OK, if you insist.
After the typical couple of lathers with detergent to remove the boar funk, an old Italian Barber trick is to soak your new boar brush in a mug of water placed inside the fridge overnight, then next day, remove the brush, shake it dry and then let dry naturally over a few hours. Repeat this cycle for three nights in a row. I did this when I first purchased my Omega 48 maybe 6 months ago, and it certainly made a big difference.
Then recently, I got to thinking - the ladies often complain that using a hairdryer can cause them split ends. Well, I thought, this is actually desirable in a Boar brush.
So, I repeated the three day cycle as described above, but instead of allowing to dry naturally, after the brush was shaken dry, I used a hairdryer with a concentrator (see photos below) and on the low heat setting to dry the tips of the brush, to deliberately dry them rapidly to encourage split ends. I was careful not to get the airflow too close to the brush - maybe a 10cm distance. Clearly, you do not want direct heat getting into the base of the brush, where glue exists. That is where the concentrator comes in, allowing a wide slot of air to flow across only the tips of the brush. The drying process each time for me was about 5 minutes. The brush shed a couple of hairs on first use after the procedure, but has been fine ever since. The difference in face feel (softness) was pretty amazing.
Now, I caution anyone thinking of also trying this method - do so at your own risk! I was happy to take a punt on a relatively inexpensive boar brush, and it has worked brilliantly for me. However, I have little doubt that the technique would horrify brush manufacturers, hence the warning. And I would not dream of risking it with any of my Badger brushes.
All the best,
TomG
