need to break in EJ BBB?

[Jamie B]

Did some searching about breaking in new brushes, and people seemed to say that brushes got softer over time.

That is not my concern. My concern is that my new EJ BBB performs much worse than my 1.5 yr old no name pure badger. Used the EJ a few times in my normal way: soaked in hot water while showering, 1.5 shakes to get rid of water, applied almond sized bit of shave cream on bristles, face-lathered. Just not getting a decent lather.

I wasn't expecting a huge difference from the EJ over my existing brush, but it gets such raves and it's inexpensive so I thought I'd try it out.

Do I need to suffer through lots of crappy shaves until the brush "breaks in"? I am prepared to experiment to see what sort of prep works best with the EJ.

Any input appreciated. Thanks.

[Leche]

Try shaking out more water, then you can add more as you lather. Your BBB is going to hold more water than your pure.

[Jamie B]

Try shaking out more water, then you can add more as you lather. Your BBB is going to hold more water than your pure.

Thanks for the input.

[GoldenMonkey]

One thing I found as far as prepping a new brush, and it helps dispell that "badger funk" to boot, is a bath in warm water with a "free and clear" type laundry detergent (just a little...not too soapy) and distilled white vinegar (I do something like four parts water to one part vinegar). Let it soak until the water goes cold, rinse, and do all that again with warm water. Two or three baths like this, and your brush is fairly well stink-free and nice and receptive to water when you give a a soak prior to lathering.

[Jamie B]

One thing I found as far as prepping a new brush, and it helps dispell that "badger funk" to boot, is a bath in warm water with a "free and clear" type laundry detergent (just a little...not too soapy) and distilled white vinegar (I do something like four parts water to one part vinegar). Let it soak until the water goes cold, rinse, and do all that again with warm water. Two or three baths like this, and your brush is fairly well stink-free and nice and receptive to water when you give a a soak prior to lathering.

Thanks. Never heard of that routine before.

[john parker]

My C&E BBB needed no breaking in, nor did it have any badger smell. Worked fine right out of the box and hasn't changed performance with use. Suspect the too much water theory. Easier to add than to subtract.

[Jamie B]

My C&E BBB needed no breaking in, nor did it have any badger smell. Worked fine right out of the box and hasn't changed performance with use. Suspect the too much water theory. Easier to add than to subtract.

Thanks everyone for the input. My particular EJ stinks bad, and its problem is it doesn't hold much water. Not as much as my pure brush, not even enough water to make a decent lather from a big dollop of cream. I'll keep experimenting and see what I can come up with.