Who Else Smashes Their Brushes?

I just don't see how you can generate a good lather in a reasonable amount of time without splaying the knot or using circular motions. I'm not saying I smash it all the way to the handle, but I definitely splay it at least 50% or more. Just the tip(s) is not gonna work for me None of my brushes are worse for wear and I've always used them like this.

I just don't see how you can generate a good lather in a reasonable amount of time without splaying the knot or using circular motions. I'm not saying I smash it all the way to the handle, but I definitely splay it at least 50% or more. Just the tip(s) is not gonna work for me None of my brushes are worse for wear and I've always used them like this.

I splay for sure, because as you said, there's no other way to get the job done.  I was referring to the you tubers who literally crush their knots against there face - or so it seems to me.  I don't sacrifice any lather quality for brush preservation, I just don't go insane with it.

I splay on the chin to agitate/aerate the lather (when necessary), but it's all painting from the tips other than that. I don't splay the brush on the rest of my face at all. If I do, it's very minimally.

I do agree that many YouTubers lather like gorillas.

I splay on the chin to agitate/aerate the lather (when necessary), but it's all painting from the tips other than that. I don't splay the brush on the rest of my face at all. If I do, it's very minimally.

I do agree that many YouTubers lather like gorillas.

Thanks!  Now I'm going to visualize a lathering gorilla every morning while lathering my face!! 

Synthetics I would consider splaying, but that’s it. Sure I could splay them aggressively, beat them to hell, and all that jazz and never run out of brushes in my lifetime, or my grandkids’ grandkids likely, but I love them too much to do that. Respect your tools, and they’ll do a good job. Brush manufacturers won’t put up with replacing abused brushes either, and I can’t begin to count the number of lost sells from myself because of evident terrible brush care. I probably should thank you for that actually as I don’t need any more. Lol

I don't splay any brushes more than 25%. Having said that, one of the great things about synthetic brushes is that you can use them however you please and they aren't expensive to replace.

I haven't read the whole thread, so this may have been covered. Mashing natural hair brushes all the way down will absolutely, positively ruin them. For this reason, I never buy a used badger because I won't know how much they've been splayed.

My preference is for synthetic brushes. One of the reasons is that you have to treat the badgers with kid gloves to keep from damaging them.