care about my brush

I am just wondering if it is indeed necessary for me to obtain some sort of a holder to hang my shaving brush upside down as I don't currently own one and have not seen anything around that I could use to hang it.

How important is this?

I usually just wash the brush, shake it good, and then I leave it standing up in the lathering mug but in a cool dry place away from humidity.

Is this sufficient or will the brush fall apart? Any suggestions on how to make the brush last as long as possible without damage?

You don't NEED a stand, but some of us like them. When you stand it in the mug, is it on its base, knot up?

As mentioned, you don't need one, but I don't think they're a waste of money either.

I have a couple stands to fit my variety of brushes. I hang them upside down at first, but after 24 hours (or whenever I need to put a brush of similar size in the holder) I stand them on their bases.

Basically, if you rinse thoroughly, shake well, and lightly brush against a dry towel, you will get many, many, many years of service from your brush. You're more likely to damage the brush from dropping it than damaging the knot because you set it on its base. If you store your brushes sopping wet...that's another story.

I just rest mine upright on its handle's base. If I ever find a stand, I'd happily use it, but I don't think it's vital.

Drying is important, though. I wouldn't dry my brush inside a mug. It needs more air circulation. I put my shaken brush on the dry area of my countertop or on top of a closed shaving cream tub.

Just stand the brush on its end as it will dry sufficiently well like this. No need for a stand, whatsoever. I have quite a few brushes of varying hairs and I have never had any issue with them drying this way.

I have a stand and after it sits bristles down for 24 hrs I put it away

I've tried both ways. In the seasons with very humid weather, the brush drys a few hours faster hung bristles down. In seasons with non humid weather, the drying time difference is 20-30 minutes ish.

I have a wire stand that has a piece of the wire cut out of the circle as the part of the stand that holds the brush. Sometimes I spear a few hairs from the knot edge when I'm inserting the brush into the stand. This probably puts lots more stress on the knot than the drying time differences. A plastic stand wouldn't do this because there is no wire edge to grab bristles.

I let my brush dry on my countertop in the bathroom. Unfortunately, the brush has a pretty good chance of being knocked over and trying to dry while laying on its side, or having its bristles damaged as it is slid around as other things are re-arranged on the countertop by other people. I believe a stand helps protect my brush from these types of risks

Concerning a stand: My understanding is that the whole principle of capillary action (or "wicking") is that water is drawn into narrow spaces without the assistance of, and in opposition to, the pull of gravity. Once a brush has been shaken out and dried to the point that all that remains is residual moisture, that moisture is held in by the capillary action of the hair, such that gravity won't pull it out. At that point, evaporation is the only thing that's going to get the brush dry*. Now, if the brush is soaking wet such that water is actually dripping off of it, then yes, hanging it upside down so the excess water can drain out would be of some benefit. But I'm operating under the assumption that most people shake out their brushes, and may even use a towel to dry them. I've yet to see any empirical evidence, or even any substantial anecdotal evidence, that using a stand is beneficial, or that the absence of its use is detrimental.

*I have even seen it argued that because water tends to evaporate upward, rather than downward, hanging a brush upside down actually inhibits evaporation from inside the handle, and is therefore detrimental. I'm not sure I buy that, but it's an interesting proposition that brush stands actually do more harm than good.

+1 for this. Right on the money.

OldGrowth said:

As mentioned, you don't need one, but I don't think they're a waste of money either.

I have a couple stands to fit my variety of brushes. I hang them upside down at first, but after 24 hours (or whenever I need to put a brush of similar size in the holder) I stand them on their bases.

Basically, if you rinse thoroughly, shake well, and lightly brush against a dry towel, you will get many, many, many years of service from your brush. You're more likely to damage the brush from dropping it than damaging the knot because you set it on its base. If you store your brushes sopping wet...that's another story.

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I actually don't even like stands. I like how my brush looks when it's standing up and air drying. Nothing wrong with stands, but I like minimalism. I started out with a stand and it really didn't make any difference.

You mentioned making your brush last. Don't mash it; There is no need to do so. Just use the tips to load and lather. I've seen pictures showing the result of this abuse; The center tips were broken off and it looked like a donut. I know that YouTube shows a lot of brush mashing in otherwise informative videos; Just ignore that part.

mswofford said:

You mentioned making your brush last. Don't mash it; There is no need to do so. Just use the tips to load and lather. I've seen pictures showing the result of this abuse; The center tips were broken off and it looked like a donut. I know that YouTube shows a lot of brush mashing in otherwise informative videos; Just ignore that part.

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+1
Been there done that. Totally ruined a pure badger brush because I didn't know what I was doing.

Shiloh said:

+1
Been there done that. Totally ruined a pure badger brush because I didn't know what I was doing.

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The higher the grade, the softer and more fragile the tips are; With proper use they AREN'T fragile. I have brushes, badger and boar, decades old that are fine. I don't want anybody to not enjoy their brush. The authors of YouTube videos probably have access to more brushes than you and I could dream of so longevity is not a consideration.

IMightBeWrong said:

I actually don't even like stands. I like how my brush looks when it's standing up and air drying. Nothing wrong with stands, but I like minimalism. I started out with a stand and it really didn't make any difference.

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+1 ... The manufacturer puts their logo on the handle so that it can be read when the brush is resting knot up. If they wanted it to hang knot down, they would specifiy that in the instructions and put the logo the other way, and include a stand with the brush from the factory, adjusting the MSRP upwards accordingly.

I've used a couple stands, but I don't use them very long. They are just one more bit of paraphernalia to clutter up my sink, and they don't really accomplish anything. All my brushes now dry knot up, and those that are in storage get kept in golf-ball tubes in the drawer. I keep all the original boxes, too, in case I decide to sell it.

If you must use a stand, be sure to get one that holds the brush by the handle, and doesn't come into contact with the base of the knot. Holding a brush by the knot will pinch the bristles and cause the knot to shed from the outside.