Shaving brush: do you need one with badger hair?

A shaving brush belongs in the bathroom of a man that cares about his skin and a smooth face. It is a signal that there is a man in the house that thinks it is important to look good and is willing to put effort into it. But what is the best shaving brush? And what are those shaving brushes with badger hair? And why would you use a shaving brush in the first place? In this blog post I will answer these questions.

Why use a shaving brush?

When you are a wet-shaver, then you apply a shaving cream or something similar on your skin before shaving. Some men do this with their hands, but the best way to apply shaving soap or shaving cream is with a shaving brush.

Certain shaving soaps can almost only be applied with a shaving brush. It helps to lift your beard hairs, so that you can shave them more easily.

How do you use a shaving brush?

Wet your brush before you are applying your shaving soap or cream. Move the shaving brush in circular motions to create lather before applying it on your face.

Now you can apply the shaving soap or shaving cream on your face by using swift and short strokes or with a circular motions (depending on what works best for your beard). The idea is that your beard hairs will become more upright, so that your razor blade can cut them closer to your skin.

A shaving brush also exfoliates your skin and that improves the experience.

After shaving you rinse your shaving brush and put it back in a shaving brush stand.

Shaving brush with badger hair or synthetic hair

Shaving brushes are often made with badger hair, boar hair or synthetic hair, but what is best for your skin?

Traditionally shaving brushes are made with pure badger hair. The hairs on the belly of the badger are soft and pleasant for the skin on your face. The texture of real badger hair works very well for shaving brushes. That is because this type of hair can retain water and apply this the best way on your face. That is one of the most important parts of getting a proper shave.

You may wonder if the badger is killed to harvest the badger hairs. The answer is sadly, yes. In many European countries it is actually prohibited to hunt for badgers, but in France it is allowed. So, a shaving brush with French badger hair is completely legal[1]. In the US the hunt for badgers is also legal, so that is a safe source for badger hairs as well.

But sometimes the badger hairs are from badgers killed in China and the treatment there is often harsher. If you do not know for sure where the badger hair originated and prefer that the badger in question lived in the wild instead of a small cage, then you can look at an alternative as well.

There are many synthetic alternatives nowadays. They are slightly less effective when applying the shaving soap compared to ones with real badger hair. Considering on how long you want to do with your shaving soap you can see this as an advantage or disadvantage.

But besides that, they work in a very similar manner as traditional shaving brushes.

Which shaving brush is the best?

In the Moquer shop you can find many shaving brushes and one of the more popular ones is the Muhle Silvertip Fibre.

This shaving brush is handmade in Germany with the highest standards. This high-quality tool is perfect to upgrade your shaving routine.

The Muhle Shaving Brush Silvertip Fibre is made with synthetic hairs and is fully vegan. This shaving brush contains 7 different fibers when it comes to thickness and length to improve the experience.

Click here for more info about this Muhle synthetic shaving brush.

The most popular shaving brush with real badger hair is the Muhle Pure Badger. This is a product in the Rytmo series of Muhle. It has a beautiful ashwood handle with chrome elements. This product is water resistant and very durable. A great product to add to your classic wet-shaving routine.

You can see that it has been made with pure badger hair because of the darker colors of the hairs. Badger hair provides a better massaging effect because of its thicker texture, but yet it is soft and flexible.

Click here for more info about the Muhle Pure Badger Shaving Brush.

Do you want a shaving brush with a perfect price and quality mix? In that case you can have a look at the Rockwell Synthetic shaving brush. It is perhaps not the top of the line, but it will get the job done.

This shaving brush has a handle made out of black acrylic. This product is water resistant and very durable. It is a nice product to add to your classic shaving routine no matter if you are a beginner or more intermediate wet-shaver.

The Rockwell Synthetic Shaving Brush is made with synthetic hairs, so this product is vegan. The hairs are soft and provide a pleasant shaving experience. A synthetic shaving brush is usually slightly easier to maintain compared to a pure badger one.

Click here for more info about this Rockwell shaving brush.

Shaving brush stand

You can have a shaving brush standing around on its handle, but it could be a bit wobbly. A shaving brush stand could be a great accessory in that case. It also helps to let the water drip out of the shaving brush when you are done with it. That is more hygienic.

You can actually purchase a whole wet-shaving set that includes a safety razor, shaving brush, soap bowl and stand. In that case you can also put your safety razor in that stand, so that both stay clean and well maintained.

Muhle offers multiple shaving sets for men with either pure badger shaving brushes or synthetic ones. This set contains a safety razor, a Fibre shaving brush with synthetic hairs, a soap bowl and stand. That way you have everything you need for a comfortable wet-shave in the morning.

The products in the Mühle Rytmo series are shaped ergonomically and pleasant to hold in your hand. The handles of the safety razor and shaving brush are made of black resin. This shaving set is great for beginners or when you want to upgrade your current set.

Click here for more info about this Muhle shaving set with a shaving brush with synthetic hairs.

Do you prefer a shaving set with pure badger hair? We got you covered in that case as well. You will get exactly the same products as in the previous mentioned shaving set, but the shaving brush is made with real badger hair.

Click here for more info about this shaving set with pure badger hair.

Shaving brushes come in all kind of different sizes, shapes, hairs and handles. A good shaving brush will help you to shave your beard as comfortable as possible.

And then this...

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[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000632070500323X