Sooooo as a newbie I was a little skeptical about the importance of a good brush but I found out today that it makes a huge difference. I started out with a small starter kit brush I purchased at AOS and just upgraded to the C&E BBB after reading numerous threads and posts about it (and it was readily available at the mall). It is a great brush, and now I might even entertain investing in one of the top of line brushes due to the improvement in my shave this morning. It retains heat really well which is the main reason I was so happy with it.