Shave of the day

This is the original Coates cream. It produces a superb thick creamy lather. Now the Coates brand is to be reintroduced by the new owner - The Gentleman's Shop Hungerford. Jagger Chatsworth, Floris Elite and a new shaving brush complete the line up. Now which brush is that?

Shaving brush care and shedding

I asked Progress Vulfix for information about shedding which I might include in my shaving blogs.

This is an extract from advice they gave to a customer who sells their branded brushes. It contains some interesting information and advice.

"A new brush can typically expect to shed hairs for the first 3 months of its life as it sheds any loose hairs not removed in the manufacturing process. You could also mention that if the hairs the brush is shedding are short hairs then this can be a result of hairs breaking rather than shedding due to the brush being used incorrectly i.e. not letting the bristles soak in warm NOT hot water to soften them before use. Soaking the whole brush in water that is too hot can cause the epoxy resin in the handle to expand causing the handle to crack or the hairs to shed, it is always best to try to soak the bristles and not the handle. If you do have a brush that is shedding it is common practice to comb thru the bristles with a fine toothed comb, this can help to remove any loose hairs. Excessive shedding would be considered at 10 hairs per shave but it is quite normal for a brush to lose 3 or 4 hairs every shave for all of its life. If a brush suddenly starts shedding after several months then it is more likely to be caused by improper care of the brush rather than the brush just starting to shed, as soap residue can attack the hairs and make them brittle"

So key issues are the need to soak only the bristles in warm, not hot, water and to ensure that soap residue is fully removed after use.


Some other points here:


TSR
 

New Forest Superior Badger two band 2201

I have at long last launched my first New Forest brush. For the time being I am offering it exclusively to members of The Shaving Room forum where I am a regular contributor. Here's the offer:

                           New Forest Superior Badger 2201

Nanny's Shaving Soap

As a fellow member of The Shaving Room Forum I've followed Nanny's soap ventures with great interest. I reminded myself today of just what a fine job she has done with her shaving soaps. She has refined earlier recipes and her latest soft shaving soaps are really superb soaps and great value. This is the lavender version. A wonderful creamy cushioning lather that leaves the skin soft and supple.

Nanny's products are well worth a look.

Nanny's Handmade Soap

DE Shaving

Some amusing anecdotes here:

DE Shaving

Le Creuset and palmolive

A petite Le Creuset Casserole dish and a couple of palmolive shaving sticks. £12 and 98p.
The combination produces a lather that is a match for most major and much more expensive brand names. I don't get on with shaving sticks. So I just stuffed a couple in the dish and it works a treat.

Brush logo

I asked the manufacturer to explain what caused the logo to come off my first New Forest brush. It was the first time they had used the ink from a new source. They won't be using it again and will go back to the previous supply source. Fair enough. Time will tell!

Brush hitch

The Logo on my New Forest brush has started to fade after about a dozen sessions. That's not acceptable to me. The brushes are being sent back for the problem to be resolved by my manufacturer. So the launch will be delayed. Meanwhile I am having some walnut and oak handled brushes made in the New Forest and will soon be able to offer them for sale.