Pre-soaking Badgers

patten1969 said:

You do not need to soak a badger brush. At all. You asked for the preferred method, which generated answers based on other preferences, which can lead to confusion. But you do not need to soak badger hair brushes. Wet them and go.

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I asked for the proper/acceptable method. Although this terminology is most likely a semantic argument, proper and acceptable imply something much different than preferred. But you are correct, given the responses, preferred should have been how I worded the question.

Thanks Gentlemen! I guess I'll try out the gamut and see what happens!

Nusquam Humanitus said:

Ouch - I'm getting a variety of answers here! Is there a conspiracy here? Was it something I said?

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It's pretty much an individual choice, like whether to hang it or stand it on its handle. My choice is to soak during my shower... I also choose to stand it on the handle when finished. I've never had problems with my knots using this routine.

mswofford said:

I use a glass container for brush soaking with cold water; When I put a badger brush in it I see small bubbles on the knot. By the time I finish washing and rinsing my face the bubbles are gone. My conclusion? A brief soak is a good idea.

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I see bubbles on mine, too. I agree with your conclusion.

mftoms59 said:

It's pretty much an individual choice, like whether to hang it or stand it on its handle. My choice is to soak during my shower... I also choose to stand it on the handle when finished. I've never had problems with my knots using this routine.

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I do believe you are correct. I am going to keep going with a 1-2 minute soak in warm water, followed by a good shake out etc....

I soak mine also, but only halfway up the knot... And only warm water, not hot..

Mugwhamp said:

I soak both boar and badger up to the handle in warm water while I shower.

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Same for me

Nusquam Humanitus said:

I asked for the proper/acceptable method.

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As you can see, there is no "proper" answer. As far as acceptable goes, it varies from one person to another. No conspiracy, just different people.

SocalRick said:

As you can see, there is no "proper" answer. As far as acceptable goes, it varies from one person to another. No conspiracy, just different people.

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I was being sarcastic with the "conspiracy" remark. Clearly there was no conspiracy. I hope? I understand what you mean to a certain degree, but also, there are some absolute norms and musts, which all or 99% follow with respect to certain processes.
I guess preparing badger-haired brushes is not one of them.

I've never kept tracking on the amount of time I soak my brushes (neither badger nor boar). I toss the brush in a cup prior to showering...or while I'm deciding which soap to use and getting everything ready.

SamDE said:

I've never kept tracking on the amount of time I soak my brushes (neither badger nor boar). I toss the brush in a cup prior to showering...or while I'm deciding which soap to use and getting everything ready.

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I certainly don't keep track via a stopwatch, but I have a good idea based on my face soaking time which is when I soak my brush.

Boar - 5 minutes or more
Synthetic - 2-5 seconds (not really soaking)
Horse - 1-2 minutes
Badger - ?

Prior to asking this question, I treated horse and badger the same: 1-2 minute soak, shorter than a boar soaking time.

This morning I used an Omega Pure Badger ( The Scritch Master) - Soaked it for about 1-2 minutes, shook it very well and went to town. The scritch seems to be a great defoliator.

Nusquam Humanitus said:

I was being sarcastic with the "conspiracy" remark.

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I know that. I was, too!

For what its worth, after reading this I tried a different method.

Typically I will soak my badger brush while I am showering (5-10 min), get out then shave. I do this for convenience and time savings. It also makes for a nice warm brush to work with. Both trials I face lathered with AoS Sandalwood soap. loaded until the bush appeared to be as full. Same razor, same bathroom, same planet, etc.

Today I didn't soak at all. Instead I ran the brush under warm water for 5-10 seconds, gave it 2 shakes and a light squeeze and went to town.

I could not generate nearly the same amount of lather. I had to add water to the brush multiple times. The lather was not as warm, soothing, or lubricating as usual. Next time I will be going back to the tried and true and soaking my brush!

I soak the knots of all of my natural-hair brushes, while showering. When soaking, I do not use hot water, nor do I allow the water to reach the handle.

The only brushes that I don't soak are the ones with synthetic knots.

I soak all of my brushes, badger or boar, in a coffee mug of warm water while I shower. It may not be necessary with the badgers, but I do it anyway. I have a Mühle silvertip fibre brush on the way to me (won it on Instagram) and I reckon I'll soak it in the mug while I shower as well.

I'm a creature of habit.

A real variety of responses here - and I didn't know that my 5+ minute soak was unusual. I soak it in my bowl, in warm water, and then go about my morning routine until I get to the lathering part. I like a slow, full leisure morning, so it could be in there for 10, 15 minutes sometimes...

So soaking for too long can be counter productive?

DovoNewb said:

So soaking for too long can be counter productive?

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It will surely delay the beginning of your enjoyable shave!

DovoNewb said:

So soaking for too long can be counter productive?

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Only if you're not squeezing/ shaking out most of the water before loading product, most start with a damp knot, I prefer mine slightly wetter.

Mugwhamp said:

I soak both boar and badger up to the handle in warm water while I shower.

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+1 This helps in producing warm lather.