Boar brushes

The Geordie Shaver

The Geordie Shaver

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Location
Durham , North East England
As part of my learning curve I thought I would have to try boar brushes.
The first one to arrive was the Omega 3164 .
Also waiting for three Semogues ,the 1305,1800 and the 2000 to arrive from a different supplier (well they are cheap so I thought what the hell).
I am well impressed with the Omega though and having used it for a few shaves now it has lathered well from day one,if it gets better than this as it breaks in it will suit me admirably.
What concerns me is the hair loss,I must have lost upwards of thirty hairs from the brush on the three shaves although the rate of loss does seem to be slowing down.
Can anyone tell me if this is normal with a boar brush or should I be concerned?
Regards
Derrick
 
The Geordie Shaver said:
As part of my learning curb I thought I would have to try boar brushes.
The first one to arrive was the Omega 3164 .
Also waiting for three Semogues ,the 1305,1800 and the 2000 to arrive from a different supplier (well they are cheap so I thought what the hell).
I am well impressed with the Omega though and having used it for a few shaves now it has lathered well from day one,if it gets better than this as it breaks in it will suit me admirably.
What concerns me is the hair loss,I must have lost upwards of thirty hairs from the brush on the three shaves although the rate of loss does seem to be slowing down.
Can anyone tell me if this is normal with a boar brush or should I be concerned?
Regards
Derrick
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i think it depends on the brush, i know that the boar i ussed to have shed less than my "vulpix" one

loose hairs occasionally on badger one as well
 
I would echo what antdad said the problem with some sheeding from a new brush is not just to do with boars you can get it with badgers as well. once its all washed out the sheding should stop if not send it back
 
Yea, I've been through a swag of Smoggies and now vastly prefer Omegas, but shedding has never been a feature of any of them. Are you giving the new brush a decent soak? If not the hairs could be breaking, not shedding i.e not coming out through the knot. Even so, 30 is pretty excessive and would suggest a duff knot, which is unusual for a boar.

Good luck with the Semoges, I found them very finnicky boars tbh and very soft and floppy after a few weeks. Much like a badger, but I've badger for that. Omegas make a mockery of the idea of break in too. They just go to it straight out of the box.
 
I have 2 Omega's. Both did require a break in. Also they never shed and hair either.

I prefer Semogues though. They just offer that little more luxury to Omega's.

A lot of people say they are floppy etc.. This can be resolved by soaking them less.
 
Dipesh said:
A lot of people say they are floppy etc.. This can be resolved by soaking them less.
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Not IME. I've had 7, from the 620 to the 2000. I don't soak them, I get them just wet enough to work soap. They still flop a lot, especially the 830, the 620 just goes moppy, it hasn't the loft to flop. THe 830 is a finnicky bugger for lather too, often going missing after the 1st lather. Nice handles tho.

I really think Semogue are going for a luxury boar/badger type thing and some will like that. I prefer a boar to feel like a boar, still soft, but grunty.
 
The 830! How I love that brush. I know what you mean about the moppy feeling, I find that my 830 creates so much lather, it can get a but heavy at the end. I quite like the way it acts. It's just smooth as silk. Something I never get with my omega's.

I love that brush!
 
I have a Burma Shave boar brush that surprises me every time I use it in rotation. It seems to want to shed when i'm face lathering and the hair is picked up by the razor. Wouldn't be that bad if I didn't really have gray hair and I didn't have it stop to see which one of us was doing the shedding!!
 
I have been treating my Omega like a badger brush and soaking it just the same before lathering,rightly or wrongly?,I love the brush and think the finish is first class for the money as are the Semogues(which I still havent got around to trying yet).
Pleased to say the shedding has slowed down to maybe one hair every two shaves
Regards
Derrick
 
The Geordie Shaver said:
I have been treating my Omega like a badger brush and soaking it just the same before lathering,rightly or wrongly?,I love the brush and think the finish is first class for the money as are the Semogues(which I still havent got around to trying yet).
Pleased to say the shedding has slowed down to maybe one hair every two shaves
Regards
Derrick
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Yea, boars can work better after a bit of a soak, otherwise they can still be too firm and tips can break. I use mostly soaps, so just run them under the tap for a few seconds, the soap loading process softens them up more. If using creams, I'll soak them a bit longer.
 
Read that the Badger holds water "around" and "between" the hairs. The Boar lets water "soak" into it's bristles. So the boar works better once it's broken in. As the bristles tips start to Break down. So... The boar soaks longer the newer it is.

No idea what horse does. I just dunk it into warm tap water for a couple of mins.
 
Johnus said:
The Boar lets water "soak" into it's bristles. So the boar works better once it's broken in. As the bristles tips start to Break down. So... The boar soaks longer the newer it is.
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People say that, but I don't think break in holds that much water nowadays (Hah!). I've found that simply being familiar with boars will get them working just as well from the first use as they do a few weeks later - only softer. Omegas being far more user friendly and consistent IME. I also get far more lather out of Omegas than the Semogues.
 
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