How long to soak?

dantheman

dantheman

Joined
Thursday March 8, 2012
Hi guys,

Just wondering how long you leave your brushes to soak before shaving?

I tend to put mine in a cup of warm water before I have a shower, so maybe 5-8(ish) minutes..?

Any ill effects you know of from doing more than a couple minutes?

Cheers

Dan
 
A minute is fine, ten is also fine. Badger hair isn't damaged by water, after all, once you've shaved with it, parts of it stay wet half the day, as long as it gets a chance to dry out later on it's all good.

I usually soak during the shower so maybe five mins or so? It's been much longer when I'm really preening though.
 
Thanks guys, good to know. I didn't think if would do any harm as long as the water's not too hot but just wanted to check.

On that note, what temperature of water do you guys use? I put recently boiled water into a bowl and a bit in a cup. I then mix the hot water in the cup with cold water, resulting in tepid water which I put my brush in. I then have a shower. When I'm out I pour the hot water in the bowl away (splash some on my face) and make a nice warm lather (with the transferred heat).

Did that make sense? :s And what kind of heat can the brush take? I see people on youtube often dipping their brush in what they've said is water as hot as their face can stand, to create wetter lather...
 
SirPrize said:
Canuck said:
It's been much longer when I'm really preening though.
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I am sure the brush can stand it! :blush:
As to temperature, the rule of thumb is if it is too hot for your thumb, its - too hot!
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i tend to run tap till it runs hot. then i fill up soap bowl and put brush under tap for 30 secs or so. then water gets refreshed in bowl

then put brush in soap bowl to soak while i use some pre-shave cream. then pour water out and start lathering
 
I'm glad you asked this. I've been wondering too.

I've got myself in a bit of a tiz, because these brushes are not cheap enough to ruin willynilly. And some are such works of art, that even if they were cheap, you wouldn't want to ruin one anyway.
So I heard that its not good to get water in the knot, hence why we have stands and don't leave them on their handles to dry.
Ever since I've been scared to get the whole brush wet, and have been trying to just get the hairs wet. This is tricky.

The funny thing is that my first proper brush (ignoring my horrific supermarket £3 one) - an unbranded badger hair that came from TK Max and cost about £7, has spent the last 2+ years being chucked straight in the sink with warm to hot water that my razor goes in, my flannel goes in AND the bowl sits floating on, keeping warm.
The brushes handle is wood and after about a year I noticed the varnish getting misty. BUT its still absolutely fine, its not shedding hair any faster than I would expect (1-2 hairs per shave).

But when my New Forest brush and EJ brush arrive I wanna treat them right.
Do we bung them, handle and all, in the water or stand them up so only the bristles are getting wet?
 
I just let the bristles soak while i am in the shower. I use an old spice mug which is nice.

Also whilst newer, cleaner brushes just need a quick soak. I found due to me living in a hard water area my brushes can get a bit of scale type build up on the bristles. If i didnt soak my brush long enough, i found that the bristles broke.

For this reason, i think a good soak is quite important.
 
Dipesh said:
Also whilst newer, cleaner brushes just need a quick soak. I found due to me living in a hard water area my brushes can get a bit of scale type build up on the bristles. If i didnt soak my brush long enough, i found that the bristles broke.

For this reason, i think a good soak is quite important.
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Absolutely. As for soaking, I'd avoid submerging the handle if it was painted or varnished wood, such as some Semogues, but otherwise I doubt it does any harm!
 
cruciate said:
Do we bung them, handle and all, in the water or stand them up so only the bristles are getting wet?
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You bung them in sir, handle and all. It's not necessary to keep the base of the knot dry, it dries very nicely in the air by evaporation, whichever way up it's stored.

Chris has a point about fine finishes, you might want to be more careful with those hand made exotic woods and varnishes, but most low/mid range and actually the majority of high end brushes are acrylic or similar synthetics and don't mind a daily dunking.
 
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