Shaving Brush Queries.

Hi Matkinson,

A shaving brush is really designed to be used with traditional shaving soaps or creams. Shaving gels are not intended to be used in this manner, so short answer, 'no' (some such products may even contain ingredients that will damage a brush's hair). Decent soaps or creams however, can be had fairly inexpensively. There's a technique to making your own lather, but it is not so difficult.

Some people create lather in a bowl (suitably sized / shaped ones can be bought cheaply. I got mine from Sainsbury's), others in their palm, others still 'face lather'. Youhave to experiment, see what works for you.

Edit. : Check out Mantic59's videos on YouTube for all things related to traditional shaving. He has some great advice for novices and old-hands alike.

I agree with Gandhajala, I think it would be pretty pointless using a brush with standard gel. Then again, brushes are pretty cheap - I have cheap wild boar brushes that cost me $2 that are quite good (and one that is quite bad). And out of curiosity I've just ordered a Chinese badger brush for $10 - so it can't hurt to try.

But if you do get a brush to experiment with the gel, why not also spend less than a Pound on an Erasmic shave stick? Don't worry about working up a lather in a bowl or on your hand - I think it's wasted time, because having done that, you then have to put the lather on your face and wait yet another two minutes for it to work properly. If you run the shave stick generously over your face, then use the brush to lather it up on your face, that is all time that the soap is on your face doing it's magic on your whiskers.

Alternatively, there are gel-oils that do work very impressively just by putting them on and shaving. Jack Black Beard Lube and Menscience come to mind. Jack Black is usually pretty expensive in the tube, but the big 16oz bottle is currently going relatively inexpensively at Strawberrynet, where its 10% off month on skin care stuff.
Cheers,
Renato

I use fairly cheap brushes, finding the soap the thing; for lather is easy to work up. One should keep the soap in a little bowl, and transfer the wet and lathered brush (just make little circular motions with it on the soap) to another bowl or mug. Working up a lather is easy. Rather like beating an egg.

As for soaps, an Italian tallow-based soap called 'Cella' is awfully good (and inexpensive). It has a marzipan scent. I am also very fond of Trumper's Violet shaving soap.

This sounds like a job for a Palmolive shave stick. You'll find it at ~50p at a reasonably-sized Tesco or Asda. Face lather or, otherwise, raid the kitchen cupboards for a shallow mug or small bowl to lather up in. If you struggle with it and decide to stick with canned gels/foams - you've only lost out on 50p.

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Produ.../?id=256534448
http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estor...37&startValue=

Canned shaving Gel is applied with hand, NOT BRUSH. Using a brush will be messy and in fact give a very poor result.
You will end clogging the brush hairs and ruin the brush.

You need to use either a shaving soap and shaving creams if you want to use a shaving brush.
I own 38 shaving creams and among them I enjoy quite a few cheapies, so give them a try before you shell the $$$ out for e pot of Acqua Di Parma or Santa maria Novella shaving cream.
It's still cheap compared to that a niche frag cost, but no reason to buy the most expensive stuff when just starting out unless you don't care about cost.

I can recommend these 4 great cheap shaving creams - all give you HIGH quality shaves and should be applied with a brush. You can either face lather directly with the brush or bowl lather the creams with the brush, it's up to you.

Best method to face lather is to put a thin layer of the cream all over your bears area, massage it in, so you have a thin coating. Then add warm water to your brush, shake it mildly and then proceed to massage your beard area with the brush in light circular motions and within 1 minute you have a white foam all over your beard area.
In the bowl you do the same, just add drops of water, remember you can always add more water, you can't remove the water, so go light on the water trigger - but you need to add water to the bowl little by little - and within 2-3 minutes you have big bowl of lather.

My cheapie favorite creams are:

1. New red Proraso tube - just released this month. Great stuff. Earthy sandalwood done right.
2. New green Proraso tube - just released this month. Also great stuff. Less menthol and camphor then the old Green Proraso, better glide than ever. Awesome.
3. Musgo Real tube - excellent, fresh cut green grassy Carolina Herrera 212/Mugler Cologne type scent
4. Speick tube - excellent, unique fresh citric herby scent. Awesome product for the price.
5. Il Coloniali - excellent, metallic cocoa scent. Wonderful thick creamy lather

My favorite brush for face lathering is Simpsons The Duke 2 in Best badger hair.
Face lathering brushes need more backbone, less loft, smaller knot in a fan shape.

My favorite brush for bowl lathering is Kent BLK 8 in Silvertip badger hair.
Bowl lathering brushes need less backbone, more loft, larger knot in a bulb shape.
Also needs a longer handle and softer type hair.

Good luck

For glide, I still haven't come across anything better than that from my Trumpers Sandalwood cream. But now you have me curious about this new Green Proraso. Have you perhaps tried both and compared the glide characteristics?
Cheers,
Renato

I bought a badger brush for $10 from here.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/390402031...84.m1497.l2649

I've tested it out. I know I'm inexperienced, but for the life of me, I can't see or feel any difference performance-wise from the the Edwin Jagger badger brush I paid $50 for.
Cheers,
Renato

Sorry, have not tried Trumpers Sandalwood cream

If you're going to go through the trouble of buying a brush, set the gel aside and get a good glycerine based cream or a tallow based triple milled soap. There are endless choices out there, but treat your face well and you will be rewarded.

You cannot beat a good badger brush and some decent shaving cream/soap, it makes a world of difference to the canned gels etc.

Have a badger brush from art of shaving. I LOVE IT.

I HATE the feeling of shaving cream on my fingers.... don't know why... just a pet peave. YUUCK