How often do you shampoo you're badger brushes

I give my brushes a birthday every six months. Use a Borax and vinegar soak. Don't muck around with synthetic conditioners.
 
I recently sent my Savile Row brush back for a warranty job with Charles at QED, the problem i was having was excess shedding. Anyhoo, Charles did some testing and found some kind of excess residue on the hairs, he seems to think it was probably left over residue from pre shave oils and the like, i do use a pre shave every now and again, (GFT Sandalwood Skin Food) The thing is, i cleaned the brush before hand with warm water and some shampoo and conditioner, so maybe the residue was actually shampoo and not the pre shave. The shedding was a side issue and i am getting a new brush, its interesting though that he could pick that up. I would never have thought of it. How do you even test for that?
 
I am probably in the minority but I never shampoo my brushes. I do give them a thorough rinse both in warm and cold water after each shave however and then gently towel dry them.
 
@coffeesnob (or was it @youngbuck?) uses a special cleaning soap. He has posted about it before here.

I personally clean them when I feel like it (perhaps that's around 6 months?). I use dish detergent and then a diluted vinegar solution usually. Recently I've been using a sample of a brush cleaning shampoo from TSW. It smells wonderful (it has lemon myrtle @bald as!) and seems to work well. Not sure when it's available.
 
Charles is great to deal with. Sending me a new brush. Happy with that. Great service. I think someone mentioned that Savile Row brushes are rebadged shavemac.
 
Anthony Hunter said:
Charles is great to deal with. Sending me a new brush. Happy with that. Great service. I think someone mentioned that Savile Row brushes are rebadged shavemac.
Click to expand...

The scuttlebutt that I heard was that Charles screens the shavemac knots and only accepts the best in class. Could be a load of bollocks, but Anthony Esposito doesn't strike me as a man whose opinion can be bought, and he rates Savile Row Silvertips as numero uno.
I can only say that I love mine.
 
filobiblic said:
@coffeesnob (or was it @youngbuck?) uses a special cleaning soap. He has posted about it before here.

I personally clean them when I feel like it (perhaps that's around 6 months?). I use dish detergent and then a diluted vinegar solution usually. Recently I've been using a sample of a brush cleaning shampoo from TSW. It smells wonderful (it has lemon myrtle @bald as!) and seems to work well. Not sure when it's available.
Click to expand...

Not meaning to let the cat out of the bag too early but Con is developing and will release a product in this vein sometime in the near future. From what I understand it will be a product that cleans and somewhat disinfects the brush.
 
I only use a cheap badger so maybe my feelings would change if I'd spent 20 times more on an expensive badger. But I don't shampoo it. Ever!
It gets a good rinse after every shave and then a good flick or two to get rid of most of the moisture.
I don't see any soap buildup or scum.
There seem to be a lot of products around which are just designed to see you spend more money for no real gain.
 
Holy moley - you guys shampoo your brushes? I didn't even know that was a thing.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
There is a "reasonably" valid reason for washing a brush if all you use is shaving soap.

When shaving soap is made - good soap - it should be low on the cleaning properties. It should not dissolve every oil and fat, otherwise it will be just a hand soap with some glycerine and clay added. The properties of our shaving soaps need to be more conditioning than cleansing. It is a balancing act to acheive enough bubble without the soap stripping the skin while giving a long lasting creamy lather and in doing that over time a brush may collect some soap residue or undissolved skin, fats or oils removed as your badger dances across your face. Few household cleaning detergent or things like nappy san have "May be used safely with your favourite Boar or Badger brush" on the label. For peace of mind I would contact the brush maker to confirm if your Badger is not allergic to any chemicals in dish detergent, vinegar or even borax.

Luckily an email is much less trauma than a squeaky clean badger rapidly going bald.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top