Hi @Rottie, good to have you on board! I'm sorry to say, I also bought the Wilkinson brush when I first started, in hopes of it softening up. Sadly it never has, despite me trying it still remains a scritchy horrible little brush I keep in a drawer.
For a cheap (and easily accessible) synthetic starter brush, I'd wander down to your local body shop (armed with a half price voucher code) and pick up theirs. As a side note, I also love their shaving cream, which you cannot go wrong with as it is beyond easy to lather! The bodyshop one wont be the brush of your dreams forever, but it will be like night and day softness-wise compared to your Wilkinson brush. It will also be about 1/4 of the price in investing in the plisson from the l'occitane shop.
If you feel like giving boar brushes a go, have a look at the semogue 620 and 830 (as the numbers go up, so does the knot size). The 620 was my third brush, and still remains my favorite - costs around £15ish. I would wait on the badger until you see a decent one on the BST page which takes your fancy.
All the best in the new hobby, Ben
For a cheap (and easily accessible) synthetic starter brush, I'd wander down to your local body shop (armed with a half price voucher code) and pick up theirs. As a side note, I also love their shaving cream, which you cannot go wrong with as it is beyond easy to lather! The bodyshop one wont be the brush of your dreams forever, but it will be like night and day softness-wise compared to your Wilkinson brush. It will also be about 1/4 of the price in investing in the plisson from the l'occitane shop.
If you feel like giving boar brushes a go, have a look at the semogue 620 and 830 (as the numbers go up, so does the knot size). The 620 was my third brush, and still remains my favorite - costs around £15ish. I would wait on the badger until you see a decent one on the BST page which takes your fancy.
All the best in the new hobby, Ben