How much am I missing if I only use synthetics?

How much am I missing if I only use synthetics? I like synthetics a lot and trying to decide whether to branch out. Thanks in advance for your insights.

I have and use both. I have two synthetics and two badgers. I like both, but they are quite a bit different from each other. Syns require less loading and lather faster. Badgers need more soap and take longer to to lather up. Syns are great for bowl lathering and 'painting' across the face. For me, they are a little too pointy and firm for face lathering. Badgers work well with bowl lathering too, but not as well as Syns. Badgers excel, by far, on face lathering. The soft, cloudy feel is nice on the face. Though, that depends on the quality of the hair too. Overall I am happy to have both. If I am in a hurry I grab the syn, or if I want to take time and face lather then badger it is.

I say if you have the funds, try a badger, try a boar. If you LOVE the synthetics and don't want to risk spending money on something you may not like, then I wouldn't worry about it much. For what it's worth, I've gone entirely synth over the past few years. I started with Boars, added a badger, and even won a really nice silvertip that I still have. I still prefer any one of my synths to my silvertip.

A lot.

How much am I missing if I only use synthetics? I like synthetics a lot and trying to decide whether to branch out. Thanks in advance for your insights.

I'll say you are missing nothing...if you are shaving out of necessity.

But if it is a loving ritual to you where the blade choice needs to match the efficiency of the razor....and the
brush handle needs to complement the shaving bowl....then you are not going to enjoy being frugal.

I have used a number of high end badger brushes ....they are nice without a doubt....but after I switched to 2 good
synthetics, I just don't get aroused by brushes.

Then again, it's also about budgets...if shaving was my only vice I would be all in on the latest gear...but I have a number of other
passions to feed, so I dont really get as deep into it as some do.

I think it might depend on how willing you are to break a brush in?

My first was a boar, but between the smell and the super scritch I don't think I made it past the third day.

The only way to find out is for you to try different brushes. We won't be able to truly say what it is like, as you may find it completely different. If you love synthetic brushes, then I wouldn't bother with other natural fibre brushes. However, if you have the money, you can easily find some very good and inexpensive boar, badger and horse hair brushes.
Personally, I find synthetic brushes extremely practical for many occasions, however, for face-lathering, there is nothing to replicate a good badger brush, especially, 2-Band ones.
Good luck.

Don't chase what other people love if you don't see it. If you can, try the other stuff. Boar and horse are much cheaper and easier to do this with. You can find good deals on badgers too. My recommendation is to buy from the BST. My preference is towards the softer 3-band variants of badger, but the 2-band stuff can be fun and nice, but I am very picky about what I accept there. I have a good deal of boar and synthetics and 2-bands more from trying to understand others love for it than a personal love for it personally. Being a brush addict though, I guess a brush is a brush.

I have badger, boar, horsehair, and synthetic brushes and I enjoy using all of them. However, if I am using a new soap for the first time, I choose one of my synthetic brushes and I know it will lather anything I throw at it. After I get familiar with the soap, I will often select one of my other brushes to lather it. I have a very large collection of soaps, so I will chose my soap for the shave and then select a brush to use with it. However, I could easily live with only a synthetic.

If your skin is the least bit sensitive, I suggest you avoid cheap badger brushes. Most of the cheaper badger brushes are either black badger or pure badger which will have a face feel much harsher than that of the synthetic brush you have now. For a similar face feel, get either a two-band finest or silvertip badger brush. Although a few cost as much as $300, it is not necessary to spend anywhere close to that amount. There are some very nice badger brushes available for $50-100.

If you do not want to spend that amount on a brush, I suggest getting a boar brush. Although they have a pretty rough face feel when new, once they are well broken in they can have a face feel similar to premium badger. Boar brushes have a lot of backbone, so they are ideal for lathering hard soaps.

Horsehair brushes are much less popular than badger, boar, or synthetic brushes. I enjoy using them occasionally, but would not recommend them until you have explored the other options.

Variety is the spice of life. If you have become a semi-experienced shaver, a nice badger could be a welcome addition.

My other advice:
- only buy a brush you 99.9% really like (handle shape & size, color, badger quality, vendor, etc)
- have the funds and buy quality. BST maybe an option. For now, forget the cheap imports and low grade badgers.