Choosing a shaving brush!
Choosing a shaving brush can be hard, especially when you don't know much about the brushes! In this blog we will hopefully help you choose the right brush for you.
Synthetic bristles are a semi-recent development that replaces the badger hair on traditional brushes with nylon fibres. The nylon fibres are made to resemble the finest badger hair in appearance and feeling.
Synthetic bristles come with some benefits. These include, they are cruelty free and they are gentler on the skin, making it great for sensitive skin or if you are new to wet shaving.
Synthetic shaving brushes hold less water than a badger brush, but they are able to produce a similar lather. Because they hold less water the brush dries quicker, coming in handy if you are traveling a lot or shave everyday.
Synthetic shaving brushes are a bit more affordable than regular badger hair brushes. They are also much less prone to mould or fraying.
Originally, shaving brushes were made from badger hair bristles. As a natural animal product, badger hair can be quite stiff and dark in colour or it could be very soft and light depending where the hair is taken from.
There are 5 common badger hair grades, mixed badger being the lowest grade, then pure badger, best badger, super badger and silvertip, being the higher grade bristles.
Pure badger hair brushes are the most common/popular and are mid-grade brushes. They are made from the most common badger hair and are darker in colour. The hair is more coarse and thicker than higher grade brushes, but seems to suit most users, being a popular grade.
Best badger brushes are lighter in colour and thinner. Best badger brushes are more densely in the knot and they hold more water than pure badger brushes. The bristles on these are trimmed to provide a coarser feel against the skin.
Boar bristles are a great choice. Although, Badger hair bristles and synthetic bristles are a lot more common in the wet shaving market.
If you like more of a coarse brush, you will find the boar hair bristles great for you. However, if irritation is a problem, don't worry, these bristles become softer as you use them more, as they begin to split with regular use.
These bristles might not feel as fancy as badger hair or synthetic bristles, but they help to exfoliate the dead skin and achieve a closer shave.
Where do the bristles come from?
Synthetic shaving brushes are made using nylon plastic bristles and generally feel quite nice on your skin. Even though they are not plastic free, if you are trying to avoid animal products, synthetic bristle brushes could be the better option for you as there isn't yet a eco-friendly brush available that we know of.
Badger hair is what traditional brushes are made from. Badger hair does, as the name suggests, come from an animal and is not a cruelty-free product. The badgers are unfortunately killed for the hair.
Boar hair bristles are plucked extracting the hair with the root. The animal is not killed. The hair is cut multiple times during the animal's life. The bristles are collected from domesticated animals that are being raised for this purpose. This option is also not cruelty free.
In the end, it comes down to what works to your lifestyle choices. Whether you would rather go for a plastic free or cruelty free option- that part is up to you!
We hope these tips helped make it easier for you to pick which brushes are best for you, your preference and your skin.