Grooming Pretentiousness? – The Badger Hair Shaving Brush
Andrew, Dappered’s grooming correspondent, is also the editor-in-chief of Electrogent, a men’s interest, grooming, and lifestyle website which squares the modern interests of men with the classic notions of manliness.
There is a lot of pretentiousness going on in the grooming world, particularly when it comes to shaving brushes. If you’ve ever talked to a guy who is particularly proud of his shaving routine, you are sure to have heard the phrase “badger hair shaving brush.” If they’re really obnoxious about it, they will specify which kind of badger hair. Sheesh. You see, there are four types of badger hair brushes, depending on where the hair came from. Let’s start with the most expensive:
$$$$$ – Silvertip badger hair brush: this is the Rolls Royce of the badger hair brushes, and is widely regarded (aka marketed) as the best. The silver tips are naturally occurring, and these hairs hold water nicely and result in a well-formed lather. Some people sell “extra silvertip” or “super silvertip” brushes, but this is wholly marketing nonsense. For instance, take a gander at this $2195 shaving brush; you’re buying a piece of ivory with hair on it. If you buy this, I have a great investment opportunity spearheaded by a Mr. Madoff that you might be interested in. Don’t be a sucker.
$$$ – Super badger hair brush: the super badger hair performs well, but not as well as the silvertip, but it resembles the silvertip because companies will often dye the tips of the hairs for obvious marketing purposes.
$$ – Best badger hair brush: these hairs come from the back/sides of the badger, and people claim they can tell a difference between “pure” and “super” brushes. I call shenanigans.
$ – Pure badger hair brush: this is the most common kind of badger hair brush, and the hairs come from the belly of the badger. These hairs are generally rougher than the softer silvertip brushes.
Here’s the executive rundown of that long list: silvertip brushes are softest, everything else is rougher. That much is clearly true, one only needs to touch the brush to figure that out. It’s like comparing cashmere to burlap–the former is clearly softer. Now, whether one performs better than the rest is still up for debate.
I’ve used both silvertip and pure badger in my lifetime, and I can wholeheartedly say that if a difference exists, it doesn’t matter. Badger hair of any kind will create a great lather, and the gradations between the four levels of badger hair brushes are wholly marketing techniques and make no difference in the long run. It’s just shaving cream.
So why even bother with badger?
A badger hair brush will definitely improve your shave over a synthetic brush
Also, remember that these brushes are tools and not heirlooms. There is absolutely no reason to buy an ivory-handled shaving brush unless you just want the ivory. Get a workhorse pure badger hair shaving brush that will last you a long time and improve your shave enough to justify the slight extra cost. If anyone starts talking about the gradations between the levels of badger hair brushes, just know they’re full of it.
But what about boar?
It’s not just about synthetic or badger, you know. Boar hair is also commonly used in shaving brushes as well. Think of the boar’s hair as the intermediate between synthetic and badger–it’s cheaper, but really isn’t worth the small savings.
The Smell: Badger and boar hair stink right out of the box. There’s no getting around it–badgers and boars aren’t necessarily known for their hygiene. However, badger hair scent will subside quite noticeably after 2-3 uses, and then it’s no big deal. Boar hair stinks ad infinitum. I had a boar hair brush once and after a few months of use it stunk, my dudes…like a wet dog. Granted, I used one brush and it was cheap, but I’ve heard/read about this problem across the array of boar brushes.
The Lather: Badger hair is a lot softer and more pliable, therefore, when you make the lathering motions, there’s more give and spread on your brush, which means you’ll get a thicker lather. Boar hair is stronger, stiffer, and not as forgiving, which means the lather turns out weaker and not as fluffy and full. Think of the difference between the consistencies of, say, whipped cream and beer foam.
The Longevity: Badger hair brushes will usually last a longer time than boar hair brushes, because boar hairs tend to break if bent too far. Badger hair is very flexible and should last longer.
Which is the winner?
