Synthetic Brushes

B

BillyHoyle

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65
Hi all,

because I am still quite new to all this I was wondering - how do the synthetic match up with the boar and badger? what's the 'best' synthetic brush?

any particular benefits? the drying time seem to make them maybe an ideal traveling brush?

Please share your knowledge/experiences with me :)
 
Hi, I have used mainly synthetic brushes - Superdrug (when they made them), and Body Shop. They lather up better because they do not absorb water, so you have to make sure you use less water when lathering up. At the moment I use a boar brush (Men U) which is good to use, but when it reaches the end of its life, I'll get another synthetic brush. I won't use badger because I don't agree with it.
 
I've used a Body Shop synthetic as a travel brush, I wouldn't say they lather up better, in fact boar or badger are better latherers for me, but the synthetic does dry very quickly so can be packed away quicker.

I notice that Men U also make a synthetic brush that has had a few write ups, but at ~£30 I've no interest in trying.
 
I use the Body Shop synthetic, it's really handy, cheap and I think fairly indistructable. As a first or A N Other brush for 6 quid it's worth a bash, and like someone else said it won't stink out your wash bag on holiday
 
I've used the Body Shop brush and I still have the Taylors synthetic. I PIFd the Body Shop brush a while back - although the tips were soft, it was a stiff brush (more than just plenty of backbone IMO - to me it seemed very stiff). I suspect that it would be better with soaps than creams for that reason, though I can't be certain as I only used creams at the time. The TOBS brush seems a good all-rounder, and I may hang onto it for a while yet in case either my badger or boar brushes suffer some sort of catastrophic failure. My main quibble with it is that, when wet, the bristles stick together and tend to move on the face as a clump rather than the knot blooming as a good boar or badger brush does. I'm actually waiting to read Fido's review of the new Muhle silvertip fibre brush which is supposedly a big leap forward in synthetic hair technology.
 
A synthetic brush will create lather very effectively. If you paint it on you will get perfectly acceptable results. But they do tend to be a bit "stiff" If you have scruples about using animal hair they are a practical option to enjoy traditional shaving. But if you want a brush to delight you and give you a luxurious shaving experience you are best served by a badger brush. I base my comments on using some cheap synthetic brushes including The Body Shop brush which is great value and on my recent use of a Muhle imitation silvertip about which I'll write a review soon.
 
BillyHoyle,

The 'best' synthetic brush I have used was the cheapest - the Vulfix Nylon.

Refeshingly not dyed to look like 'critter' hair, and bearing the tongue-in-cheek 'pure nylon' on the side !

I used this brush exclusively for 18 months to see how it would stack up.

In a couple of words, extremely well.

It could lather from hard soaps and creams with equal aplomb, and at ca 5 GBP when I bought it, it was no great losss if stolen or lost when travelling.

IIRC safetyrazors.co.uk has them curently for 5.50 GBP.

The most expensive synthetic I have, the TOBS (35 GBP) has a knot that is far too stiff for my taste - the lather squeezes out of the sides too easily !

Good luck :icon_smile:

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ
 
PhatMan said:
BillyHoyle,

The 'best' synthetic brush I have used was the cheapest - the Vulfix Nylon.

Refeshingly not dyed to look like 'critter' hair, and bearing the tongue-in-cheek 'pure nylon' on the side !

I used this brush exclusively for 18 months to see how it would stack up.

In a couple of words, extremely well.

It could lather from hard soaps and creams with equal aplomb, and at ca 5 GBP when I bought it, it was no great losss if stolen or lost when travelling.

IIRC safetyrazors.co.uk has them curently for 5.50 GBP.

The most expensive synthetic I have, the TOBS (35 GBP) has a knot that is far too stiff for my taste - the lather squeezes out of the sides too easily !

Good luck :icon_smile:

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ
Click to expand...

When i started all of this I said, "I am going to be a one brush/one razor guy" - now I already have 3 razors and what looks soon to be 4 brushes...hmmm...:icon_rolleyes:

Thanks for the 'help':icon_razz::icon_razz:
 
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