Upgrade from BodyShop to SR for face lathering?

[Pudu]

I currently own only a Body Shop brush and it is fine for my purposes with the exception that when I lather on my face (which is always) I get a lot of water running out the base of bristles, dripping down the handle and onto the sink and the rest of me. Would spending the cash on something like a Savile Row XX18 help in that respect?

Also, anyone have any opinions on smaller vs bigger (xx18 vs xx24) with regards to face lathering?

[M6Classic]

From what you describe, it seems like you might simply have loaded too much water into your brush. Before starting to lather, shake some of the water out. Unfortunately, only experimentation will lead you to know just how much water should be in the brush and how vigorously you should shake it to have the correct amount of liquid to create the lather you want.

Buzz

[yomuppet]

I concur with Buzz, a more expensive brush will likely not change this issue.

Regards.

J

[Hoos]

I agree with the thoughts above. Try shaking out your brush a few times.

For face lathering with a soap a smaller, slightly stiff brush seems to work better. Face lathering with creams works well with a larger, softer brush.

[Pudu]

That was my original thought as well. I shake the brush 2-3 times, and then lather on the puck for a bit. If I use any less water the lather will quickly dry out and become sticky. Our humidity is staggeringly low at the moment so perhaps I am forced to begin with more water than might otherwise be required - resulting in drippage.

I was under the impression that synthetics don't really hold water the way badgers do and think maybe that it is releasing whatever water that is still between the bristles all at once when the brush is turned lather side upwards. I'll experiment a little more.

Thanks for the input. I'm guessing one of the little Saviles will be in my not too distant future in any event.

[ichabod]

If it's more or less 100% water that's coming out then I'd assume it to be unused water that is left over from the lathering process. This water was languishing in the brush and being lazy, and then chooses to exit the brush via the back door when there's work to be done.

You could try experimenting with relatively dry lather in the brush but leaving your face wetter to add moisture to the lather at the last moment.

Or not.

[bjrn]

I think the Body Shop brush is probably one of the most face-lathering unfriendly brushes around. At least in my opinion. It's extremely stiff (unless you've used it you have no idea), which means you can't mush the brush into your face all that well (which I like to do when face-lathering).

Having said that, if it's just the water dripping out that troubles you then as the posters above me have pointed out, going with a dryer brush and adding some water to the brush during the lathering might help. Like many synthetics it will gladly release the water it holds if you give it the opportunity, if you're lathering in a bowl it's not really much of an issue since the water goes right into your lather, but on the face I can imagine it dripping down a bit.


Good luck!

[Pudu]

Well I did some experimenting this morning.

1- Took a dry brush to a wet puck. Resulted in nice lather on the puck which almost immediately dried out after applying to a wet face. But no drippage.

2- Wet the brush but shook it till no more water dripped from it prior to lathering. Same results as above.

3- Wet the brush and gave 2 or 3 good shakes, built a nice lather which remained usable on the face much longer. Resulted in soapy drippage during face lathering.

4- Repeated attempt #2 but re-wet the tips of the brush throughout face lathering. Good lather, soapy drippage.

My conclusions:
1- Because of our nonexistent humidity I have to use a considerable amount of water. Also our water is rock hard (recycled with added chlorine) so it may not combine with the soap/cream as well as it ought to.
2- The Body Shop brush is great at creating and holding lather but isn't able to retain excess water worth a damn.
3- I need to work on my lathering skills.
4- I'll be buying a badger brush this summer simply because I want to.
5- "Drippage" isn't a word, but ought to be.

For follow up discussion, should I satisfy myself with an easy to hide cash purchase of a C&E BBB. Or is it worth the increased cost, indulgence and marital discontent (upon examination of the credit card statement) to spring for something like a Savile Row?

[tone]

i make my lather deliberately a bit watery as i find it lubes better than a creamy lather.

So i wouldn't worry about the lather too much unless it is 100% pure excess water

[ichabod]

For follow up discussion, should I satisfy myself with an easy to hide cash purchase of a C&E BBB. Or is it worth the increased cost, indulgence and marital discontent (upon examination of the credit card statement) to spring for something like a Savile Row?

May as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb - go with the extra cost, the marital discontent, and a really expensive brush...

(Actually, I used to think the C&E best was a great starter brush, but now I reckon people would be better off waiting to accumulate another $35 or so and getting a Rooney Super size 1).

[AZShaver]

Well I did some experimenting this morning.

1- Took a dry brush to a wet puck. Resulted in nice lather on the puck which almost immediately dried out after applying to a wet face. But no drippage.

2- Wet the brush but shook it till no more water dripped from it prior to lathering. Same results as above.

3- Wet the brush and gave 2 or 3 good shakes, built a nice lather which remained usable on the face much longer. Resulted in soapy drippage during face lathering.

4- Repeated attempt #2 but re-wet the tips of the brush throughout face lathering. Good lather, soapy drippage.

My conclusions:
1- Because of our nonexistent humidity I have to use a considerable amount of water. Also our water is rock hard (recycled with added chlorine) so it may not combine with the soap/cream as well as it ought to.
2- The Body Shop brush is great at creating and holding lather but isn't able to retain excess water worth a damn.
3- I need to work on my lathering skills.
4- I'll be buying a badger brush this summer simply because I want to.
5- "Drippage" isn't a word, but ought to be.