Taking all this into consideration the best shaving brush in my opinion, and that I’ve personally used (around 10 in my life), is…(drumroll, anyone?) the Parker pure badger hair brush. For the record, other honorable mentions are the Progress Vulfix and Edwin Jagger.
You should look to pay around $25-40 for a brush. Anything less than that is too skimpy, anything more than that and we’re reaching ivory-handled territory. You also want to go with badger hair, for reasons discussed. However, don’t go all silvertip on us–leave that for the professional barbers and people in the movies. For the average guy walking around and living a normal life, a pure badger hair brush is plenty fine. I promise you won’t tell the difference, anyways. Even if some slick-talking salesman will convince you otherwise, he won’t be able to answer this fundamental question: “Who cares?”
The shaving brush is a tool you use to shave. Yes, there are probably ivory-handled shovels in the world, but they all dig holes. Unless you’re into conspicuous consumption (and if you’re reading Dappered you probably aren’t), save the ivory for the Kim Jong-Un types: perpetually clean shaven, spendthrift, and insane.
My facial hair isn’t sophisticated enough for anything more expensive than a $13 Tweezerman brush.
I use an Omega Professional Boar brush, after consulting with my italian barber and reading the consensus that good boar is better than cheap badger (under around $40, badger seems to get less love on badger&blade than $25-30 boar brushes).
To the smell point – definitely stinky initially, but, an overnight soak in a mug with some hair conditioner and then 3-4 shaves takes care of that completely. No stink and great lather, still going strong after a year or so.
I just use my hand to lather shaving cream/gel on my face.
How hard can it be?? Last time I checked it still does the same thing for free. Oy.
I’ve tried both a pure badger and super badger brush, and although the super is definitely softer and feels better on my face, I believe the pure badger brush results in a closer shave. It seems the rougher bristles do a better job of raising my whiskers, but maybe someone will call shenanigans.
Silvertip isn’t really any better than best/super. It’s just an appearance thing. I own a custom-made silvertip FWIW
Every line of brushes uses their own nomenclature, but generally silvertip is the most expensive, pure is the cheapest, and whatever else is in the middle.
Crabtree and Evelyn used to offer a best badger brush that was great for the price, no more than $40. I don’t know if C&E still does, but it’s rumored to be the same as an Edwin Jagger (not listed above). For the price and quality, this would be my recommended brush: http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Edwin-Jagger-Best-Black-Badger-Shaving-Brush-Imitation-Ebony_p_1738.html
Also worth noting the size of the brush knot can also influence price. You don’t see many options for brush size on the cheaper stuff, but the more expensive brushes have all kinds of sizes.
I bought a Silvertip knot and made my own brush. Much much cheaper than buying a “prestige” brush and much more satisfying too. It’s not like it is a difficult tool to make either. And the performance? Excellent. Compared to my previous Pure Badger brush.
That’s super cool; hadn’t occurred to me that you could get a bare knot and do your own thing.
Its for use with wet shaving not with a can of barbasol.
And that’s fine. I’m with you since I don’t do the wet-shave thing either. But plenty see value in it. Afterall, many (most) who are 35 with a job and a kid and a wife don’t see the value in dressing well, and would think taking the time to shine your shoes or put in a pocket square or even bother to get a suit tailored is a waste of time.
Right. I don’t do the wet shave thing myself, but to simply shoot down the entire method as pointless is off base.
And hand applying vs. brush really isn’t the same thing. The brush raises the hairs so you can get even closer. It’s a ritual that lots of guys really enjoy.
I’m not one of them myself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s pointless.
I love the ritual of the wetshave. I got a pure badger brush last year and I love it. Much better than the $5 boar/synthetic ones i got from cvs. For those of you who do the wetshave, what handle and blades do you use. I use a merkur 180 (my first and only handle, I like that its a bit longer, a good begginer one) and feather blades.
