With boar brushes, you need probably MOAR soap
Comment on Sunday SOTD Thread, January 25th, 2026 (#957)
TriplePlaid@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
SOTD - 2026-01-25
- Prep: Stirling Unscented Preshave Soap
- Brush: Unbranded; synthetic (I think) kinda not a great brush but so far I SUCK at lathering with my boar brush, one moment my lather seems perfect the next moment it disappears completely…
- Razor: Stirling de3p6s standard head
- Blade: Astra SP green (3)
- Lather: Stirling Sharp Dressed Man Shave Soap
- Alum: Stirling Travel Size Alum
- Aftershave: Stirling Sharp Dressed Man Aftershave Splash
- Balm: Taconic Aftershave Balm
Taking down 8.5 days of growth, one pass WTG. I would say it was a socially acceptable shave, a bit more irritation than I was going for, not terribly close on the upper lip and parts of the neck. My lather was maybe (?) not dialed in well, or perhaps it was that this is the 3rd use of the blade. Not too bad anyway, and the alum combined with aftershave and balm helps a lot. Sharp Dressed Man is fine I guess, the shave soap smells like ivory soap to me but the aftershave is nice imo… Gf says it is OUT however. Deton-8 is the favorite so far.
Sadly this shave is probably not close enough to guarantee I will not have to use a beard net at work tomorrow. I must do better…
PorkButtsNTaters666@sub.wetshaving.social 3 weeks ago
snooting@wetshav.ing 4 weeks ago
I have an AP Shave Co Silksmoke synthetic brush that I’d be happy to give you if you’re CONUS. It’s nice, I just don’t really use it much.
Lmk if you’re interested.
TriplePlaid@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
I appreciate your offer very much and have been giving it some thought. I think I want to move away from synthetic materials generally since I am trying to minimize sources of microplastics in my life… But I am very interested to hear your perspective on synthetic vs. natural brushes. Maybe I should try to set my growing fear of plastics aside?
snooting@wetshav.ing 3 weeks ago
I wouldn’t recommend you set it aside just for the sake of shave brushes.
Synthetics are very easy to lather, they dry quickly,and nice ones can feel great on the face. They also tend to use slightly less soap, but that’s not really a big deal in my experience. Soap is cheap.
I tend to use synthetics when I’m traveling or in a hurry. There’s nothing wrong with using a badger or boar brush instead though! They just take a little more work.
That said, my favorite brushes are boar brushes. Once they break in, they’re a pleasure to use.
TriplePlaid@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Thanks for your perspective. I think I will keep trying to make it work with the boar brush that I already have. I really want to try a badger brush - do you have a recommendation for a quality choice? (Budget of $100 maximum? Is that reasonable? I know badger gets expensive…)