Whether you are completely new to wet shaving or just switching from shaving foam to shaving soap or shaving cream, the shaving brush plays an important role in your overall shaving experience. Choosing the brush that suits your facial hair and way of shaving is essential. Then, once you have found a suitable brush, you will never go back.
With a shaving brush, you generate a rich, warm lather by lathering in soap or cream. The richer the lather, the better the skin is protected from razor stress. The nice massaging friction of the hairs also helps open pores and soften hairs. This greatly contributes to the perfect preparation for a comfortable shave.
Furthermore, the shaving brush also ensures that moisture is transferred to skin and facial hair properly and evenly via the bristles. This works much more efficiently than throwing water into your face with your hands. The friction of the bristles of a shaving brush also has an exfoliating effect on your skin. It removes dead skin cells.
Enough benefits about shaving brushes! The hardest part is finding a suitable brush. In fact, there are so many different types and sizes that most men give up beforehand. This is unfortunate and unnecessary. With the right information, you can filter quite easily and make your ideal choice. That's why we're going to tell you everything you need to know.
The different types of hair in a shaving brush
The first consideration you need to make is the type of hair used in the shaving brush. We will cover the three most common types of hair here.
Badger Hair
Shaving brushes with badger hair are known for their luxurious feel. The bristles are soft to the skin, flexible and can absorb a lot of water. This makes it easy to create a rich lather. Badger hair can be divided into several categories of price and quality. The more expensive types of badger hair brushes can last up to 10 years.
- Silvertip
Silvertip is the best and most expensive type of badger hair. They come from the neck of the badger and are the most soft and water absorbent bristles. The bristles are known for their white tips that already look naturally so.
- Super Badger
Are known for their firmness. From the top of the tie. The bristles have a high density. The softness is still sublime and does not cause irritation on the face. This make the super badger bristles suitable for sensitive skin.
- Best Badger
From the bottom of the badger, slightly firmer and harder and suitable for somewhat heavier beard growth. The best badger is popular among men who do not like very soft brushes, but want a little more resistance. Especially useful with the harder soaps that soft brushes have a little more trouble with.
- Pure Badger
The Pure badger is the most accessible badger hair shaving brush. The Pure badger bristles are less soft than the more expensive varieties but more flexible than bristles made of hog hair. The quality of the Pure Badger are still very good, long lasting and are suitable for the men who like a massaging effect while preparing their shave.
Bristle
Cheaper than badger hair shaving brushes and most importantly very different. Pig bristles are a lot stiffer and harder. The advantage of this is that the brush easily extracts soap from the somewhat harder soaps. Pig hairs absorb less moisture than badger hairs and thus require a little more to make a rich lather. Over time, the tips of the bristles soften slightly but are still stiff enough to exfoliate your face nicely.
Synthetic
Free of animal hair and also very suitable for men who suffer from allergies or sensitive skin. Synthetic shaving brushes come in different price ranges and the softness and firmness also varies. Some synthetic shaving brushes manage to match the softness and qualities of Silvertip badger hair. So the quality these days is often just as good.
The bristles generally dry faster than those of pig and badger hair, making the brush suitable for travel.
Here are the characteristics of each brush:
Badger hair
- Soft for the face
- Absorb a lot of water
- Makes a rich lather easily
- Long lasting
Bristle
- Firm bristles
- Easy with harder soaps
- Less gentle on the face
- Accessible price
Synthetic
- Free of animal hair
- Suitable for sensitive or allergic skin
- As soft as you like
- Dries quickly
- Price varies
The size of the shaving brush
An important factor when picking a shaving brush is the size. This is because it largely determines the ease of use for your needs. The size of the brush itself is determined by two characteristics:
The length of the brush (loft).
The loft is the length from where the bristles begin to the tip. A longer loft expands more when you press the brush against your face allowing it to lather a larger area. Shorter lofts give more control over the small areas of the face, for example near the mustache.
The Knot
This is the base of the brush, where all the bristles from the brush come together in the handle. The thickness of the knot says something about the firmness of the brush and how many bristles were used. The thicker the brush, the more water it can hold.
Men who are going to use a shaving brush for the first time usually buy a brush with a loft of around 50 mm and knot around 20 mm. These are precise and give good control. Larger brushes are suitable for larger areas. In the end, of course, it all comes down to what you like.
The full length of the brush.
The most important thing is that a brush sits comfortably in your hand and is balanced. To figure out the right length, you can go for a shaving brush with a handle that is about as long as the length of your palm to the end of your thumb.
Ultimately, of course, the size and thickness of the brush is down to what you like and what you feel comfortable holding.
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