Thank you for making this SO clear! Much appreciated. Will be replacing my synth brush soon…
I’ve tried a lot of different brushes including badger and boar, and my favorites have all been pure Badger. I’ve had softer badger, and though they create good lather, the feel is too soft for my preference. I much prefer the slightly skritchy feel of pure badger. As a bonus, that means a relatively inexpensive brush is also my favorite! Kinda like learning you prefer bourbon to single malt scotch. If all else being equal you prefer the less expensive luxury, then the money saved is just a bonus.
I don’t think there’s a fair comparison between those two issues. If you see two people across the office and one is well dressed with shined shoes and the other is wrinkled and has scuffed shoes, the difference is immediately obvious. That may or may not be important to everyone, but no reasonable person can deny the difference exists. On the other hand, I defy you to take a blind test and distinguish between men who shave with an electric, who use a badger brush, who use a synthetic brush, and who sprays Barbasol into their palm and slaps it on their face.
There’s undoubtedly a difference in the _experience_ of shaving between the different options. This is entirely a subjective, personal thing. If the extra time and effort is worth it to you, then by all means buy a badger brush and do the wet shave thing. But I’d say the same about an ivory-handled badger brush that costs $2k. If you can afford it and it makes you feel good about yourself, then go for it. The only time I’d condemn it is if you’re spending two grand on a shaving brush and your child doesn’t have diapers or your car payment is two months behind.
How about some advice on the best electric razor?
“the difference is immediately obvious” To you and me maybe. Most don’t care enough to take notice.
Point is this: It’s not fair to shoot down the entire theme of an article (labeling something as “nonsense”) just because someone personally doesn’t like it. I don’t do the wet shave thing either.
The brush itself definitely makes a difference. I had a cheap wet shave kit badger brush that broke apart after a few months of use and upgraded to a Parker badger hair brush. The initial shave was much better, even though I was using the same soap and Edwin Jagger razor and blade. I don’t have that particular brush but after using this Parker a few times I’m happy with it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ET1ATU/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It should be noted that there are no standards in grading badger hair. Silvertip for one brand may be super grade for another brand, so make sure to look for reviews and feel the brushes whenever possible. Also, decent silvertips can be had for about $40
And I was never able to get a good shave with Mach 3. THe $$$Blades clogged, and I spent all my time banging them out. A simple inexpensive DE or SE razor gives me a better shave, and is not particularly time consuming. I spend maybe 5 minutes shaving my head cheeks and neck. I can’t do it any faster with a cartridge blade, but the end result for me is a better shave with DE or SE blades. Again I’m saving money buying blades for on average 12¢ rather than $4 per blade, and I am happier with the end result. I get a better shave. Saving money is just a bonus, although I will add it always pained me to spend $20 on 4 blades when I was using cartridges.
As someone with ridiculously sensitive face, I would say you were using a brush that was too prickly (lower grade), and using a very aggressive razor (Merkurs tend to be). I use a silvertip brush, cream for sensitive skin, a mild razor, Feather blades, and finish with alum block and after shave. My skin (especially neck) has seen a huge improvement over cartridge and electric shavers.
Brushes are used with shaving soaps and creams, and also exfoliates
1 cake of soap will last you far longer than 5 cans of aerosol cream, so ultimately it’s less expensive not more to invest in a brush, and for many folks prefer the feel of applying lather with a brush to any aerosol foam or gel.
great article. i just had my first wet shave experience this weekend. bit of a learning curve. i’m using a synthetic because i’m a vegetarian and both boar and badger brushes are not what one would call animal friendly. decided to give the wet shave a go after my electric razor died and dealing with years of subpar shave experiences that left the stray hair or caused excessive razor burn. i’m a man in my 30s without kids so i guess i have oodles of time to waste anyway wonder how my grandfather was able to balance it all.
this would be nice too. i actually wouldn’t mind more grooming articles in general. i check this site everyday so the more info the better.
