Taking care of brushes

I see too many guys with the top of the handle rubbing their face. Ok if it's a cheap synthetic or boar but not high end badgers. Or they are way too aggressive especially some guys on YouTube, it's not a race enjoy the brush, lather and shave. My worst thing I do but everyone does it circular motions when lathering which many brush makers say to never do but only painting sucks.

So true. I appreciate it if some of those YouTube shavers are aiming for brevity in their videos. (That concept seems to be lost on most.) Often, though, they are agitating their brush as if some imaginary Shaving Brush Police is on its way to confiscate it.

I’ve only seen the warning about circular motions once, when I got a horse hair brush. (They can be prone to tangling, I’ve read.) I never had issues with the brush, even though I went against the directions.

Let us know how you find the Brush Rejuvenator to work.

Yeah there are a few guys like The Stallion and Eric Burgos who don't put their brushes through a beating when they shave but they also use their brushes cause again some guys have some "special occasion" brushes that never see use.

If I had video of me shaving you'd see how I get everything out of a brush but don't beat it like it owes me money.

I'll do a review with the brush rejuvenator after I get it and use it.

I had a Varlet Ranger and the included instructions said to rinse after use, then fill a glass/bowl with water and “pump” the brush up/down to expel the soap from deep within the knot.

I never hear people use this cleansing method.

I had a Varlet Ranger and the included instructions said to rinse after use, then fill a glass/bowl with water and “pump” the brush up/down to expel the soap from deep within the knot.

I never hear people use this cleansing method.

I do this every time, and I don't own a varlet. I use a heavy Rocks glass to soak my brushes pre-shave. Post shave I skin the lather out of the knot and rinse well under the faucet, then "pump" the brush in the glass as the faucet continues to fill the cup with clean water. I know I'm done when the water in the cup runs clear. Then express the water from the brush, flick out the deep water, towel strop and place on storage shelf to dry. My high-desert climate dries them very quickly. Unlike my wife, whom I want to have around for a long, long time, I don't worry about avoiding circles or worry too much about mashing my brushes (although I don't). They are tools that are easily repaired or replaced and are in my den to serve me. That said, none of them appears to be in danger of wearing out before my race is run. (I'm sure my sons will soon start scratching their initials on the handles as pre-claim ownership soon).

I use the L&L/Declaration brush soap and it's good, but don't know if it is any better or different than the other brush cleaning soaps - the only other I have is the German Zartgefü. Very likely for a shaving brush that doesn't get caked up like make up brushes, a pure coconut oil soap like MdC would probably work as well, but I picked the brush soaps up out of curiosity in orders with other stuff.

I start rinsing the knot under running water, tips slightly down, and rinse while pumping the base of the knot and spreading the tips. DO NOT PULL ON THE KNOT. Once the water is running clear of visible lather, I turn it tips up and flush the knot the same way under running water while pumping the knot to make sure the base of the knot is clean. It takes more time to describe than do it lol. Pumping the knot is a good method, just don't pull on it.

Cheers, Steve

I had a Varlet Ranger and the included instructions said to rinse after use, then fill a glass/bowl with water and “pump” the brush up/down to expel the soap from deep within the knot.

I never hear people use this cleansing method.

I do that, as well as swirling, whenever I am rinsing out a brush. Then I let it soak for ~30 seconds, check to make sure the water is clear, then gently hand-squeeze the water out.

I do take care of my brushes now, with thorough rinsing, shaking and hanging to dry, but In my wet cart days, I was given a Kent badger that I used for more than five years and I used to leave the soap on until the next shave,( this is the advice I got from my barber). This brush never used to get dry and it never suffered for it.

Great article. I had no idea about proper brush care. I'm just now breaking into the single blade wet shaving, courtesy of my wife who bought me the OneBlade. I've been a shaving odyssey ever since. What was once a chore has become an indulgence. Thanks for the education.

