkeley Best.
BTW - the knots of the 1438 and Omega 10275 appear VERY similar to my eye. I'll have to check the density, as I haven't done that side-by-side yet. I'm in hog heaven now with a new boar that has a very similar knot to my beloved Omega 10275, but has the awesome Semogue handle.
What was crazy is that when I went to pick it up 1.5 days later to lather it again, I could already see some of the ends had split. After just one lather and a day and a half of drying! My Omega 10275 definitely took a lot longer than that. Lathered it a second time Wednesday morning with some Arlington soap. Just another hand lather, thorough rinse, and hang to dry.
Then yesterday I actually used it for my shave. Face lathered some Mudder Focker. Much to my surprise, the 1438 is already the softest-tipped brush I have... after just two lathers and drying cycles. It built the lather on my face really well, but didn't seem to have very much stored in the brush when I squeezed it out after my 1-pass shave. I figure it will get better about that as it breaks in. Seriously though, the tips are already super soft. Almost TOO soft. I prefer a little scritch, and it has virtually none that I can detect compared to my Semogue 2011 LE Badger and Simpsons Berkeley Best.
BTW - the knots of the 1438 and Omega 10275 appear VERY similar to my eye. I'll have to check the density, as I haven't done that side-by-side yet. I'm in hog heaven now with a new boar that has a very similar knot to my beloved Omega 10275, but has the awesome Semogue handle.
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