I have that exact same Parker pure badger brush. Love it. Bought that along with a Merkur 34C “heavy” DB razor, Colonel Conk chrome stand, and Proraso eucalyptus shave cream. It’s truly a nice experience when I take the time to shave. Very refreshing/relaxing; the eucalyptus smells and feels great.
Been rocking the beard lately, so the razor took a back seat to beard lube.
There are multiple grades of silvertip badger. High White Mountain being the most luxurious and expensive.
I strongly disagree that most don’t notice. I wear a blazer, tie and chinos to work. Nothing special for someone who frequents this website, just decent clothes that actually fit. There is a HUGE difference in the way I’m treated if I stop by the mall on the way home from work as opposed to going home first and changing into a pair of jeans and a button-down. People notice how you look, even if they don’t consciously evaluate it. They react to the message your appearance sends.
But what about Badger from Breaking Bad?
I can tell without even touching the difference between an electric shave and a blade shave. Given enough attention, a person should be able to do a reasonable job with any sharp blade, but I can absolutely tell the difference on my own face between the close shave I can achieve with a single blade and what I get with a cartridge blade. Just because you don’t know how to use a tool properly, does not mean it is not a superior tool.
I like most old Gillette razors. The 1950s super Speeds are great workhorses and inexpensive. I especially like the red tip Super Speed which has a slightly heavier handle. My favorites are 1938 #15 Aristocrat, and Hoffirtz Slant. For blades I like Derbys which are super cheap, and quite good, Personna Lab or Hospital, which are very sharp, smooth, and hold their edge about twice as long as many other blades, and my favorite are vintage NOS Persona 74 when I can get them.
I feel the author gives boar brushes a bum wrap. I too have an Omega boar brush and it’s my favorite. I love the stiffer feeling I get from it. It makes me feel like I’m really scrubbing my face. After a while of use the stink did diminish and doesn’t come back as long as I don’t soak it very long. I have had no issues creating lather from the boar brush, unlike the author.
I’ve been wet shaving for quite a while, and take issue with more than a few things here. It really isn’t very good advice, across the board.
First and foremost, there is no independent grading of badger hair, and different manufacturers all have different designations. For example, Simpson lacks a “silvertip” grade. Their Best and Super are more or less cosmetically silvertip. Top of the line is Super, and (IMHO) their best is mediocre. Even within silvertip, there are gradations. Shavemac has 3 (I think) different grades of silvertip, with allegedly different properties.
Second, the author is 100% wrong about what you get in a brush over 50 bucks. I’m not sire what brushes he’s been using, but there are definitely differences in feel and performance between pure and silvertip. You can’t even buy an Ivory brush any more, except for a handful made of pre-ban ivory that are over 1000 bucks. 40-50 bucks won’t get you a silvertip from anybody except maybe Whipped Dog (which are supposed to be nice brushes). Every person is going to be different, but I’ve found that for me, the sweet spot for performance is closer to 100 dollars, and that these brushes perform noticeably better than the 50-70 dollar brushes I’ve used.
As for badger vs boar- I have both, and use both, though I prefer badger for it’s softness. That said, boar wins on bang for the buck, hands down. You can get an Omega with decent hair for 10 bucks, a Semogue for a little more. I’d take either of these over 20-40 dollar badgers. The big thing with them is that compared to badger, they need more of a break in. They are actually quite soft after 30 or so uses. I’m not sure about longevity, but at the price, you could throw away 5 Omegas before you are up to the cost of a decent badger. From what I have read from other users, most boar issues can be resolved by a longer soak (you can soak a badger for a minute or two and it won’t take in anymore water, boars need more like 5-10 mintues). I’ve never tested this because I just throw my brush in at the beginning of a shower so they all get about a 15 minute soak before I use them.
Wow, so obviously the issue is that I don’t know how to use a razor? You know this how? Never mind, I don’t want to know if someone was peeking in my bathroom window watching me shave. Your own face is fine but as I said to Joe, I defy you to take a blind test. Given a room full of other people, tell me what method they use to shave.
