We’ve come across the same questions asked on forums.
So we’ve decided to put together a shaving brush FAQ of some of the frequently asked questions.
Shaving Brush FAQ #1: Types of badger brush hair
- Finest.
Finest Badger hair is extremely difficult to find nowadays.
Most shaving brush manufacturers don’t use it due to its scarcity.
Finest badger hair is thick at the base with smoother, softer tips.
These are the brushes Rooney is most famous for; however, they are very hard to find.
- Super Badger.
Super Badger hair is silver tip hair (hair with lighter tips taken from the badger neck).
This hair is generally very soft and retains a lot of water.
- Best Badger.
Best Badger hair is harvested from the belly of the badger (the outside, not the inside, of course).
This hair is not too stiff nor too soft – it’s about medium.
Brushes made with Best Badger hair tend to be in the middle price range.
- Pure Badger.
Pure Badger hair is the darker hair that covers most of the animal.
There’s a lot more of it, and it’s not quite as soft, which makes for stiffer, coarser brushes.
However, many gentlemen prefer this kind of shave, and they brushes are usually a bit more economical.
Shaving Brush FAQ #2: My brush sucks up all of my lather and I can’t seem to make enough.
We’ve found that shaving brushes that tend to be soap hogs are the quality shaving brushes that have a dense knot that is on the larger side.
A dense shaving brush will require more soap to be loaded into it in order for it to the produce the correct amount of lather.
If own a Badger Brush you may experience this issue more often due to the naturally dense nature of Badger Hair.
The best way to learn how to avoid this during future shaves is going to be testing the threshold level of your shaving brush.
Once you’ve reach the threshold, the rich lather that you have been waiting for will be whipped up in no time.
Shaving Brush FAQ #3: Why is my brush scraping lather away rather than building one up?
This one is simple to correct, this is due to too much force being used when whipping up a lather.
This may be because the shaving brush you’ve been using is much stiffer than your used to encountering.
The lather is most likely getting off to a decent start, but then too much pressure is applied at the wrong time causing the bristles to scrap the lather away rather than create more.
The fix is to ease up on the brush whilst doing the back and forth strokes, using the bristle tips to whip up a lather.
Shaving Brush FAQ #4: Do I need a brush stand?
No, not really.
Shaving stands hold your brush upside down to help the water drain out of the inner knot.
A brush stand won’t make a huge amount of difference if you don’t properly care for your brush after use.
Giving it a good rinse, followed by an even better shake after a shave is ideal, this removes the lather and then helps dry the Shaving Brush out.
This will help extend the life of your Shaving Brush.
Shaving Brush FAQ #5: How long will my shaving brush last me?
This isn’t a cut and dry answer.
If you have a Shaving Brush that is made of high quality materials and you’ve taken great care of it, then you can expect a long life out your Shaving Brush.
If your Shaving Brush seems to have a shorter than expected life, this could be a fault in the manufacturing of your Shaving Brush take a look at the return policy from the manufacturer.
Regular care performed properly will ensure a long life of lather making with you Shaving Brush.
Make sure to follow any directions of care drafted by the manufacturer of your Shaving Brush, because the wrong move can leave you brush-less.
Shaving Brush FAQ #6: How to choose a shaving brush
Here’s a video explaining how best to choose your shaving brush.
Loved the article? Why not check out more of our shaving articles or if you want, you can see more from shaving brushes and shaving mugs
