Brush losing hair?

Hey all,

I purchased a Shavemac #177 23mm Finest from West Coast Shaving a while back. Within a few months it started losing several (between 6 and 12) hairs every shave. I contacted support, went through some "troubleshooting" with them, gave it a wash/dry/comb through but it still persisted so they sent me a new brush. Several months later, the same thing started happening.

Thinking maybe West Coast had a bad batch, I contacted Shavemac, and Bernd (super helpful) had me ship the brush back. He basically said the brush looked well cared for and couldn't find a reason for the shedding. He sent me a new brush back in October. Well, it's now happening again. I feel like it must be something I'm doing wrong so I figured I'd throw it out here and see what you all say. Here's some info:

- I shave 2-3 times/week
- I did use pretty hot water but I backed off with this brush
- I don't think I use particularly hard pressure
- I use mostly Musgo Real cream, but also some Truefitt & Hill Ultimate Comfort
- I rinse out very thoroughly with cool-ish water and I've tried washing with a gentle shampoo and combing it out

This isn't my first brush but it's my first nice brush. My last one was a pure badger from Edwin Jagger / Crabtree & Evelyn.

Any help or suggestions would be welcome!

I don't know why you'd need to comb out a shaving brush, but I don't see anything wrong with your process.

I'm puzzled too. Couple of questions:

How much shedding are you seeing now? Is it a consistent # of hairs from shave to shave?

How do you wet the brush? Do you immerse it or submerge it in water, or do you just wet the knot?

Does it have somewhere well ventilated to dry?

How hot are we talking?

Thanks for the replies.

I'd say I probably lose 6 to 12 hairs every shave, even after running a comb through it. It's pretty consistent from shave to shave, however for each brush (this is my third of this model remember) I barely lost any hairs for the first few months of shaving.

For water temperature, I like hot water but it's moderate enough that I can splash it on my face comfortably. I run it under the tap for 30 seconds or so to prepare, and lather on my face. I don't feel as if I'm being aggressive with the brush either. I hang it on a stand, bristles down to dry. And as I said I shave a few times a week, so it usually has a chance to dry thoroughly.

I'm going to attach a pic of the first brush and the second one they sent as a replacement. It's so odd, I feel like I'm doing everything right but I also feel like it HAS to be me. It's the third brush after all.

.

Looks like my Simpson Colonel I ordered from West Coast Shaving.

Huh.

It sounds like you're using these brushes normally. I dry my brushes on their base, and I typically use tepid water, but that makes no difference.

The timing would suggest user error - but I am at a loss. Bad luck?

Anyone else have thoughts?

I had an issue with a Simpson brush, a Duke 3. IMHO, I think you are using water that is too hot and it's getting into the glue of the knot.

Ok. Wellp, I appreciate the replies. I'll try to cool down the water a bit and see if it helps any. The only other thing I can think is that I "plunger" it a little while rinsing it, to try and make sure all of the soap is out. And I give it a few shakes before I hang it to dry, but nothing too vigorous (at least I don't think so).

Terp61 said:

Looks like my Simpson Colonel I ordered from West Coast Shaving.

Click to expand...

+1 My Colonel sheds a hair or two about every other shave. Not too concerned. I thought that was sorta normal for Simpsons. No?