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How do you know when a brush is on its way out?

Hey guys.

So the brush I have, which is a $25 no namer I picked up on Amazon back in November, has started shedding like mad.

We're talking 4-6 bristles gone each shave.

Not sure if they can be attributed to something I did, or if it's just not a good quality brush. Either way, this seems to be beyond the realm of normal shedding.

Is there anyway to save a shave brush? Or is it simply a matter of time with this one?
 
It may be accumulated soap deposits. Try cleaning it with warm water and a little borax, or give it a good shampoo. Around this time of year I like to put all my brushes through that process, and I do it again in the Fall.

Anyway 4-6 per shave does not sound so bad. This was my last shedder:



 
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Manufacturing defect, yes. It was a Boreal, a brand which I think is now defunct. They developed a certain reputation.
 
4-6 hairs per shave is definitely a shedder. Sometimes you have brushes that lose a lot of hairs. Usually a manufacturing defect. At that price, not totally unexpected.

Unless you're either smashing the brush while using it or not rinsing out the soap, it shouldn't be shedding.

Also, typically a brush will last several years with regular use, often 10 years or more. Shouldn't wear out in a few months.
 
4-6 hairs per shave is definitely a shedder. Sometimes you have brushes that lose a lot of hairs. Usually a manufacturing defect. At that price, not totally unexpected.

Unless you're either smashing the brush while using it or not rinsing out the soap, it shouldn't be shedding.

Also, typically a brush will last several years with regular use, often 10 years or more. Shouldn't wear out in a few months.

I definitely rinse the brush after every shave until the water runs clear, give a little squeeze and then run it several times over a towel.

Could you define "smashing" the brush?

This is why I'm hesitant to buy an expensive brush, worried I'll just end up ruining it.:laugh:
 

mswofford

Rest in Peace
I definitely rinse the brush after every shave until the water runs clear, give a little squeeze and then run it several times over a towel.

Could you define "smashing" the brush?

This is why I'm hesitant to buy an expensive brush, worried I'll just end up ruining it.:laugh:
In otherwise informative videos you see a lot of brush mashing on YouTube. They push the brush as hard as they can against their face while applying or making lather on their face. The result is the tips break off in the center of a badger brush so it looks like a donut (I've seen photos). Keep in mind that those guys have access to any brush they want. There is no need to ever mash a brush; Don't do it. I make lather with the tips and paint it on; If face lathering painting works also, just use a gentle slapping back and forth and you'll make lather just as fast as mashing.
 
Could you define "smashing" the brush?

This is why I'm hesitant to buy an expensive brush, worried I'll just end up ruining it.:laugh:

Smashing would be literally pushing the brush until you just about touch the handle to your face. Usually people do this because they have cheap brushes that don't have enough hair, so they try to push harder on the brush.

Did your brush have a wood handle with grey/black hairs? I bought one of those cheap brushes and it lost hairs everyday until after about 2-3 months, the entire knot fell out in large clumps.

A good brush that's not a lot of money is the Semogue 830. It's a boar brush so you have to soak it before using, but it's very soft and nice quality. Or there are some good badger brushes around the $50 mark depending on how big you want to go.
 
I definitely rinse the brush after every shave until the water runs clear, give a little squeeze and then run it several times over a towel.

Take a look at Shave_Brush_Shedding on the wiki. Rinsing with water is good, but does not get rid of all the soap residue. That builds up, just like on a sink or tub. Eventually it can affect your lather and some brushmakers say that it damages the hair. The trick is to get rid of the soap scum without damaging the hair: no scrubbing bubbles here. Try cleaning it with warm water and a little borax, or mild dishsoap, or give it a good shampoo. The latter two are really detergent, not soap, which is why they help. Around this time of year I like to put all my brushes through that process, and I do it again in the Fall. This time around I am using 1/4 tsp borax per cup of warm water.

I would skip the towel, just in case. I used to do that but decided that it was unnecessary, and the brush will dry out by itself. The gent who posted this photo was a little heavy-handed with the towel, but it still took 5 years to do this much damage:

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What I do after shaving is keep a mug underneath the faucet and run hot water, then kind of plunge the brush a few times, then squeeze out, and repeat. It seems to do a better job of getting all the soap out of the knot and is quicker than just rinsing. I finish by squeezing the water out of the knot, shaking the excess out, and drying the tips on a towel.

For me, some brushes shed more than others. Silvertip brushes seem to be more susceptible to losing hairs, and my boars do lose hairs every few shaves as well. My 2-band and synthetic brushes almost never lose hairs.
 
I have found that all new brushes will lose some hair initially. You should not be losing more than 1-2 per shave if at all after the first couple of weeks, however I have noticed that my silver tip does lose more than any other. My synthetic loss about 2-3 hair at the beginning then never again, while my boar will lose a hair once a week or so, but it is usually a partial hair (broken half way in length) so I am actually really impressed with the cheap brush.

That been said, I would expect even the cheap brushes at around $20 to last at least 5 years if not longer. You could also consider bristle brushes from omega which are even cheaper at around 10-15, but they lose hair also. You should expect to lose some hairs depending on how aggressive you are on your lathering process.

So if you have time, go slower and be more gentle, if not, expect to replace the brush sooner. You might want to consider having a backup brush so when it goes.

Considering your brush is already losing hair, I would keep using it till it falls apart and use it as a test brush to improve your technique by trying to lose the least amount of hair per shave.
 
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