My brush smells

I guess I've just been lucky. May it always be.

Here is a really easy way to address it.  Mix water / Vinegar in a 50/50 solution.  Soak for 20 minutes with a timer- you don't want to forget and leave it too long.  Then, build lather in your hand with shampoo.  Let it dry.

That will probably take care of it with badger.  If not, repeat the same thing.

Get a horse hair brush if you really want to get your stank on.  

My dad bought me a silvertip shaving brush. I won't say the brand because I don't want to badmouth anything while I know nothing. 

He said it's the best brush money can buy and it is super soft, but it smells really funny and sort of feral.  Will this go away with use? It is a bit of funky smell and I have to put it close to my nose to use it.

I don't want to sell it or anything as it was a gift.

First of all has the brush in question been used yet? If it has not I am sure the smell will go away.

Here is a really easy way to address it.  Mix water / Vinegar in a 50/50 solution.  Soak for 20 minutes with a timer- you don't want to forget and leave it too long.  Then, build lather in your hand with shampoo.  Let it dry.

That will probably take care of it with badger.  If not, repeat the same thing.

Get a horse hair brush if you really want to get your stank on.  

I have 12 brushes all of which are badger. Any natural hair brush will have some oder when new but the oder for me has always gone away after using once or twice. Just to make a quick comment on your procedure. I agree on soaking a brush in white distilled vinegar. I generally use an 8 ounce vessel with warm water and a few drops of the vinegar. If I can put a finger in the solution and taste a faint amount of vinegar thats fine for me. Distilled vinegar is very strong. It is necessary to wash the brush in order to remove the vinegar oder. My only concern is using shampoo. Most shampoos have various additives for hair care such as excessive lanolin, perfumes, menthol etc. These additives will attach to the hair in your brush. I use a small drop of dish washing detergent (not laundry detergent as this is very caustic) just to achieve a small amount of suds. While this an excellent way to clean a brush especially ones that either have a funky smell or ones that have a build up of soaps and creams. It is however, my opinion that the best way to keep a clean brush and have it last forever is proper rinsing. I spend an enormous amount of time rinsing after use. I rinse under a running faucet for at least 45 seconds and then I take a large bowel and under running water swirl the brush constantly. The first time I put the brush in the bowl, the water becomes cloudy which indicates that the soap is leaching from the brush. Squeeze the brush and empty the water and began again. I dip the brush in upside down and move it up and down several times. Then, I leave the brush in the water completely submerged upside down while I clean the bathroom and get dressed. This soak can take 15 minutes or more. This really works because I can take all of my dry brushes smell them and not detect the slightest order of the soap or cream I used on my last shave. Since I have been doing this I have not had to use a vinegar bath. Works for me.

I generally use an 8 ounce vessel with warm water and a few drops of the vinegar.  If I can put a finger in the solution and taste a faint amount of vinegar thats fine for me.

A few drops of vinegar in 8 oz. of water isn't going to do anything for defunking a brush. You have to go at least 50/50, IMO. Vinegar odor doesn't stay in the brush for long, especially if you rinse it well as you described.

My only concern is using shampoo.  Most shampoos have various additives for hair care such as excessive lanolin, perfumes, menthol etc.  These additives will attach to the hair in your brush.

Did you mean to say shaving soap? Those are all additives in shave soap. Never seen a shampoo that has lanolin or menthol in it.

I just lather a stinky brush a few times before I use it, letting it sit for an hour or so before I rinse it off. The Oxyclean thing really does work, but be careful not to let your knot sit too long, or it can bleach out.

We were talking about this on another forum just last night, and it was mentioned that the OxyClean thing will damage wooden and aluminum handles, so just an FYI.

While I don't agree with everything Tidepool said, I do think he made some good points to further the discussion.

It may be that 50-50 water to vinegar is too strong. I might back off to 25-75 if I need to do this again. The horse hair brush with the 50-50 solution got the twenty minute treatment three times. As best I can tell, there was no damage to the brush and I've been using it for a long time now. Many of you buy $200 brushes. I would be much more careful with one of those.

I like Tidepool's idea of using liquid dish soap (not dishwasher soap), when a brush needs to be cleaned. The way understand it, giving a brush it's 6 month bath needs to be done with a soap containing detergent. Shaving soap and the artisan soaps bars some of us use don't have detergent. The detergent is needed to remove any built up of the soap.

I also agree totally with Tidepool that thorough rinsing after use is very important.

My best guess, and this is not an expert opinion, is that the two things that damage brushes most is ineffective rinsing, which leaves the hair in contact with soap 24x7 and splaying the brush too much when using. Splaying the brush too much is wide spread and I've see arguments on whether it damages the brush. I became convinced that it does cause damage based on the article in the link below.

http://www.shaving101.com/index.php/educ...tment.html

I generally use an 8 ounce vessel with warm water and a few drops of the vinegar.  If I can put a finger in the solution and taste a faint amount of vinegar thats fine for me.

A few drops of vinegar in 8 oz. of water isn't going to do anything for defunking a brush. You have to go at least 50/50, IMO. Vinegar odor doesn't stay in the brush for long, especially if you rinse it well as you described.

My only concern is using shampoo.  Most shampoos have various additives for hair care such as excessive lanolin, perfumes, menthol etc.  These additives will attach to the hair in your brush.

Did you mean to say shaving soap? Those are all additives in shave soap. Never seen a shampoo that has lanolin or menthol in it.

The following are ingredients in American Crew shampoo. Menthol is a common ingredient in several shampoos.

Aqua (Water) (Eau), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Decyl Glucoside, Isostearamide MIPA, Lauryl Glucoside, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Panthenol, Glyceryl Laurate, Sodium Chloride, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Menthol, Polyquaternium-39, Propylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, PEG-150 Distearate, Citric Acid, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Quillaja Saponaria Bark Extract, Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Extract, Parfum (Fragrance), Phenoxyethanol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone.

White distilled vinegar is a very useful product. I do think that a small amount works well. Any body who has hard water and their shower head or kitchen faucet gets clogged with a white junk can use the vinegar to clean them so they work better. It can also be used to run through you coffee maker to clean it. But you can still pour it on your salad and eat it. So however much you use it probably not harm your shaving brush.

Not to beat this too death but shampoo contains many chemicals that you should know about and be careful when using it on a shaving brush. Many shampoos advertise “leaves you hair shiny, prevents frizzing, adds moisture, makes grays look brighter, makes your scalp tingly etc. etc.” In order to do these things more chemicals are added including what I previously said lanolin, menthol and high strength perfumes. If it does these things to your hair it will certainly do it to the hair on you brush. Thats why I would only use dish washing (not dishwasher) detergent if I were to clean my brush this way. Once again proper rinsing works for me. As I said none of my dry brushes have any oder.