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Shaving Product Guides

Guide to Shaving Brushes

Shaving brushes may be composed of either natural or synthetic materials with the handles often being decorative and made from a variety of materials but shaped for comfort and ease in applying shaving cream or soap.


Shaving brushes are used by "wet shavers" together with a double-edged safety razor or a straight razor.


There are three key types of shaving brush ‘Fill’;


Shaving Brushes are filled with bristles and the type of bristle and the quantity of ‘Fill’ combine to differentiate the quality of the brush. A mix of synthetic and natural fibres such as nylon and boar bristles is sometimes used to combine the qualities of both natural and synthetic materials.

  1. Synthetic fibre filled shaving brushes; Hard wearing and stiffer then a badger hair brush, and a less expensive alternative. A nylon fibre brushes is an excellent alternative to a Badger Hair brush and is a good brush to buy if you are trying wet shaving for the first time.
  2. Boars hair filled shaving brushes; Boar's hair is considered to be as stiff as synthetic bristle, but as a natural product, has a higher water retention capacity, making it easier to work up an effective lather, (See article ‘The Perfect Shave’). However, boar's hair has a tendency to break more readily than synthetic bristles and is less hard wearing.
  3. Badger hair filled shaving brushes; Badger hair comes in a variety of qualities. The natural material used for most shaving brushes is Badger Hair, this is because it is like human hair as it absorbs water and it is this characteristic that makes Badger Hair perfect for shaving brushes.

Badger Hair shaving brushes:

There are four grades of badger hair used in the making of shaving brushes;-

Pure Badger

Pure badger is the term used to describe badger hair brushes using the most common hair from the underbelly of a badger, the hair which covers around 60% of a badger's body. This hair varies greatly in softness, pliability and color. Pure badger hair is usually dark in color, but fluctuates from a light tan to near-black or silvery sheen. The hair is coarser than 'best' or 'silvertip' hair due to its larger shaft. Most often, pure badger brush hairs are trimmed to shape and the brush has a stiffer consistency than the finer badger hair brushes...


Best Badger

Best badger is the term used to describe brushes made with the finer and more pliable hairs from 20 - 25% of the badger's body. It is longer in length and lighter in color than 'pure' badger hair. A 'best' badger brush is more densely filled with hair than the 'pure' badger brush and will produce a correspondingly greater lather.


Super Badger

A super badger brush is a more expensive than either 'best' or 'pure'. Sometimes this hair is described as 'silvertip' and it is often highly graded 'pure' hair bleached on the ends to resemble silvertip.

Though it is composed of 'pure' badger hairs, 'super' is graded and sorted so that its performance is superior to that of 'best' and the result is a brush that is not ‘prickly’.

To tell the difference between 'super' or 'silvertip' badger hair, to look at the color of the bristle tips. A true 'silvertip' brush has tips that are off-white. A 'super' brush has bristle tips that are a plainer, slightly grey white and the light color of the tips does not extend as far down the shaft of the hair as a ‘silvertip’ bush.


Silvertip Badger

A silvertip badger brush is made from pure, top quality silvertip badger hair and is the most expensive type of badger hair. The tips on this hair appear white naturally, without bleaching. The "flared" bristle load gives the silvertip brush its ‘full’ appearance and allows the brush to retain a large amount of water. With its greater water retention capacity, a silvertip brush can create a full shaving lather quickly.


silver tip badger shaving brush

 

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Created On  11 Aug 2015 13:26 in Shaving Product Guides  -  Permalink
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The Perfect Shave Guide

The Perfect Shave


Shaving can be a chore or a pleasant start to the day that makes you feel awake and ready to face the world – to ensure the latter, a simple routine can make all the difference.


Step One :- Preparation.

  1. To start preparing for your shave your beard needs to be soaked with hot water and as the hair softens as it absorbs the water and the heat relaxes muscles of the face, making shaving easier. Using a wet, hot face flannel and leaving on the face for 20 or so seconds will achieve the desired effect. Or shave directly after a hot shower or bath.
  2. You may wish to use a pre shave treatment before shaving, particularly if you have sensitive skin and suffer from shaving rash. There are many brands of pre shave oils and when massaged into the beard these help lift the hair ready for shaving and also lubricates the skin and allows the blade of the razor to glide smoothly.

Step Two:- Shaving.

  1. There is a wide range of branded shaving creams and using a good quality cream is essential to a good shave. Shaving cream can be applied using fingers and massaged into the beard prior to shaving. However, we would recommend using a good quality badger shaving brush (see article on different types of shaving brushes). Place a small amount of shaving cream either on a shaving bowl or pot, dip the brush into hot water and then use the brush to work up a thick creamy lather on the brush, if using shaving soap work up the lather directly from the soap. Now apply to your beard, ensuring that the facial preparation has been done and your face is wet, apply using circular motions working the lather into the beard and using the brush to make the hairs stand up. Use a little more water or shaving cream/soap to thoroughly lather your beard. Practice will soon allow you to automatically achieve the perfect lather
  2. Your choice of razor will be a personal one but always use a good sharp blade and warm in hot water from the sink to maintain the temperature as you shave to clean the blade between shaving strokes. You will be able to tell when a blade has become dull and requires renewing, as it will start to ‘tug’ the hair slightly and some shaving stokes will become less clean in cutting the hair.
  3. Shave the face in the direction of beard growth and shave ‘with the grain of the beard’, the way in which it is lying. Shaving against the grain can pull and graze the skin causing small cuts and the grazes known as shaving rash or razor burn. In awkward areas such as under the nose use the razor sideways against the grain to avoid razor burn. Many of the multi blade razors are now equipped with a single straight blade to assist in shaving the awkward areas.

Step Three:- Post Shave

  1. When finished thoroughly rinse the face with cooler water and pat dry with a towel, don’t rub hard but allow the skin to relax and recover
  2. Your wet shave will have exfoliated the skin and left it smooth with a clean and healthy appearance and feel. It is a good idea to protect the skin post shaving by using an after shave moisturising treatment or post shaving balm that will leave the skin feeling and looking great.
  3. Avoid using alcohol based products which can cause the skin redden and also cause dryness. If you use cologne or an after shave fragrance, apply these behind the ear lobes or the side of the neck but not directly to the shaved area of the face.
shaving brushes

 

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razors

 

 

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Created On  4 Mar 2015 13:19 in Shaving Product Guides  -  Permalink
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