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What have I done to this brush?

I'm only about 2 months into using a shaving brush, and I'm up to 3 already. My first was a very inexpensive Perfecto badger brush that was around $9 or so online. I've since picked up a Semogue 610 boar, and just the other day a Simpson S1 Special Best Badger.

The Perfecto has been a good performer for the price (and for what little I know), but now it has a problem. The middle part is...broken? matted? Something is wrong, and I'm curious if it is just a cheap brush, or if I have been using it wrong, or what. Generally what I do is soak the brush in warm water while I shower. Originally I'd lather in my hand, but after a couple of weeks I bought a mug. After each shave I rinse the brush out quit well, shake the water out, gentle squeeze it out further, then brush it gently on my towel and let it dry in a stand.

Here's what it looks like now:
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Any advice? I certainly want to correct my actions quickly if it's something I'm doing, before I ruin any more brushes!
 
I thought perhaps they were bent over, and some look that way - but if I try to straighten them out gently, they seem to just be coming out.
 
This happened to me once when I was rushing to break in a new brush. If you mash it down when loading, lathering, or drying some hairs will tangle and get knotted. I suggest combing it gently with a moustache or other small comb. You will likely break or pull out some hairs, but your knot should be fine in the end.
 
None of mine have ever behaved like that. Evaluate your lathering technique because as mentioned, it looks like you pushed down too hard on it.
 
Happened to me with a vie long. I managed to comb them out but was never happy with the brush, knowing that it let me down like that. This has never happened to me since with any of my brushes.
 
I think you guys are right, and I've pushed too hard on the brush when lathering. I had watched some YouTube videos and at least one had talked about "pumping" the brush. I think I started out a bit too hard with that.

I will try combing it out, and will be much easier on the other brushes.
 
Good thing it was with the $9 brush and not something that was a bit more expensive. Sometimes it pays to wait till one is more experienced before making the leap to high quality hardware.
 
It looks like you need to ease up on the amount of pressure you apply to the brush while lathering. You don't need much pressure, at all.
 
I took a comb and carefully combed out the middle. A dozen or so hairs came out, but many straightened out and it looks a lot better now.
 
My first brush was an Esacli that cost about the same. When lathering I was mashing the brush to the face too much and the same thing happened to me. I moved on to a boar because they have a little more stiff to it.
 
I think you guys are right, and I've pushed too hard on the brush when lathering. I had watched some YouTube videos and at least one had talked about "pumping" the brush. I think I started out a bit too hard with that.

I will try combing it out, and will be much easier on the other brushes.

After awhile, I think you'll find that a lot of the guys posting videos to youtube don't particularly know what they're doing. I can think of several well known youtubers that I disagree with, one specific item being how they use their brushes.
 
I think you got every thing you could get out of that brush- time for the badger retirement home.
 
After awhile, I think you'll find that a lot of the guys posting videos to youtube don't particularly know what they're doing. I can think of several well known youtubers that I disagree with, one specific item being how they use their brushes.
+1 With some, the brush comes out of the soap looking more like an umbrella. :001_rolle
 
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Not sure it's fixable other than a new knot, looks like to much pressure while loading and whipping up the lather if you bowl lather.
 
Time to let it go. Look to the future, not to the past. On the bright side, you now have a more legitimate reason for getting a new brush than most of us.
 
I've had that occur on one of my "better" quality brushes a couple of times and have been able to comb it out successfully. You may want to comb it out multiple times from different directions and depths over different days too until you are sure the matting is completely gone. I've made it part of my routine to gently comb my brush in the evening after work (after it has dried).

Aside from too much pressure and/or circular swirling etc that might have led to the mat, I suspect that in my case a poor quality soap, oil or alum might have been a contributing factor. I can't put my finger on it but the two times it happened to me I was using a preshave oil and had to use an alum block on my fingers for grip-the whole shave was off. Maybe gremlins did it!
 
Do you have hard water? I've had the hair on my badger brushes get clumped together because of mineral deposits in the water. I could usually soak the brush in vinegar to help untangle it; but it was still an unavoidable hassle.

Ever since I switched to using synthetics the issue has been resolved.
 
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