Great post everyone. I am just getting into higher end brushes and have learned a lot. Thankfully I use a water softener for our house and my OCD makes me rinse and clean all my tools after use including doing most of what was described by many of you.

I currently own 16 brushes; In July of 2016 I wrote and posted the following which is in bold text in another blog.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is a topic based on opinions.  But here goes.  I currently have ten brushes all which with the exception of two are two band badger the other two are also badger.  A few years ago this topic came up and I talked with a few people and read much verbiage regarding it.  I cleaned a few of my brushes using the following method.  I am not a fan of specialized products if the end result can be achieved with things I can use in my house.  I used a bowl that holds about 8 oz of liquid; in it I pour approximately a teaspoon (measuring teaspoon) of white distilled vinegar (5% acidity) and then I fill the bowl with warm water.  This is the same vinegar that can be used to clean out coffee makers, crusted shower heads and washing machines.  And, you can put it on your salad and eat it so it is not toxic or harmful.  In this bowl I soak my brush but I also move it around back and forth up and down several times; then let it stand for about 12-15 minutes.  I then thoroughly rinse it several times.  Then I fill the bowl up with warm water and put a very small drop of liquid dish detergent in it.  Again, I soak the brush move it around back and forth up and down several times and let it sit for maybe 5 minutes.  Once again I throughly rinse the brush flick it several times and let it dry.  

However, I have learned that if I rinse my brush throughly cleaning does not appear to be necessary.  Throughly to me means rinsing it several times under warm and then cold water, then soaking it in my bowl while I clean up the bathroom, brush my teeth, apply after shave balm and get dressed and then rinse it again.  This process works for me.  A while back I started smelling my dry brushes.  If it had a neutral smell it was clean.  If I could smell the fragrance of my last soap it was not rinsed properly.  

To prove my theory to myself I did the following.  I recently purchased PannaCrema, Nuavia Rossa and Blu.  The first time I used Blu I used a Morris & Forndran 2 band silvertip brush.  I have had this brush for almost two years and have never cleaned it.  I made note of my lather performance.  Then I cleaned the brush using the above procedure.  Let it throughly dry for two days and used it for the first time with the Rossa.  I experienced no difference at all.  So, I will continue to throughly rinse my brushes which I believe is very important.


One of the things I have learned is that if I smell a dry brush and it has any oder of a soap or cream, my brush is not clean.  If it is natural smelling my brush is clean.  It is my opinion that where we go wrong is not completely rinsing the soap that accumulates in the area where the knot is fitted into the handle.  Some knots are installed deeper into the handle then others.  Soap accumulates in there and may not always be rinsed out throughly.  I rinse my brushes in the following manner.  I run warm water (colder than hotter) around the area where the knot fits into the handle.  I then hold the brush upside down at an angle and turn it around several times making sure I start at the base and slowly move up to the top.  I then squeeze it to get any remaining lather out.  Then, I hold the brush at the top and wrap my index finger and thumb around that portion and gently squeeze it and run water into the top of the brush.  By squeezing it, it does no damage to the knot.  The water is now rinsing any accumulated lather deep into the knot.  I then stand the brush on it’s handle and notice the water dripping down the handle; the water is clear.  I now take a large bowl approximately 16 oz and fill it with water as I am turning the brush around and pumping it like I am churning butter.  I fill the bowl at least twice.  I hold the brush under water horizontally and bring it up through the water with the knot facing up so again, the water is rinsing any lather from the bottom of the brush.  I then push the brush upside down in the water so it is splayed and leave it there while I clean the bathroom and get dressed.  I then squeeze the brush and flick it several times to remove any accumulated water.  The knot is still wet because of absorbed water.  I live in Los Angeles.  Very low humidity and within two hours the brush is completely dry.  This whole process takes several minutes.  I am sure that most of you are saying “what is he smoking”.  Believe me,  my brushes are completely clean and requires no further cleaning.  I have a lot of money invested in these brushes and it is well worth the time and effort I spend throughly rinsing them.  Once I see the Euro go down I will probably purchase several more.