Your First Shaving Brush
Synthetic, boar, or badger, what each is, what they cost, and which one to start with.
What a brush actually does
The brush has two jobs: load soap from the puck onto the bristles, and whip air + water into that soap until you have a thick lather. It also distributes the lather over your face evenly and lifts the beard for the razor. Without a brush, you’re just smearing soap.
Three types
Synthetic. Modern fibers (often called “plissoft” or “tuxedo”) that mimic badger. Cheap, fast-drying, vegan, easy to clean. The default first brush, and what many veterans keep for busy mornings. Synthetics have improved a great deal over the past decade or so.
Boar. Stiff bristles from boar hair. Cheap. Needs a break-in period of a few weeks, sometimes longer, during which it sheds and feels rough, after that, it splits at the tips and gets soft, in a face-scrubbing way that some people love. Good if you like exfoliation; skip if you have sensitive skin.
Badger. Soft, water-retaining, dense. Tiers go from “pure” (cheapest) → “best” → “silvertip” (most expensive). A silvertip brush is a beautiful object and feels like a small cloud. It’s also about $55 to $200 and up, and not better at making lather than a $25 synthetic.
Recommendation
Buy a synthetic. Specifically:
- TWSS Black Synthetic with G5 Knot (~$21 USD), TWSS’s house synthetic. Minimal handle, G5 knot, hard to beat at the price. The default first brush.
- Noble Otter 26mm Synthetic (~$25 USD), 26mm knot from a popular artisan brand. Builds dense lather quickly. The middle pick.
- TWSS Faux Horn Synthetic with G7 Knot (~$25 USD), Step-up TWSS-house brush with a denser G7 knot for shavers who want heavier lather. Same handle ergonomics as the Black G5; richer load.
For knot size, 22 to 24 mm is the usual middle and 26 mm is fine. Smaller builds less lather; bigger gets unwieldy.
Why not start with badger?
Badger isn’t worse, it’s just more expensive and harder to evaluate. A bad badger brush is worse than a good synthetic, and at $30 you can’t tell which you’re buying. After you’ve used a synthetic for a few months, your hands will know what you like, and a “best badger”, about $40 to over $100 depending on the maker, makes a lot more sense.
Brush care
- Rinse thoroughly after every shave, work water through to the base of the knot, soap residue at the base rots fibers.
- Hang it bristles-down in a stand or just lean it against a wall. This lets water drip out instead of pooling at the glue plug.
- Don’t dunk it in boiling water. Use warm water, comfortable on the back of your hand. Brush makers put the ceiling around 45 °C (113 °F), so very hot tap water is too much. Never use boiling water, which softens the glue holding the knot in.
- Rotate two brushes if you can. Lets each one fully dry between uses. Two cheap brushes tend to outlast one expensive brush kept on a daily duty cycle.
Frequently asked questions
What does a shaving brush actually do?
A brush has two jobs: it loads soap off the puck onto the bristles, and it whips air and water into that soap until it becomes a thick lather. It also spreads the lather evenly and lifts the beard so the razor can cut it. Without a brush you are only smearing soap around.
Should my first brush be synthetic, boar, or badger?
Synthetic. Modern synthetic fibres are cheap, dry fast, clean easily and are what many veterans keep for busy mornings. Boar needs a break-in of a few weeks, sometimes longer, during which it sheds and feels rough. Badger is soft and dense but expensive and hard to judge at the low end.
Is an expensive badger brush better than a cheap synthetic?
Not at making lather. A silvertip badger brush is a beautiful object and feels like a small cloud, but at about 55 to 200 dollars and up it does not build better lather than a 25 dollar synthetic. Badger makes more sense once you have used a synthetic for a few months and your hands know what you like.
How do I look after a shaving brush?
Rinse it thoroughly in warm water after every shave, working it all the way down to the base of the knot, because soap residue at the base rots the fibres. Hang it bristles-down so water drips out instead of pooling at the glue plug. Keep the water warm, never very hot or boiling, because heat softens that glue. If you can, rotate two brushes so each dries fully between uses.
Synthetic brushes at every price point, browse the brush wall at TWSS →