Question on Synthetic vs Boar ease of lathering

Going to go against the latest grain in this conversation. The synthetics are top notch for me. Tried some nice boar and nice white tip badgers. Never have a problem lathering. The synthetics get me to a useable lather faster, and if I work it as long as the natural hair brushes I get same quality of lather. I find that all but the top of the badger brushes are scritchy. This I do not like. While I do not have issue like this with my synthetics. All in all I find them equal to each other in performance. The synthetics are just cheaper and less overall maintenance. This is just my experience. Find what you like and use it.

I have found the inability of my boar brush to load soap too much of a hassle for me. In fact, i loaded the brush for almost 2 minutes on Friday and still never had enough soap to make a lather on my face. I was attempting to load Stirling Barbershop. My synth was loaded and ready to lather in about 10-15 seconds. The brush I'm referring to has about 40 uses now and I can't find a reason to want to use it again. It only leads to frustration. I don't know why; but, I just can't get my boar to accumulate enough soap to generate a lather.

I have found the inability of my boar brush to load soap too much of a hassle for me.  In fact, i loaded the brush for almost 2 minutes on Friday and still never had enough soap to make a lather on my face. I was attempting to load Stirling Barbershop. My synth was loaded and ready to lather in about 10-15 seconds. The brush I'm referring to has about 40 uses now and I can't find a reason to want to use it again. It only leads to frustration. I don't know why; but, I just can't get my boar to accumulate enough soap to generate a lather.

Pretty close to my experience. I had a member on another forum PIF me an Omega S Brush. I was amazed at the difference. I thought it was just a hard water issue. Nope, it was a brush issue. I was getting decent lathers with my boars, but almost instantly got great lather from my synthetic.

Chris,

I think this comes down to nature.  Natural hair by it's composition, is made to repel and shed a certain amount of "debris", oil, etc.  Think of a dogs coat or a horses coat when you wash them.  It takes a lot of water and rubbing in of shampoo or oil to get that material in the hair because the hair itself has properties designed to resist foreign material.  Synthetic brushes however, are designed to soak up material with ease, think of makeup brushes here.  They are specifically engineered to accept a material for application.  Shaving brushes out of necessity back in the day were made of the materials they had at hand (animal hair: boar, badger, horse, etc).... but, there is a reason you don't see boar and badger make up brushes in your wife's medicine cabinet because synthetics do a better job of accepting the material for which they are applying.

I think the opposite might be true.   Natural fibers are absorbent, so soap and water have a tendency to stick to the hair.  Hence boar and badger have to become really saturated with product before they can be coaxed to release it.  Synthetics, on the other hand are hydrophobic,  so less product is needed to saturate the brush and that product releases more readily.

No offense to anyone,  but personally I find synthetics to be rather boaring (hee). I like cotton sheets,  cotton clothes,  down pillows,  and badger and boar brushes.  Synthetics are great for raincoats, athletic clothing, and travel brushes because of their hydrophobic properties.  But if you want something to feel good next to your skin,  natural fibers are it.  At least for me they are.

I also really enjoy the variety available with natural brushes.   I can go gel-like slick,  silvertip soft,  a bit scrubby,  a lot scrubby,  scritchy,  exfoliating,  firm massage - I love it.   Every day is a new sensation.

Although,  I usually recommend a synthetic to new shavers because the synthetics are easier to use and to care for.

I believe which type of brush feels better will vary from person to person. I like badger and synthetic but for me, the synthetic feels better and performs better. A lot of badger or boar users say synthetics have no soul, but I do not feel that way at all. I love the feel of a plisson or ubersoft knot when face lathering. What works for one person may not work for another. At least we have the luxury of having so many wonderful brushes available.

Maybe I should supplement my last post to stay on the original topic.   I too think I get better lathers with boar brushes,  although it takes some skill.   I'm guessing,  but I think the fact that boar hair absorbs so much water allows it to slowly release water as the hydrating soap demands it.   With synthetics,  I've found their inability hold water and act like a little buffer, or reservoir,  means it is more difficult to get the water just right.  It is very easy for me to add too much water to a synthetic and end up with slop,  or I'll try to avoid that situation and not add enough.   I guess YMMV.

Chris,

I think this comes down to nature.  Natural hair by it's composition, is made to repel and shed a certain amount of "debris", oil, etc.  Think of a dogs coat or a horses coat when you wash them.  It takes a lot of water and rubbing in of shampoo or oil to get that material in the hair because the hair itself has properties designed to resist foreign material.  Synthetic brushes however, are designed to soak up material with ease, think of makeup brushes here.  They are specifically engineered to accept a material for application.  Shaving brushes out of necessity back in the day were made of the materials they had at hand (animal hair: boar, badger, horse, etc).... but, there is a reason you don't see boar and badger make up brushes in your wife's medicine cabinet because synthetics do a better job of accepting the material for which they are applying.

I think the opposite might be true.   Natural fibers are absorbent, so soap and water have a tendency to stick to the hair.  Hence boar and badger have to become really saturated with product before they can be coaxed to release it.  Synthetics, on the other hand are hydrophobic,  so less product is needed to saturate the brush and that product releases more readily.

.

I could get into a pissing match; but, I won't. I encourage you do a little research on animal hair and their propensity to repel water. Any mammal that spends a large time in the water has hair that naturally repels water and this even varies by species. There is a reason I duck hunt with my Labrador Retriever and not my Boston Terrier. His hair is different in composition because he was bred that way and genetically needs to be able to retrieve things in the water, the Boston Terriers coat need not have this functionality, so it doesn't! Mammal hair is made to repel water in many species. Theretofore, it takes a lot of water to saturate the "coat" containing the hairs. I've trapped and killed many of badgers, bobcats, and shot many of raccoons in my day. All of these coats on these animals are designed to repel water so the species can survive the climate and topography in which they live. Don't take my word for it though read some trapping books there is also a reason certain hairs and feathers are used in the art of fly tying while some are not. You can't have a fly made of material that absorbs a huge amount of water or the fly will sink, rendering it useless as the fly must stay above, or barely above the water to be effective.

Here they come, the self appointed experts, lol......Come on, get into a pissing match, this is too important to let it go, come on! Lol.....

Here they come, the self appointed experts, lol......Come on, get into a pissing match, this is too important to let it go, come on!  Lol.....

You know what I am an expert in animal hair. I was born and raised on the farm and have taken more species of animal in my life than you have probably ever seen so you can take your condescending tone and ......................

Since that doesn't suffice in your mind... directly from the Plisson website my "friend", only 200 years of making brushes, are they experts????


Since 1808 Plisson has been handcrafting shaving brushes, all from Genuine badger hair. The end of the hair is not cut during the process, "its natural flower" is preserved.

The badger hair has the particularity to repel water. Thus, even when wet, it retains its softness and spring

MIC DROP......

Lol.....