How do shaving brushes work

The quality is actually not that bad and it does come close to that of badger hair now, after being pretty poorly designed when they first came out.

The kinks have been worked out since and there are some great synthetic brushes available on the market now. The horse hair brush is more rare and hard to find now, but are particularly preferred in Spain. The hair of a horse is of higher quality than a boar, but still not up to par with the badger. This type of brush can generally be avoided, as you can get a comparable synthetic brush instead or just go straight for the badger that usually costs around the same price.

Now we have the best, oldest and most popular type of shaving brush, the badger hair. Wet shavers around the world love badger hair brushes, and they are the most sought out for good reasons.

They work great for sensitive skin and they come in 4 different categories that they are generally classified by the type of hair that is used:. Pure Badger Hair: The lowest quality of badger brushes, these brushes tend to have a dark brown hue and come from the belly of the badger. This type of hair is soft, but not too soft so some wet shavers actually prefer using it over the rest.

Best Badger Hair: The next grade is best badger and it comes from around a quarter of the body of the badger. The color is slightly lighter than that of the pure, and the length is actually larger as well. Super Badger Hair: Now we are getting to the highest quality of shaving brushes. The super badger has an almost beige hue and almost resembles a silver-tip brush.

The hair is very soft and just barely a tier below the next type. Silver Tip Hair: The cream of the crop, the silver tip brush is the highest echelon when it comes to brushes for shaving.

It is the most expensive, of course, and definitely the most rare. There is an issue with its availability because the hair is acquired during the winter.

This is because the hair on the neck of a badger is super soft and actually becomes silver colored during this season. Now before we are finished, it is worth talking about the different types of handles that these brushes come in. Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Skin Care. Skin Care for Men. Men's Shaving Tips. Have you ever wondered why so many men remove their facial hair every day?

See personal hygiene pictures. If you are an animal lover like me, then you should seriously consider a synthetic brush. It also means that there is less frequent maintenance needed in the long run. Proper maintenance and cleaning of your shaving brush and other shaving gear is the subject of another article that we will write in the near future.

Shaving brushes with natural hair do not dry that fast so you would need to take extra steps to get them dry before storing them in their travel container. As you know, damp things tend to make an ideal environment for bacteria, so make sure your shaving brush has the time to dry before packing it in your travel bag. I have used all types of shaving brushes- be it a horse, boar or badger. It is very often the case with badger or the likes that they take in a lot of water and soap.

As a result, when building a lather there is a risk that it turns out to be too thin- too much water or too little soap. With a synthetic shaving brush you have more rapid response , and by visually observing you get it right in no time.

Getting to the point of perfect lather is a bit of art at the beginning, and I will do a thorough article or video about it soon. So stay tuned! I always recommend starting small to all new wet shavers. So start small and build it up gradually after gaining more insights as to what you prefer and like.

So if you decide later on that you want to try a badger brush, you can conveniently get yourself a badger grade knot at a fraction of the cost of getting an entirely new brush. I would say this is a very forward-looking and sustainable approach to manufacturing. I hope that you have gained some valuable insights as to why one might consider using or switching to a synthetic brush.