Badger hype?

Rhubarb

Rhubarb

Messages
153
Hello.

Ive been using a very cheap Bristle brush and a synthetic brush. The bristle brush is very stiff and works ok for hard soaps although I find it a bit unforgiving for face lathering. The synthetic is great for all uses and is both lovely and soft on the kisser whilst being stiff enough to use for face lathering.

Anyway I recently picked up a badger hair brush to see what the hype is. Its a pure badger but it's not the most expensive to be honest. In the first instance it really stinks. It has stopped shedding but I find it really scratchy on the face and extremely floppy in use. So floppy that I'm struggling to use it for face lathering. It is Cheap, but i know it's not a bad one as its been recommend by others.

What's the hype with badger brushes? My synthetic is ten times the brush?
 
Rhubarb said:
Hello.

Ive been using a very cheap Bristle brush and a synthetic brush. The bristle brush is very stiff and works ok for hard soaps although I find it a bit unforgiving for face lathering. The synthetic is great for all uses and is both lovely and soft on the kisser whilst being stiff enough to use for face lathering.

Anyway I recently picked up a badger hair brush to see what the hype is. Its a pure badger but it's not the most expensive to be honest. In the first instance it really stinks. It has stopped shedding but I find it really scratchy on the face and extremely floppy in use. So floppy that I'm struggling to use it for face lathering. It is Cheap, but i know it's not a bad one as its been recommend by others.

What's the hype with badger brushes? My synthetic is ten times the brush?
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To be fair pure badger is the lowest quality bager hair you can get, yes it's cheap but you get what you pay for. So with that in mind is it really a fair comparison . All my badgers are silvertip which is at the other end of the scale and you may feel differently if you was to use one of them.
You still may think your synth is stll better but you would have given the badger a fair go :)
 
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Rhubarb said:
Hello.

Ive been using a very cheap Bristle brush and a synthetic brush. The bristle brush is very stiff and works ok for hard soaps although I find it a bit unforgiving for face lathering. The synthetic is great for all uses and is both lovely and soft on the kisser whilst being stiff enough to use for face lathering.

Anyway I recently picked up a badger hair brush to see what the hype is. Its a pure badger but it's not the most expensive to be honest. In the first instance it really stinks. It has stopped shedding but I find it really scratchy on the face and extremely floppy in use. So floppy that I'm struggling to use it for face lathering. It is Cheap, but i know it's not a bad one as its been recommend by others.

What's the hype with badger brushes? My synthetic is ten times the brush?
Click to expand...

Which badger brush is it?

I'm a big fan of synthetics but for feel on the face nothing beats a good badger. Good badger doesn't come cheap though.
 
I agree with both of the above comments. I have 30 badger brushes, covering the complete spectrum of badger hair quality, and 3 synthetic brushes. None of my synthetics will replace any of my badgers, including my Simpson pure. If you want to try a high quality badger brush at a very good price I suggest a Semogue 3-band silvertip; as far as I'm able to determine www.Shaving.ie in Dublin, Ireland has the best price.
 
Of my brushes my favourite is a best badger, I haven't found a synthetic brush I can use because of a skin condition.
But, I was wondering how long you'd had your boar brush because mine is fine for face lathering.
@Blademonkey gave me a great tip and that is, soak it even on the days you aren't using it and it'll become softer sooner.
 
I don't think there's a valid argument to the effect that badger is a necessity or is somehow better than other brush types. If you like synthetic and boar hair brushes, then I'd suggest getting a higher-quality boar brush (perhaps a Semogue?) and don't bother with badger brushes. That said, however, if you want to try a badger brush, it's probably advisable to try a reasonable quality one. Badger brushes needn't be scratchy or floppy unless those are the characteristics you want.
 
It's very much a case of horses for courses in my humble opinion.

For me, I love my Cadman silvertips, best money I've spent on wet shaving gear to date. But, and it's a big but, there are brushes that work better with certain soaps than the badgers. So, with that in mind, it pays to have a selection of tools (and I see the brush as a tool) to be able to work with all soaps and circumstances.
 
Omega boar - great
Romera badger - great
Dr Dittmar badger - great
Semogue badger - great
Chinese badger 1 - great
Chinese badger 2 - great
Muhle synthetic - great
Zenith synthetic - great
Epsilon horse hair - BINNED
 
I have just the one brush a synthetic and it does me fine: gives a nice, gloopy lather with all my soaps. I am tempted by a Zenith Olivewood synthetic too. I am an animal lover and have reservations about any animal product from China considering the harrowing PETA videos I have seen. Not condemning people who use badger it is just my choice. I have considered boar but it needs breaking in. I had a lovely barber shave with a boar though so may get one at some point.
 
matteob said:
...I am an animal lover and have reservations about any animal product from China considering the harrowing PETA videos I have seen...
Click to expand...


I love animals too......................grilled. :D

The newest generation of black synthetics are just as soft as badger IMO and work far better with soaps as well and they don't cost an arm & a leg and dry in minutes.
 
But I am an ardent animal lover...

J431vD1.jpg


:D
 
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