Shaving Brushes

If you want to experience complete shaving, it is essential to have shaving brushes. Shaving cream is best applied with a brush. Other shaving products are also best applied using a brush before the actual shaving. If you want to be sure that you'll get nothing but the highest quality brushes for shaving, you have to be familiar with the different types of shaving brushes in the market today. Your experience would be more enjoyable for you if you choose the type of brush that is right for your needs as well as preferences.

How Do Shaving Brushes Work?

Just think of a shaving brush as like a sponge. Sponges absorb water and this is helpful in blending together with the shaving cream before putting it on your face. Depending on the type of bristles on the shaving brush is its absorbency to water which is why choosing the material for the bristles is very important in your decision-making. The brushes' types are divided to the bristle materials used.

What Are The Types of Shaving Brushes

Badger hair is the finest material for shaving brushes in the market. Shaving enthusiasts even claim that this is the most luxurious type of shaving brush because it is very soft to the touch and shavers with sensitive facial skin will love it. Not only is it extremely soft but it's also the most durable type of shaving brush as it is much more superior compared to other synthetic materials being used for shaving brushes. It is priced higher compared to brushes made with other materials but these brushes are considered to be the best ones by the enthusiasts of wet shaving.

Boar's hair, on the other hand, retains water much less than the badger hair. Because of this, it results to a less lather once mixed with the shaving cream. It also feels stiff and prickly, quite the opposite of the finer and softer badger bristles.

Synthetic fiber brushes come in various quality and prices depending on the type of the synthetic material that is used as well as with its durability. Some synthetic fiber brushes are made of pure nylon while some are mixed nylon and boar hair with the hope that it would make a more usable brush though this does not go with the logic of what a synthetic brush is like, for example when you are looking for a vegan brush. Thus synthetic fiber brushes are the most inexpensive type and they are the prickliest and the stiffest type. Synthetic brushes also hold water the least. For users that have allergies with animal hairs, they would benefit with using synthetic fiber brushes instead.

Now that the types of shaving brushes and materials used had been established, we can now concentrate on badger hair brushes which is the material that most wet shaver enthusiasts prefer. These brushes of high quality are classified further on the badger hair kinds used.

Silver Tip – This is considered as the most luxurious and softest. They are the hairs found on the neck of a badger. The Silver Tip is the most expensive badger hair because its availability is limited. When it's winter, the neck hair of the badger becomes light tipped. Silver tip brushes are usually handmade. The high-end variety of these brushes is only produced by some manufacturers; two of which are now the defunct manufacturers Simpsons Manchurian and the Plisson High Mountain White.

Super Badger – These are almost the same as the silver tip kind, it has an off-white or silver color tips. Super Badger materials are very soft too and as luxurious as Silver Tips.

Best Badger – The material used for the best badger are found in 20 to 25% of the hair found in the badger's body. They are light colored but longer as compared with pure badger hair.

Pure Badger – Made from a less inferior grade of the badger hair and are colored dark brown or black. This badger hair is found on the underbelly of the badger. It is also easily identified because of its color. There are some shaving enthusiasts who prefer this type of material because its quality is stiffer. In general, pure badger brushes are made by machines. Example is the Muhle pure badger brushes. An exception to this is Vulfix whose pure badger brushes are hand-made.

Shaving Brush Handles

In order to get the shaving brush that is perfect for you, at least for personal use, the brush handles are also greatly considered. It does not matter what material used, the handle must feel comfortable as you hold it in your hand. This is to eliminate any difficulty or at least minimize it as you maneuver the brush before shaving.

Plastic handles – Nowadays, these are very common even with the shaving brushes that are very expensive. Plastic handles feel comfortable to hold and it is a sturdy material that could handle even the roughest handling. Fewer problems are also encountered by its users when in the bathroom where it's slippery and wet where shaving is usually done.

Wooden handle brushes – are water resistant and very versatile. Wooden handle brushes give a classier look to the brushes and if it's properly taken care of, they can last for years serving its owner. Since wood weathers over time, those who prefer the wooden handle brushes should take care of it carefully. If not properly maintained, the weathering would accelerate.

Metal handle brushes – are classic looking and very sleek. Metal handles use materials such as chrome, gold, nickel and brass. Just like with the wooden handles, the metal handles should be cleaned properly and must be properly taken care of for maintenance of its finish. These type of handles are great if you want to make a unique statement with your brush. These types of handles can also come as personalized handles and they are given out as gifts. The only drawback with this type of handle is its weight as it is heavier thus it is more difficult for maneuvering.

Other more exotic handle materials that are very unique include ivory and tortoise shell. They give a very distinctive feeling to the brush. However, you must note that no matter what material is used for the handle, this does not have any effect on the brush quality when it is being used.