There is a pretty steep learning curve. It took me a while to get a better shave with a safety razor than cartridges, but now I can do it in basically the same amount of time. I suppose it is kind of a hobby thing (I was getting good enough shaves with a Mach III), but I kind of like the ritual etc. if you don’t, no worries.
Or didn’t get the lather right. Some fairly common shaving soaps are just junk, and even good ones take some effort to get a nice protective lather from.
I have boars from Omega and Semogue, and out of the box didn’t really notice anything particularly offensive smelling about them. Right now, they just smell faintly of the last soap each was used with.
I think when you get a boar broken in, it is more or less eqally soft as badger. I prefer my brushes on the soft side, and don’t find my boars offensively skirtchy
Personally, I do notice a feel difference between grades, but not everybody does, or cares. I agree with the rest of your post wholeheatedly.
i think he meant “you” rhetorically not specifically.
Or, if you lack the tools/talent to make a handle, there are several custom makers who will do the same thing and, depending on what material you pick, can be really good deals.
Exactly. Shaving soap or non aerosol creams. I think they give better performance generally than the stuff in a can, end up costing less per shave, and usually have fewer weird chemicals in them.
I did the same, way cheaper and better brushes in the long run, plus its a lot of fun and you have the satisfaction of using something that you built. I always found off the shelf brushes too floppy. I found a couple of vintage brushes at a local antique shop, dremeled out the old knots, filled the handles with some coins and shot for weight, and put in a know of my choosing, at my depth, and got a couple of fantastic, scrubby yet still soft brushes just perfect for face lathering.
I have the middle of the line badger brush from Art of Shaving because their all silvertip model was just too expensive. Their mid-range with some but not all silvertip is very soft, and lathers great. I’ve probably had it for 4 or so years so far and it’s still going strong.
I do still use cartridge blades. The safety razors just tear up my face unless I’m really careful and really take my time. Yes, I can get a very close, very comfortable shave with them but it takes twice as long as with a cartridge. I just don’t want to spend that much time shaving in the morning. There are a lot of new cartridge suppliers (Dorco, Harry’s, Dollar Shave Club) that make very good cartridges for a much lower cost of buying Gillette blades retail.
Nationally it’s Nairobi that’s got everyone talking; here in Washington, DC, it’s the looming threat of a government shutdown; on Dappered, it’s the merits of wet shaving…
Hope I’m not the only one who finds the remarkably fervent tone of the comments on this article a little funny. I particularly like that accusing some of shaving with Barbasol has become a veiled insult. Seriously, maybe it’s time to take a step back. If you can’t laugh at yourself after all…
I wasn’t actually speaking about your skill specifically, but I can make an assumption based upon your post that you do not have a lot of experience shaving with DE. I do know that it is very common for people to have unsatisfactory experiences going from cartridges to DE if they try to use similar technique to what they used with cartridge blades. Cartridges are designed to be idiot proof. Consequently you almost can’t cut yourself if you try, but you have to press very hard to get any kind of cutting to happen. A DE blade requires precise blade angle and a light touch. If you hack at your face with a DE the way you would with a Mach 3, you are bound to get some irritation at the very least, and probably some cuts. It is incredibly common when folks go from cartridge to DE to make this mistake. I’ve tried dozens of different DE blades, as well as many different cartridges in my life, and though I don’t go around feeling other guys faces, I can easily tell the difference between a close shave and a mediocre one, and I can tell you that i can get a closer shave on my face with a DE blade than a Mach 3. Also I don’t see extra time and effort as part of the argument here. It takes me no longer to shave with a DE blade than it does with a cartridge,in fact it takes longer with the cartridge, because I have to take extra passes to get the same closeness i get from 2 passes with a DE. It only takes longer until you get used to the tool, and statements like “extra time and effort” are precisely why I make the assumption that you don’t have a lot of experience with DE. In other words you don’t know what you are talking about.
Any chance you could post the receipe for “Bay Rum glycerine aftershave” that you make?
