Helpful tips

Shaving brush made of badger hair. Foam whisk par excellence

Those who appreciate the contemplative aspects of a good wet shave, can not avoid shaving brushes made of badger hair. Gently whipped in the bowl, in association with a good shaving soap or cream, and then gently applied in circular motions, the soft and luscious lather produced by a badger hair shaving brush is hard to beat - especially if you choose a trim of silver tip badger hair.

Fine and elastic. Badger hair for shaving brush

Admittedly: Shaving brushes made of badger hair are quite costly. Nevertheless, they are significantly more popular than their competitors made of pig bristles, synthetic fibers or even horsehair. The dominance of badger hair shaving brushes is due to their superior material properties, because the quality of the foam produced is determined solely by the type and quality of the hair of the brush. And both the shape and texture of badger hair are the measure of all things for any fan of wet shaving.

Generally, badger hair in any form is more flexible than its alternatives and therefore produces particularly full and fine-pored foam. But here too, not all badger hair is the same, and those who want to delve particularly deeply into the subject can look at finely graded quality criteria. For initial orientation, however, it is sufficient to distinguish between three groups. The simplest category is the dark badger hair from the animal's undercoat, which is uniformly gray or black and does not come off by itself, but is cut off. In comparison, this firmer quality has the largest diameter, which brings a higher massage effect when preparing to shave **But those with sensitive skin are advised to use a shaving brush made of the finer badger pluck or even the premium quality, the so-called silver tip **Both are brushed out or just plucked out and are characterized by their stripes in three shades of color. The more clearly the pattern is visible and the lighter the tips contrast with the black band - the so-called mirror - the higher the quality. When the tips are almost gray-white, you are dealing with the exceptionally soft silvertip badger hair - it comes from the bushy belly and neck area of the animals, where they bear their typical stripes, and is of the best quality in the winter months, especially just before hibernation.

Carefully combed. Gently pushed. The shaving brush production by hand

Good shaving brushes are still made by hand by brush and brush makers today. First, the already elaborately sorted and sorted hair by hand is measured with a precision scale. A single gram of good quality badger hair consists of 1,000 hairs - but one gram doesn't get you very far. The expert craftsman gathers many thousands of hairs into a bundle and first carefully combs it out to remove any cross hairs. Then the "push box" comes into play, which could well be called the heart of shaving brush manufacturing. This is a metal cylinder, which is inside the negative contour of the shaving brush and the inserted hair bundle in its typical shape. Upside down, it stands in the can and is gently poked until all the hairs dance in a row - well, a curved row. Tied tightly with a thread, the next step follows for the shaving brush in spe, in which the brush maker demonstrates his true skill. While plucking, the course of the hair drawing is brought on track by hand. The more evenly and parallel the mirror runs, the cleaner was worked. However, the tips of the hairs are never shortened in a handmade shaving brush, because they run finer towards the top, and only this feature enables them to produce the wonderfully soft foam that your facial skin deserves. Only on the shaft, the hairs are shortened after plucking, and then with the help of a water-resistant precious resin to the handle. In machine shaving brush production, on the other hand, the brushes are often cut into shape at the tip, which robs the badger hair of all its strengths and results in prickly products.

Note

All the shaving brushes we carry at Manufactum are therefore hand-cast at our German-based manufacturers - Manufaktur Thäter, Hans Baier Rasierpinselfabrik, Mühle Rasurkultur and Merkur Rasierer.

Not freestyle, but duty. Cleaning and care of shaving brushes

With proper handling and care, you can use your badger hair shaving brush a good ten years before you need to have it restocked. In short: Make sure it is always well soaked, after shaving thoroughly washed out from the side with lukewarm water, spin it out instead of drying it and finally let it dry thoroughly, preferably hanging. The following applies: The more expensive the shaving brush, the more care it needs. A high-priced silver tip model is usually more densely packed, which is conducive to the foam effect and the pleasant skin feeling, but is therefore also more difficult to clean. Just treat your shaving brush as carefully as you would like to be treated by it. Mistreatment such as too strong bending or pressing or even the use of harsh cleaners he thanks you with the premature loss of his hair splendor. And no one can want that.