What's happened to my brush?

Pig Cat

Pig Cat

Joined
Friday July 10, 2009
Location
Suffolk
Well I went on holiday to the Yorkshire coast at the end of July taking with me my Semogue 1305 and Palmolive cream. After a day or two my brush started to feel rough to the touch as if it was covered in fine chalk. I put this down to the water there (though I had in my mind that it was a soft water area) and waited until I got home thinking it was just some deposit coating the hairs and it would soon wash off. Unfortunately my 1305 is still not right. It is semi-dry now and the hairs have gone from gloss to matte as it were.

Anybody got any idea what's happened here? :s
 
My brushes do this all the time PC. I hate it!

This is my fix...

Baby shampoo, a nice big squirt in a cup and fill to bristle length with warm water.

I then soak the brush in there for around 30 mins. You'll start to see the water go cloudy with little bits in it.

I then rinse through and then sometimes give it a vinegar rinse too. This is optional for me though. I find it adds very little.

Once dry, check again the brush. If your not happy, repeat it again.

I sometimes have to do it twice to clear things up. If you use washing up liquid, this may sort things out first time. Baby shampoo is quite mild though.

Hope that helps!
 
Thanks mate, that was quick. Well I've just bunged said brush in a mug with baby shampoo so let's see what happens.

So, what actually went on here? It was a hair-raising experience. Knot nice. Rather a boar in fact. :blush: :huh:
 
Good question PC.

Ever since I've got into this, I've has this issue from day 1. My posts lead to answers saying rinse your brush more and further techniques on brush rinsing. While this made a tiny difference, it was still there.

Then I did loads of google searches which would lead all the main wet shaving forums, the answer that this gave was, "why do you want to clean your brush? You use soap with it" or more rinsing techniques.

What I've posted is from trial and error and having a key selection of low scum products. It also keeps your brush in tip top condition as your always cleaning them!

Had you picked a Nannys or the Palmolive stick, you'd notice a lot less.

Hope that helps!

Can you see the soapy bits yet Adam?
 
Dipesh said:
Good question PC.
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Thanks! :)

Dipesh said:
Then I did loads of google searches which would lead all the main wet shaving forums, the answer that this gave was, "why do you want to clean your brush? You use soap with it" or more rinsing techniques.
Click to expand...

Yes I've always wondered that. I did think that by using the brush back home it would just go back to normal. I expect Henk can give an answer to this mystery...

Dipesh said:
Can you see the soapy bits yet Adam?
Click to expand...

Oh behave!! :blush: Er...oh I see what you mean, I'll go and look. Just realised I didn't use warm water, but taking the brush out of the mug and feeling it there doesn't appear to be much left of that chalkiness. I've given it a rinse and put it in some hotter water with more shampoo...
 
Lol!

Make sure you give it a good stir and pump so it cleans it out properly. (what have I just said?!, refers to the brush!)

I'm not sure if warm water or cold water matters tbh Adam.

Keep us posted if it works for you.

I'd also be interested in the cause. It's the water for sure but why, I don't know and from my post in the past, no one else did either! TOBS creams are the worse in my experience.
 
That white powder is soap residue (or should be), boar hair is more absorbant than badger and gets clogged so decent a clean should sort it.
 
Thanks! The brush is still not quite right this morning so I'll have a look at the YouTube method as well. The holiday was in a rather damp caravan so I reckon part of the problem was the brush not getting a chance to dry out properly.
 
If you'd come from oop north down to this terrible southern water I'd have thought it would be more understandable. I guess our brushes down here must be covered in a shiny coating of lime scale. Perhaps going to Yorkshire where the water is soft and your soap got to run free and wild as nature intended it has stripped your brushes "protective coating" ;-)
 
ecoshaver said:
If you'd come from oop north down to this terrible southern water I'd have thought it would be more understandable. I guess our brushes down here must be covered in a shiny coating of lime scale. Perhaps going to Yorkshire where the water is soft and your soap got to run free and wild as nature intended it has stripped your brushes "protective coating" ;-)
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Good theory but there shouldn't be too much difference as we've got a water softener in our house.
 
Bristles don't have any protective coating. It's just a build up of soap residue. My 1305 collects it at the base. Proraso is one soap that leaves a lot of residue. THe shampoo soak is a good fix.

Soft water will treat your brushes very well. Hard water over time can make them a bit finnicky if they clag a little.

People who say brushes don't need cleaning because it's always in contact with soap have no idea. Soap doesn't clean brushes, it can clag them up. Detergent breaks soap down and that why it cleans stuff. I find Borax really good as I have hard water and my boar need a clean every few months, it's a laundry booster. Don't know a UK equivalent.
 
hunnymonster said:
Well since our glorious EU banned borax from general sale as a cleaner, sodium sesquicarbonate (aka borax substitute) is the nearest you can get... unless you buy some borax from a lab supply company...
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Got some genuine Borax off ebay (about £5) from a chemical supply company. enough to last me a few years!
 
Pig Cat said:
So, what actually went on here? It was a hair-raising experience. Knot nice. Rather a boar in fact. :blush: :huh:
Click to expand...

It's enough to make you feel a bit badgered.........:icon_rolleyes::icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol:
 
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