When you own a badger shaving brush reading the words brush shedding is enough to make you get anxious.
But we wanted to educate you about what kind of brush shedding is normal and what kind of brush shedding is abnormal.
By knowing the difference, you will know what to look out for so you can keep your badger shaving brush in the best condition possible and if you see your brush shedding in an abnormal fashion you know when to send it back to the retailer you bought it from.
what causes brush shedding
There are a few thing that can cause your shaving brush to loose some of its hair.
Some causes of brush shedding can be avoided and we will talk about those below.
Brush Shedding Cause 1: To dry or to hot
When preparing for your shave you soak your badger shaving brush in water, now the temperature of your water is a very important factor in maintaining the health of your badger shaving brush.
You must soak your badger shaving brush in warm water for 30-60 seconds before you shave, this will assist in softening up the hair whilst also allowing the shaving brush to soak up the water that’s required to create that lather you desire from your shaving soap or shaving cream.
Now we just said warm water.. If you water is too hot it can actually do damage to the bristles, causing the badger hair to become brittle and weak and thats entirely due to being scalded by the hot water.
Very hot water can also cause the glue aka the epoxy that holds the hairs in the knot to loosen, which as you guess it will result in the hairs falling out.
Another way to damage your shaving brush is to not soak it properly.
If you attempt to attempt to work up a lather with bristles that haven’t softened enough, they will likely end up broken bristles due to the pressure of the dry hair being pressed and scrapped against your shaving soap.
Brush Shedding Cause 2: Being brand new
When you purchase a brand new shaving brush, there will be a bit of brush shedding during the early days.
The brush goes through some initial changes and will become adjusted to its new job after a period of time.
Most new brushes take around 3 months to become fully broken in, it’s around that time they stop shedding.
Whilst the badger shaving brush is in its breaking in stage you may note that the brush softens up a bit at the tips and blooms a little more after each shave, then sheds extra hairs that were left in the knot when it was made.
It is possible to have a defective knot, if you suspect you shaving brush is a reject, call the manufacturer for further help and if needs be to start the replacement process.
Though waiting a little long may be the better case as the shedding may stop after continued use.
Heres a youtube video on how to break in a new shaving brush and prevent brush shedding