For follow up discussion, should I satisfy myself with an easy to hide cash purchase of a C&E BBB. Or is it worth the increased cost, indulgence and marital discontent (upon examination of the credit card statement) to spring for something like a Savile Row?

I, also, live in the desert. I use a boar brush, and I am constantly adjusting the moisture. I think you need to lather, and as the lather dries, get just a little water on the tip of the brush to rehydrate it.
Alternatively, Proraso or equivalent direct to face, water on brush, lather in sections.

[AZShaver]

BTW, google recognizes "drippage" as a word.

[Pudu]

May as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb - go with the extra cost, the marital discontent, and a really expensive brush...

See, that's the kind of advice I can get behind. (Wonder if I can hide behind it when the time comes.)

I have to admit my search for a new brush hasn't branched out very much. I'll have to check out these Rooney things that are spoken of so often.

AZShaver, thanks for the tip. I've come up with another solution - rather than put more water in the brush, I'm going to put more water in the air. That's a dumb way of saying we're moving from arid winter Windhoek to steam bath summer DC in a few weeks. (That's the extreme lengths I'll go to in order to avoid having to use Proraso). Hopefully problem solved.

But I'm still going brush shopping when we get settled.

And if you can 'google' it, I say it's a word! Excellent news there. Cheers.

Thanks for the tips/advice everyone.

Drippage.

[DavidB]

Is the Body Shop brush a boar brush, badger or synthetic? I have an Omega boar brush, one of the best boar brushes around, and while it works great for lathering soap in a bowl, it will leak water out from the base if I turn it sideways (unless I squeeze it out really well).

My badger brushes don't have this problem. I have several Vulfix superbadgers and a Savile Row 3122 silvertip.

Dave

[ichabod]

I've come up with another solution - rather than put more water in the brush, I'm going to put more water in the air. That's a dumb way of saying we're moving from arid winter Windhoek to steam bath summer DC in a few weeks. (That's the extreme lengths I'll go to in order to avoid having to use Proraso). Hopefully problem solved.

That gets you my vote for shavegeek of the week, or even month.
Change the equipment, chicken feed! Change nation if your shave isn't fulfilling!

[Mr. Igg]

For follow up discussion, should I satisfy myself with an easy to hide cash purchase of a C&E BBB. Or is it worth the increased cost, indulgence and marital discontent (upon examination of the credit card statement) to spring for something like a Savile Row?

May as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb - go with the extra cost, the marital discontent, and a really expensive brush...

(Actually, I used to think the C&E best was a great starter brush, but now I reckon people would be better off waiting to accumulate another $35 or so and getting a Rooney Super size 1).

Not that I support marital discord, but this really is one of the tougher questions in some ways. I have, use, and really enjoy both brushes. I agree the Rooney is very likely the "better" brush. The catch, as I think you've already learned, Pudu, is the C&E really is a great value.

To help tease things out a bit more, you'll find the C&E brush is less densely packed (not annoyingly so) than the Rooney, which is a fairly stiff on the face) brush. So the C&E will splay out a bit more on your face. The Rooney's tips, however, will be softer on your face than will the C&E (which is a bit scritchy, but again, not nearly annoyingly so).

The good news is I don't think you can possibly go wrong if these are your choices. Each will work very well, and if you go with the C&E, your savings put you half-way toward your next brush anyway, and you've got the C&E to assess in terms of preferences. If you jump straight to the Rooney (or equivalent), you're already there!

[Pudu]

Is the Body Shop brush a boar brush, badger or synthetic? I have an Omega boar brush, one of the best boar brushes around, and while it works great for lathering soap in a bowl, it will leak water out from the base if I turn it sideways (unless I squeeze it out really well).

My badger brushes don't have this problem. I have several Vulfix superbadgers and a Savile Row 3122 silvertip.

Dave

The Body Shop one is synthetic. It sounds like your boar brush shares similar properties with my synthetic. I was wondering last night if I could get enough warthog bristles to make a brush with. Hmmmm.... maybe best to hire someone else to actually collect the bristles.

Change the equipment, chicken feed! Change nation if your shave isn't fulfilling!

It just seems like the logical extension of the experiment. This next step allows me to test the effects of season, hemisphere, elevation (we're at 5670ft here), local language, and GDP on lathering. I'll post results as they become available.

Igg, let me see if I understand you correctly. You're saying to definitely go ahead and splurge on a nice brush without fear that I'm wasting money because a Rooney is easily more than twice as good as a C&E and will drastically improve not only my shaving but our family life in general. Yes? I just want to be sure I have that straight before submitting the evidence to the boss.

[Mr. Igg]

Igg, let me see if I understand you correctly. You're saying to definitely go ahead and splurge on a nice brush without fear that I'm wasting money because a Rooney is easily more than twice as good as a C&E and will drastically improve not only my shaving but our family life in general. Yes? I just want to be sure I have that straight before submitting the evidence to the boss.

Hey, Donovan, Yeah, I really do think the Rooney is a super option. Just know that the C&E is a very solid back-up plan should you take heavy fire from the boss when you make your pitch! And--this is the truth--that extra $40 will amortize over a long, long time. Enjoy!