A brush for face lathering

barlines

barlines

Joined
Sunday April 22, 2012
Hi

I know nothing about face lathering but am very willing to learn (after all its one less thing to have to wash up after a shave)

Currently I bowl lather with either a:

Kent BS10
Body shop synthetic
Muhle 21mm silvertip fibre

I'm thinking of the 3 that the Muhle might be the best BUT would a decent silvertip be more gentle on my face? I gave it a go a little while ago and it wasn't the best shave and it seemed to have irritated my face before I even picked up the blade.
 
I have an older Muhle Badger. Not sure which one as most of the brand markings has worn off. Find it great for face lathering. Soft tips but with enough backbone to work up a good lather.
 
Man up. Get a boar. They're just as soft as badger, only different, as the knots are firmer. A Omega 10005 will cost about $10 and it's a terrific brush.

Then you don't have to worry about which badger is going to be the right loft and knot for face lathering, because any boar is. I only face lather and do it with anything from a Simpsons Berkeley and Chubby to a Omega 102 with a loft of 65mm, or a little 50mm Omega. Bigger, Silvertip badgers I found too big, anything over 45mm can swallow the face up trying to lather, plus they're too soft to work it up, so it takes longer, so the hair it can irritate some people.

The point of face lathering is too scrub. A silvertip badger isn't great at that.
 
antdad said:
I can't imagine synthetic hair being the best for face lathering, you can spend £30 or £230, whats your budget?
Click to expand...

Good point, lets put a cap of £75 on there

Drubbing said:
Man up. Get a boar. They're just as soft as badger, only different, as the knots are firmer. A Omega 10005 will cost about $10 and it's a terrific brush.

Then you don't have to worry about which badger is going to be the right loft and knot for face lathering, because any boar is. I only face lather and do it with anything from a Simpsons Berkeley and Chubby to a Omega 102 with a loft of 65mm, or a little 50mm Omega. Bigger, Silvertip badgers I found too big, anything over 45mm can swallow the face up trying to lather, plus they're too soft to work it up, so it takes longer, so the hair it can irritate some people.

The point of face lathering is too scrub. A silvertip badger isn't great at that.
Click to expand...

Thats why i'm asking the questions - a lot seems to have been written about this nirvana of a silvertip with enough backbone to face lather well and I realize everyone has their own requirements out of a brush. I am keen to understand if face lathering is something I should pursue, given the right brush or if my bowl will forever be with me.
 
One of my favourite face lathering brushes was quite cheap.

It is a Vulfix 404, the knot is then removed and replaced with a TGN 2 band. Really nice brush. I'm also going to be getting another 404 reknotted with a bulb knot in the near future. If you want to go down this route, PM Beejay on here.

For £75 you could get a Duke 3. It's a great brush and face lathers quite well. If you want something more face lather focused then Duke 2's are great too.

Then there are Boars, you can get away with a bit more loft on a boar. 55mm will still allow you to face lather. Some of my favourites here are Semogue 830, 1520 and SOC. Whist these brushes are nice and scrubby, they miss the heat retention qualities of a badger brush which I quite like. Also if you get a nice 3 band with a short loft and quite a high density, it's a feeling like no other.

Brushes are quite a personal thing I think as people's tastes differ, the above is my preference.

Hope that helps a little!

Dipesh
 
Thanks for the feedback, I haven't really bought anything I really couldn't use so I really am keen to get as much info on peoples face lathering as possible so I can make the right choices myself. I'm thinking you have a few brushes and a good understanding of their good and bad points then to be able to start taking donor parts and making your perfect brush, I'm currently right at the other end of that scale and don't even know what to buy right out of the box!
 
Well - I've bought a chubby 1 from Fido (just typing that I feel dirty) which looks the business so hopefully I should get to have another go at face lathering pretty soon and see how I go from there. Is there such a thing as Brush Acquisition Syndrome or is it Brush Acquisition Disorder?
 
barlines said:
Well - I've bought a chubby 1 from Fido (just typing that I feel dirty) which looks the business so hopefully I should get to have another go at face lathering pretty soon and see how I go from there. Is there such a thing as Brush Acquisition Syndrome or is it Brush Acquisition Disorder?
Click to expand...

I am a face latherer and use a chubby 2 and Kent BK8, both of which cover all the creams that I rotate with success. As you may know the Chubby is stiffer than the Kent but that's just what I want.

All the best
 
barlines said:
Well - I've bought a chubby 1 from Fido (just typing that I feel dirty) which looks the business so hopefully I should get to have another go at face lathering pretty soon and see how I go from there. Is there such a thing as Brush Acquisition Syndrome or is it Brush Acquisition Disorder?
Click to expand...

Yep, there is such a thing as SBAD. I'm afraid to say, I suffer with it!
 
Fido has just actually come back and suggested a slightly softer chubby 1 for me which I've gone with. I'm really grateful for all the advice.
 
barlines said:
Fido has just actually come back and suggested a slightly softer chubby 1 for me which I've gone with. I'm really grateful for all the advice.
Click to expand...

It's actually a New Forest Tubby 1 Finest Silvertip with a 50mm loft. Chubby is a name used by some other brands. No other "Tubby" brushes made by other brands I'm aware of!
 
I have a Vulfix 2189 pure bristle travel brush. I normally use it for travelling but i prefer it for face lathering. It has taken about 2 month to almost fully break in but now it is as soft as a silvertip badger. And it has a good travel tube:

wp681a5e57.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom