Shave brush
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term shave brush or shaving brush refers to a small brush with a handle parallel to the bristles used to apply shaving soap or shaving cream to the face when shaving. They are often decorative; the handle is sometimes made from fine materials such as ivory or even gold, though the bristle load may be composed of any number of natural or synthetic materials. The shave brush is utilized most often today by "wet shavers" (a term used to describe those who prefer a more classic approach to shaving) in tandem with a double-edged safety razor or a straight razor. However, this is not always the case, as shavers of all varieties may employ the tool. Despite a fifty-year lag in shave brush use, many shavers are returning to the shave brush for its numerous benefits.
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[edit] History
Unfortunately, little is known about the history of the shave brush as we know it today. The modern shaving brush may be traced to France during the 1750s. Quality of these brushes differed greatly, as materials used to fashion the handles varied from the common to the exotic. It was not terribly uncommon for handles to be made of ivory, gold, silver, tortoise shell, crystal, or porcelain. Well-to-do men would generally shave with a badger hair brush, while commoners concerned with colloquially proper aesthetics would resort to cheaper versions made of boar's hair. A shave brush was known in Europe as something of a status symbol--an expensive or eccentric brush was a way of asserting one's personality or even affluence.
[edit] Shave Brush Handles
Modern shave brushes are extremely similar in appearance, composition and function to their centuries-old predecessors. The handle is modelled practically, allowing for a proper grip on the brush. Although a variety of different materials are still used to fashion shave brush handles, synthetic handles of nylon, urethane or plastic are the most common even by the most expensive shave brush manufacturers. Benefits to synthetic brushes include a lesser chance of breakage and resistance to damage by moisture. Some still prefer more natural materials such as wood or exotic materials such as tortoise shell, but these articles are more difficult to find. A shave brush's handle, regardless of its material composition, rarely affects the overall performance of the brush.
[edit] Bristle Load
Without a doubt, the most important part of a shave brush is its bristle load. A shave brush's value is determined more by its bristle load than any other factor. The wide variety of materials available for the bristle load guarantees a shave brush for every budget, from $5 synthetic brands to $800 top-of-the-line brands made of the finest badger hair.
Synthetic shave brushes, made most often with bristles of nylon, comprise the lower end of the price and quality spectrum. While synthetic bristles certainly get the job done, they are criticized for their poor water-holding capacity, their prickly feel on the face, and their poor quality. It is more difficult to make a supple, moist lather with a synthetic brush. Synthetic/natural blends combine boar's hair with synthetic bristles and do not greatly affect the quality of lather produced.
Boar's hair bristles are a step up in quality from synthetic bristles. Boar's hair is often as stiff and "prickly" as synthetic bristle, but has a higher water retention capacity, resulting in a fuller and more effective lather. However, boar's hair has a tendency to break more easily than synthetic bristle, so it is advised to take special care when applying shaving cream or soap with this type of brush if one expects it to last.
Experienced "wet shavers" will agree almost unanimously that badger hair is the finest and most luxurious material used in the bristle load. Its water retention capacity, smooth sensation on the face, and durability have yet to be matched by other materials, synthetic or natural. Three common gradations of badger hair exist: "Pure" badger, "best" badger, and "super" (or "silvertip") badger. While some companies insist on using other gradations (for example, Vulfix's high-end brushes distinguish between "super" and "silvertip"), these three are commonly accepted among wet shavers and are most often used to describe the quality of a shave brush.
[edit] Pure Badger
Pure badger is the term used to describe badger hair brushes using the most common hair from the underbelly of a badger, the hair which covers around 60% of a badger's body. This hair varies greatly in softness, pliability and color. Pure badger hair is usually dark in color, but fluctuates from a light tan to a near-black or silvery sheen. It is more coarse than best or silvertip hair due to its larger shaft. Brushes made exclusively with pure badger hair cost significantly less than finer badger hair.
[edit] Best Badger
Best badger is the term used to describe brushes made with the finer and more pliable hairs from 20 - 25% of the badger's body. It is longer in length and lighter in color than pure badger hair. A best badger brush is more densely filled with hair than the pure badger brush and will produce a correspondingly greater lather. However, some wet shavers argue that the variance between the quality of a pure badger and a best badger brush is negligible.
[edit] Super Badger
Super badger is a more expensive and luxurious grade of hair than either best or pure. While some call this hair silvertip, it is often in fact highly graded pure hair bleached on the ends to resemble silvertip.
Though it is comprised of pure badger hairs, super is graded and sorted to such a degree that its performance is far superior to that of best. It is characterized by a very soft feeling on the face as one works up a lather. When lathering with a super badger hair brush, one rarely feels the prickly sensation characteristic of a silvertip badger hair brush.
One way to determine if a brush bears a super or silvertip badger hair load is to look at the color of the bristle tips. A true silvertip brush has tips that are a creamy white. A super brush on the other hand has bristle tips that are a more sterile, slightly greyed white; moreover, the light color of the tips does not extend as far down the shaft of the hair.
[edit] Silvertip Badger
Silvertip badger is by far the most expensive and rare type of badger hair. The tips on this hair appear creamy white naturally, without bleaching. A "flared" bristle load gives results in the silvertip brush's fluffy appearance and lend the brush its amazing ability to hold water. Due to its water retention capacity, a silvertip brush can create rich shaving lather quickly and easily.
When lathering the face, the bristle load feels sturdy and soft. This is caused by the softly flared bristle tips, and the fact that body of these hairs is thicker and more robust than the lesser grades of hair. The combination of especially soft but thicker hairs creates an extremely pleasant experience.
There are some manufacturers (namely Plisson, Simpsons and Rooney) who sell shaving brushes in a grade beyond silvertip. While the names these companies give this "extra silvertip" vary, the properties remain fairly consistent between manufacturers as compared to the "ordinary" silvertip brush. These brushes differ in appearance (the tip is whiter and extends further down the shaft; additionally, the hair under the tip is pure black as opposed to dark grey in color) and feel (the extra silvertip feels slightly firmer and less "prickly" on the face when lathering).
Brushes made of extra silvertip can fetch extremely high prices (as much as $500 if mated with a high quality handle), and as such, should be maintained with great attention.
[edit] Benefits to Using a Shave Brush
Shave brushes are utilized by shavers for a variety of reasons. While the uniqueness and individuality of shave brush use are not among the least of these reasons, it stands to note that a shave brush also helps provide a close, comfortable and enjoyable shave. Plenty of water, which must constantly lubricate the skin and provide a layer between shave cream and the face, is necessary for a razor to glide across the skin and remove hair without irritating (or even cutting) the skin. A fibrous bristle load holds copious amounts of water which mix with the soap lifted from a shave mug or scuttle. The more water a brush holds, the moister and richer a lather will be. Thicker and more emollient lather translates to less razor skipping and dragging.
When a shave brush is whisked across the face, it gently exfoliates the skin, cleaning and moisturizing at the same time. Because a shave brush is most often used with a glycerin-based soap, this tends to replace the "pre-shave" routine of washing and applying lotion to the face.
Perhaps the greatest benefit from shave brush use is its tendency to soften and lift facial hair before a shave. Applying shaving cream by hand mats hair down or raises it unevenly. Shave brush use, however, requires a circular motion to form a lather suitable for a shave. Therefore, a razor does not need to be pressed to the skin in order to provide a close shave. For this reason, straight razors (or high-quality safety razors) are most often used with a shave brush, as the necessity for more than a single blade is effectively waived.
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