I agree with your comments. Some additional factors that influenced my brush purchasing: How you lather up (in a bowl or face lathering), Your shaving tool
I prefer a denser brush for face lathering overall but definitely will use this brush for a straight edge.
The brush that I prefer is the Simpson Duke best badger
This is tremendously disappointing, since I always come to dappered for my news.
I’m down with all of those. Stirling amazes me a the value. It performs similarly to stuff that is 3x as expensive.
Touche. +1 for sarcasm.
I don’t use a cartridge. I use an electric razor. I’d wager that I’m done shaving before you get a lather worked up, much less applied. It takes me about 30 seconds to shave each morning. Thus the “time and effort” comment.
Sure. Point (as in “Point is this”) still stands. Let’s not argue just to argue.
Relax.
No one asked you to. You’re just awfully quick to throw around “retro nonsense” for a dude who makes his own aftershave. Especially after playing the “I have a wife and kid” card. No one is forcing you to wet shave. Just like no one forced you to have a kid. Now let’s all move on. I’m sure we all have better things to do than argue about this on the internet. Y’know, like spend time with our families.
Oh, I’ve thought quite a bit about just killing off comments all together. I hear you Ben.
Yeah that is a big thing actually, being able to choose the depth. I actually bought two knots. One big silvertip which is the one I made, the other I haven’t done yet, it is a much smaller super knot.
Is it just me, or is there a condescending tone to this overview? If it contained more details and didn’t wash over many aspects of using the different grades and materials, it would be fine, but it’s almost misleading in it’s lack of specificity. I’m not even a snobby user (I used boar brushes for most of the last 4 years), I just did a lot of research and gained a lot of knowledge that simply isn’t here for the tone of the writing. Maybe I’m crazy?
A $14 Omega boar is easily twice as soft once broken in than any pure badger brush I’ve felt.
Can someone explain the actual difference between synthetic and badger? How, exactly will it “definitely improve my shave”? FWIW I use a badger brush now but there seems to be a lot of emotional talk about this and not much actual evidence.
As a 2 year wet shaver, I’ve tried a lot of different products to see which one works and the different types of brushes each have different uses. Badger works best for creams which get lathered in a bowl (i.e. Taylor of Old Bond Street), while boar and horse work best soaps that get lathered on the face (i.e. Mitchell’s Wool Fat, or glycerine-based Mama Bear’s Soaps). Synthetic brushes, in my experience, just don’t get the job done like natural brushes – like most things in life actually, natural wins out. As far as the smell goes, both badger and boar smells disappear quite quickly (after a couple uses) while my horse hair brush continues to smell (but not stink) after quite a few uses. The best all around brush, from what I’ve found, is actually the horse hair brush as it can easily lather both creams and soaps – boar is often too firm for creams, and badger is too soft for soaps. Boar and horse hair brushes are cheap ($30-$40), while you should really expect to pay ~$100 for a good badger brush – no ivory handle BS there, just good, long lasting bristles.
I’m a big fan of using a shaving brush for everyday grooming, but definitely only go with pure badger hair as I’ve seen the best results and higher quality just holds up better. There are lots on the market, but my personal standby is the Mercer + James collection: http://mercerandjames.com/collections/badger-shaving-brushes
They’re also running a free gift card giveaway right now: http://on.fb.me/18NlV3b
I have recently (within the past year) begun shaving like my grand-father. Straight razor and all. Granted it takes a lot longer to shave but it shouldn’t be look at as a chore. It should be a relaxing period of time to reflect on the new found manliness you are now absorbing.
I started with a cheaper Badger brush from eShave. Pretty decent. I just got my new Silvertip badger brush in the mail today from The Art of Shaving. Holy shave cream Batman…what difference. Steel wool versus Baby oil.
I’m still perfecting the art (had to buy an Alum Block for the face shredery from being an amateur), but it is indeed relaxing. Remember it should be a relaxing empowering experience, not something that you have to do to look good for the 9 to 5.