How To Clean A Synthetic Shaving Brush

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How to clean synthetic shaving brushes

Thread starter Southbound1
Start date Sep 26, 2016

Hello,

I'm kinda new to synthetic shaving brushes. On my natural hair brushes I always rinse thoroughly after use and towel dry, and comb when dry. About 3times a year I give it a deep clean in a duluted water/viniger rinse, or borax. Can I deep clean synthetic brushes the same way? Or does a synthetic need other cleaning methods?

I'm afraid I've never felt the need to "deep clean" brushes which, after all, are used in a soapy environment. I just rinse thoroughly, shake, and go. I don't get soap build-up on my brushes, but that's possibly due to my soft water. Some of my brushes have been in use for years without a single "deep clean."

I'd be careful about using vineger (even diluted) or borax on a synthetic without knowing the possible effect on the synthetic fibers. Since the fibers themselves don't absorb moisture, I'm not sure they ever really need a "deep clean."

I never clean my brushes. Rinse them, dry them on a towel and they are good to go for the next shave. My Omega 10066 have around 3 years and it's looking normal, no deposits or something odd with it, so I don't see the point. And I most definitely never comb them. I don't see any reason for it either. I actually find this to be destructive for the brush, as you are pulling out hairs that wouldn't come out during normal usage.

With my careless approach, I never had a brush that shed more than few bristles on first uses, and I never had a broken brush. My Omega 10066, that's the most used brush I own is also the softest compared with other boar brushes, so there's no residue messing up with it over the time. My main synthetic (Plisson L'Occitane), while it didn't get as much usage as 10066, is the second most used one, and there's nothing wrong with it.

Brushes are tools. They won't last forever, but I think that there is the kind of tool where less is more. I truly believe that they will last longer if you don't mess with them too much.

I would rinse well in warm water, that's all.

Yes, you can clean synthetic shaving brushes the same way as you clean any other brush.

I wouldn't worry about cleaning any brush, much less a synthetic.

The only time you need to clean a shaving brush is when its performance deteriorates because of build up of soap or water chemicals or you may want to do this when you first get the brush. If you rinse out all of the soap from the brush, cleaning would be rarely needed. The wiki has some good info on this subject.

I never clean my brushes. Rinse them, dry them on a towel and they are good to go for the next shave.
[...]
Brushes are tools. They won't last forever, but I think that there is the kind of tool where less is more. I truly believe that they will last longer if you don't mess with them too much.

Same over here: Rinse the lather and soap residues out of the brush, shake lightly, towel dry, hang upside down in the brush stand until the next shave. I haven't managed to waste a good synthetic brush yet. Since even creams that contain polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, silicone) can't ruin synthetic brushes - however, silicone might diminish badger hair brushes' capacity to absorb moisture in the long run - I don't see the need to rinse out synthetic brushes with vinegar or other acid detergents.

If you're really worried - lather it with some shampoo and then rinse it. But for synthetics there's no hygiene advantage to be gained and you will neither soften nor stiffen it by "deep cleaning" before use. The only possible advantage is if it's a black fibre that you might rinse any excess dye out.

This is something I don't worry about with any shaving brush, unless I drop it on the bathroom floor (especially by the toilet), or had something like strep throat, or trying to remove the funk from a badger brush. With each use we're lathering them with soap and rinsing them with water, so that's washing them.

That said, not long ago I dropped my Fine synthetic beside the toilet. To clean I lathered it up with anti-bacterial hand soap and rinsed well.

If my brushes never leave the house, I never clean them. Don't feel a need to really. But when I drag them out somewhere for SOTD pics or something, I'll whip up a lather with dawn Dish Soap and rinse it out very well. Good enough.

I never thought about how to clean a synthetic brush before but I found this to be a great article to read about. However I have thought about using a pre-shave oil & then a synthetic shave brush to see how much difference my shave would be since I have sensitive skin & break out with Psoriasis which is not yet curable with man but just treatable.

Good thread.

If my brush is brand new I do this:

- Mild Dish Detergent washing and leave the brush in the bowl with the handle out of the water for 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly.

- Lather up the wet brush on a bar of Dettol Bar Soap for disinfection. Rinse thoroughly.

- Put a dab of my hair shampoo in a glass of water and agitate with the brush for a little time. Rinse thoroughly.

The final step is not obligatory but I find the brush to shine beautifully especially the synthetic after the shampooing.

I suggest to try this once my friends and tell me how you found it.

If my brush is brand new I just lather it up and shave. I would do a similar cleanse on a used brush for sure. A new one I wouldn't. That is just me though. We are all different and that is what makes this world such a wonderful place.

Once in a while I give a brush a quick Dawn lather, mostly to remove any possible soap residue.

A good rinse after each use keeps mine as clean as new.

So long as you rinse it completely after your shave then no further cleaning is required. Like somebody else said, "Shave soap is soap" so the brush is getting "cleaned" everytime you shave. But if you dropped it in a toilet full of doo-doo than I would clean it maybe with Dawn dish soap. I would avoid the harsh cleaning products.

I used to think the same as "all of the above"...however , I had a Simpson Somerset Duke 3 that I used for 25 years , my only brush, and I simply rinsed it out well ,shook dry and hung upside down to dry....The brush developed a crack in the handle near the knot after about 23 years ...I sent Rudy Vey the brush and asked him to install a new handle...He wrote back that when he opened it up there was a patch of "microbes" deep in the knot's base....From then on I bought several brushes and I give them a Mar-V-Cide bath every 90 days....If they were clumping, or "dirty" , problems I've never had even with horse hair, I would use a bath in Ship-Shape brush cleaner , and then a Marvy 2 minute dip , clear rinse and dry......

I used to think the same as "all of the above"...however , I had a Simpson Somerset Duke 3 that I used for 25 years , my only brush, and I simply rinsed it out well ,shook dry and hung upside down to dry....The brush developed a crack in the handle near the knot after about 23 years ...I sent Rudy Vey the brush and asked him to install a new handle...He wrote back that when he opened it up there was a patch of "microbes" deep in the knot's base....From then on I bought several brushes and I give them a Mar-V-Cide bath every 90 days....If they were clumping, or "dirty" , problems I've never had even with horse hair, I would use a bath in Ship-Shape brush cleaner , and then a Marvy 2 minute dip , clear rinse and dry......

Not sure if you really read it, but the OP is referring to a synthetic brush and not a natural hair brush... Real hair brushes need regular cleaning as like you said, things will start to manifest in due time!!

As to my synthetics, I take that extra couple minutes right after applying alum to my face while waiting for the cold water rinse to actually rinse out the soap from whichever brush I used that day and disassemble and clean my razor so they're ready for the next use. It takes all of like 2-3 minutes total and pretty much eliminates any monthly or bi-monthly cleanings...

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