Hey all. So I have lathered my new Whipped Dog Silvertip brush 5 times. So far I have lost about 8-10 hairs. Is this considered normal in the breaking in period of a new brush?
"Normal" shedding
- Thread starter BlueLineWarrior
- Start date
I just got mine today and it has lost more than that just from the oxyxlean and my first lather
That's not a problem. Many new brushes lose far more hairs in the first couple of weeks of regular usage.
Mine is into its 7th lathering and is still shedding 2-3 hairs every time. I will go up to 20 and if it doesn't stop shedding I'm going to contact Larry.
That sounds pretty reasonable to me. I've seen people on this forum say things like "I paid $200 for this brush. If it sheds a single hair, then I'm sending it back!" That's all well and good, but I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect a new brush to let go of a couple hairs. My absolute bestest, favoritest, most expensive brush shed 4 hairs in the first week I had it. At the time, I was young and naïve. I actually considered contacting the vendor to ask for a refund. (I did pay a good sum of money for this brush.) In the ensuing months, it has never shed a single hair, and is, by a large margin, the absolute best brush imaginable.
Even high end brushes need a little while to get comfortable in their new homes.
I have seen shed hairs in new badger brushes that are short and probably never reached the glue. With up to 20,000 hairs in a quality brush, it's bound to happen.
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- #7
I figured as much. Thousands of hairs and just so much room for the glue to get to each one. My Omega 49 loses a hair here and there but looks to have a million left.
This used to concern me too. I have purchased a few brushes that shed in the very beginning. But without a single exception they stopped after 2-4 lathers. I would only be worried if it continues to happen after say, 10 lathers, or if the hairs fall out in clumps, rather than "one-sees two-sees".
So there are 10s of thousands of fibers in a brush. As long as clumps aren't falling out you'll be fine.
I had the same thing happen to me yesterday. My first time using my brush and I lost a hair. I didn't worry about it since it was one. I'll see what happens next time I shave.
I have one now that is fully broken in after six months of use, but it still sheds about 4 hairs per shave. I am following the vendor's recommendation to clean it and let it dry for a full week, but I'm not too optimistic. What do you consider the limit before you would want to have the vendor exchange it? It never has shed more than 6 in one use, but it also never goes through a shave without shedding at least one hair.
It depends quite a bit on the vendor. If it were a $250 Simpsons, and it was shedding 4 hairs per shave after 6 months, I wouldn't hesitate contacting the vendor. If it's a $40 Frank's Shaving brush... well... good luck to you! Bargain brushes like Frank Shaving and Liojuny represent a pretty good value for the price, but they are undoubtedly more prone to losing the occasional hair or three. You can still use it for years before the lost hairs amount to anything, and you can get 5-7 bargain brushes for the price of a Simpsons.
Your dilemma is highly dependent on your price point.
I have a TGN 2 band finest knot that shed 8 hairs on the first lather. I'm chalking it up as normal for now, but if it keeps happening at that rate then I'll figure it's an issue.
It depends quite a bit on the vendor. If it were a $250 Simpsons, and it was shedding 4 hairs per shave after 6 months, I wouldn't hesitate contacting the vendor. If it's a $40 Frank's Shaving brush... well... good luck to you! Bargain brushes like Frank Shaving and Liojuny represent a pretty good value for the price, but they are undoubtedly more prone to losing the occasional hair or three. You can still use it for years before the lost hairs amount to anything, and you can get 5-7 bargain brushes for the price of a Simpsons.
Your dilemma is highly dependent on your price point.
Based upon price point I'd say it's half way between a bargain brush and a middle of the line brush. It's an SOC Mistura. It's not a cheap Chinese brush nor is it a $95 Simpson's Duke 2. Bruno from Vintage Scents wants me to use it once a week for the next month and then let him know if it's still shedding. I expect that it will still be shedding, but I'm not sure what he'll suggest next or how hard I should push him.
For a SOC, I would push it. They have a good, if not somewhat enigmatic, reputation. But if you are persistent, and nice, I would think that VS will work with Semogue to make you happy. Of course they want to weed out the people from post #5, for which I can't blame them, but if your SOC is losing ~5 hairs per shave 6 months in, it is not likely to improve. Kindly do as Bruno requests, and all should be well.
I'm a newb here, but I expect a few hairs to shed at first, then you should see a tapering off down to near-zero (by that I mean 1-2 occasionally due to breakage). As long as you see it taper down to near nothing over the next few weeks, I wouldn't worry about it. If it continues, I believe you'll get good service from WD if you contact them. I had a high end AoS that shed a lot at first and kept shedding until I got frustrated and tore the knot out and replaced it. I bought it from another individual in an auction so I got no service or from AoS. We're talking like 10-20 hairs per shave. That to me is just poor quality.
OTOH, I had an E&J that shed 4-5 hairs out of the box, then 2-3 every other shave, then an occasional hair, and now it doesn't shed at all. That is what I expected. It's now one of my favs.
That said, I have several brushes that I made with TGN knots that haven't shed a single hair or have shed 2-3 then none. That to me is pretty amazing.
OTOH, I had an E&J that shed 4-5 hairs out of the box, then 2-3 every other shave, then an occasional hair, and now it doesn't shed at all. That is what I expected. It's now one of my favs.
That said, I have several brushes that I made with TGN knots that haven't shed a single hair or have shed 2-3 then none. That to me is pretty amazing.
On my 3rd lather today I didnt notice any shedding of my WD...maybe I missed one or two strays but I am glad it has stopped/dwindled...I will have to keep an eye on it and make sure it stops altogether for sure.
- Thread starter
- #18
I only lost one hair today on the brush. The hair was clearly broken and not shed from the glue. Great shave and still absolutely LOVING this brush.
My year-old Simpson Colonel Best Bader X2L began shedding at least 20 hairs per use last month. Not happy at all.
I love my BK-4, lost only 2 hairs in over 3 months of regular use. SOC has lost about 5 in a month, but most brushes will lose a few at the start and then one or two now and then.
