Your shaving brush (unless you're using a nylon one) is made of hair. To care for it, treat your shaving brush like your own hair.
Cleaning a New Brush for First Use
1. Before the first use, shampoo it clean. Use the same shampoo you use on your own hair or use Castle Hill's unscented naked soap. Work up a good lather throughout the brush and rinse thorougly with warm water. Do not wring your brush head. It is normal for a few hairs to fall out of a new brush the first time or two it is used. Do not boil your brush. This can cause the brush head to separate from the handle.
2. After step one, use a hair conditioner on your brush. Use about a teaspoonful of whatever conditioner you use on your own hair. Work it well into the brush head then rinse thoroughly with warm water. Flick the brush dry and place in a brush stand or on its handle to dry.
3. Rinse your shaving brush well after each use and flick the excess water out. Put it into a stand or on its handle to air dry.
4. If soap build up begins to show on your brush, it will show on the hairs closest to the handle. A build up of soap scum will eventually happen at this point if you load too much soap into the brush when shaving. See the Wet Shaving Instructions page.
Cleaning Build Up from your Brush
1. To clean soap build up from your brush, perform step one above. Then take a soft manual toothbrush used just for this job and dip it into your shampoo or load the toothbrush with Castle Hill Naked Soap. Brush lightly from the handle where it meets the bristles upward. Continue until the soap build up has been removed.
2. Rinse your brush thoroughly with warm water and flick it dry.
3. If soap build up is not removed, place your brush head first into a cup or mug. Place 2 tablespoonsful of white or apple cider vinegar into the container then fill with water just to the level where the bristles meet the brush handle. Soak for 15-20 minutes, then use your toothbrush to gently brush the bristles as in step 1 above. Rinse well, flick dry and store.
Additional Hints
Do not store your brush in the medicine cabinet. Leave it out where air will circulate so that it will dry between uses or mildew will form.
If you travel with your brush (and you should!) make sure you take it out of your shaving kit, give it a good rinse and allow it to air dry after your trip.
Care of your razor
In this section, we're talking about care of a safety razor. That razor like your dad or grandfather used that usually clamshells open and you drop a double edged blade into. Yes, that one! If you haven't tried one, then pick one up at www.classicshaving.com or www.westcoastshaving.com after doing a little reading on the website about which one might be right for you. It is, however, mostly in the blade and you'll want to buy some samples of different blades from westcoastshaving.com or from ebay to try. Every face is different and not every blade works well for every person.
Rinsing your razor often during the shaving process and rinsing it well when done is the majority of the care. Make sure your razor dries out between uses to avoid rusting which can cause problems with the opening and closing mechanisms.
Whiskers and soap scum will build up on it after a while and it only takes a little dish detergent or shaving soap on a toothbrush to scrub it clean.
