Muhle Silvertip Synthetic Brush

I was going to start with reviewing some shaving soap or shaving creams, but one of my friends asked about synthetic shaving brushes, so I’ll start with the Muhle synthetic brush I use.  Now, when I first started wet shaving, I walked to the local drug store, picked a $10 synthetic brush off the shelf, and started using it.  It was awful.  It scratched at my face, it dropped bristles all the time, and didn’t apply an even lather.  Many of my wet shaving friends suggested I track down a badger hair brush.

I tried to find an ethically sourced badger hair brush.  I figured there must be one out there.  A great deal of research found one or two companies that claimed their badger hair brushes were “ethical,” but didn’t explain what that I meant.  I was immediately suspicious.  So, a little more digging on the interwebs.  It seems that “ethical” means “Chinese peasants consider badgers a menace, so they kill them for food and sell their pelts to Europeans.”  Uhhh, by no measure is that vegan, and I would argue it’s not at all ethical.

I decided to bite the bullet and invest in a synthetic brush.  Now, I got a medium Muhle silvertip fibre brush, and it cost me $71.50 for the brush.  I can see why people would balk at that price – that’s totally understandable.  Consider this: if you were shopping for a badger hair brush, and you were getting it from one of the well-known brush companies (Muhle, Edwin Jager, etc), you’ll be spending well over $100 – probably over $200.  So, the brush is cost effective.

Wow is it a good brush.  Just wow.  Worth every dollar I spent.  Let’s start with the craftsmanship: the brush is very solidly built.  I’ve been using it for months, and it has not dropped a single bristle (do we use bristles for synthetic brushes?  Is that a thing we can do?), and the knot has stayed together. The handle feels very solid in your hand and provides a nice grasp.  It is constructed excellently, no complaints here.

The brush holds water excellently – I have no frame to compare it to a badger brush, but the brush holds enough water to create a very nice lather very quickly.  The brush holds your cream and distributes it quite nicely across your face.  It’s nice and flexible so you can really whip up those concentric circles on your face.  All in all an excellent brush.  I strongly recommend it.

An excellent vegan shaving brush

 

If you already know how to wet shave, you can stop reading here.  I’m going to give some tips on how to create a good lather below.

First, prep the brush.  The best way to do this is to fill your shaving mug (you have a shaving mug, right?) with hot water, drop the brush in the mug, and have a shower, letting it soak up water.  If you don’t have a shaving mug, you can use any mug you have kicking around (protip: empty the coffee out first).  I suppose you could just fill your sink with hot water and drop the brush into it.  Now, most days, I shave at the gym, so these options aren’t really available to me, so I run hot water over it for twenty to thirty seconds.

After it soaks up water, you want it to not be dripping.  Take the brush out, give it a few quick shakes so it’s not dropping water anymore.  Now, whip up your shaving cream or soap in your bowl / mug, and lather up.

When you’re done shaving, you want to rinse out the brush so it doesn’t have shaving products in it anymore.  If you’re shaving at home, hang it from your brush stand to dry.  You want your brush to dry so it doesn’t smell all musty – it also extends the life of the brush.  If you’re like me, and you don’t frequently shave at home, this presents a problem.  I give my brush a good squeeze and a few shakes (hur hur), and then wrap it in a paper towel and jam it in my shaving kit.  When I get home, I take it out and air dry it until the next morning.  This seems to work for me.

Last thing.  Returning to the Muhle brush – it is an excellent brush, and I have no intention of replacing it anytime soon.  But, if you’re shopping around for a brush, Edwin Jagger makes synthetics as well, and they’re very well respected.  I’ve not tried them, though, so I have nothing to say about them.

Muhle Silvertip Synthetic Shaving Brush: 5/5.  My go-to, every day shaving brush.

tl;dr: this brush is an excellent brush, very well crafted, holds water well, makes a wonderful lather. No complaints here.

Until next time, be kind to animals.