No, I’m not talking about taking your badger for a walk or even feeding your badger, that could be downright dangerous. Besides, wooden peg legs and hands are so out of fashion. What I’m talking about is how to properly take care of your Badger hair shaving brush.
All it takes is a few minutes of your time but it will add years to your brush. So if you have a new brush or you’re getting a new brush this is for you. If you have an old brush, this will help you also. So here we go, you have your brand spanky new brush, Argggh! Sorry the pirate in me got carried away. Take your brush and run it under or soak it in hot water. Now me Maties, you're in for a treat. Your spanky new brush will do something marvelous. No, it’s not gonna dance or anything like that, it’s gonna “bloom”. Yes, your spanky new brush is going to get bigger or fatter whichever way you would like to look at it. Either way, it’s gonna look like a pissed off cat's tail. The brush will be a lot fuller looking than when you first received it. This is a natural process with badger hair brushes which I think makes them better for shaving than the other types of brushes. As you can tell these are my favs. I think any type of badger hair is better than the other types of shaving brush you can get. Badger's hair is thinner at the top than it is at the base which helps it hold onto the water and makes it softer.
So now that your brush is bloomed let's shake the water off and load it with your favorite shaving soap or cream. Once you have it good and loaded build up a lather in the brush either in your hand or in a cup, it’s your choice. Next, you’ll want to rinse the soap completely from the brush. Do this again, one or two more times. if this doesn't help that Badger funk then take some shampoo (just the regular kind will do) and give it a good thorough cleaning. then load up your favorite shaving soap and let it sit overnight.
Now you’ll have a great smelling badger that won’t smell, like a wet dog…. Ewwwwww, no one likes that, well I hope not. Now, that you’ve for a better lack of the words “seasoned” your brush, you’ll need to know how to properly maintain it.
All you have to do is shake it out after each use and hang it on the stand that came with your kit. Always hang your brush with the bristles facing down. Never sit or hang your brush with the bristles facing up. If you do, your brush will quickly look like it has the mange. Nobody has time for a brush with the mange. If you’re a honey badger you’ll give a damn, trust me.
Now that’s pretty much all you need to do to keep up that spanky new brush of yours in great condition. Remember this is for brushes only if you own a real badger don’t try to bathe it. That could lead to you being called stumps.
So Maties, take good care of ye brushes or walk the plank….
Keep Calm and Shave on!