Tweezerman Men's Shaving Brush
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List Price: Our Price: $8.65 You Save: $6.35 (42%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of Tweezerman Men's Shaving Brush
Customer Review: Perfect starter brush
Summary: 4 Stars
Tweezerman is a perfect brush for the starting shaver. I'll certainly be moving up to a higher-quality model as I become more experienced with "real" shaving (using a safety razor and actual blades), but I'm quite satisfied for now. I started out practicing my lathering technique using a modern disposable razor and a shaving soap, to get a good feel for the Tweezerman.
Pros:
-CHEAP! Tweezerman is about the cheapest brush you can get, while still getting quality.
-Badger Hair. Most brushes at this price level are boar hair, which is stiffer and sometimes prickly. Badger hair is a little softer, more luxurious.
-Good knot. This is a fairly small brush, but it blossoms into a good shape that does the job well. I have massive hands, and the small handle still works perfectly for me.
-I think the smaller size is the key to the price- this is a "lite" version of a higher-quality product. It's still sized to work well, but there's extra bang for your buck.
Cons:
-Slightly rough. My wife felt the tip, and being used to feminine-soft makeup brushes, she was not impressed by the Tweezerman. I'd call this brush "medium-soft", and I'd prefer soft.
-Sheds. Top-quality, carefully tended brushes are handed down from father to son. The Tweezerman is not one of those brushes. Even in my first use, I had to fish a couple of hairs out of the lather.
-So-so build quality. The top coat of lacquer on the handle had dripped in one spot. There's a pea-sized knob on the handle, and I had to pull a little bit of goop out of the hair. There's no issue in using the product, but it's another small area where you feel the price.
Overall, this is the perfect brush for a beginner. It's cheap, but it has the feel of a brush worth at least twice the price. I'd almost list the shedding as a bonus- by the time this brush gives out, it'll probably be the perfect time to finally decide if you're going to stick with it and spend money on a high-end brush. I recommend the Tweezerman highly for beginners, and for anyone who might be looking for an occasional brush to try out in their lineup.
Edit: With some actual usage under my belt, this brush holds up very well. I still lose a hair on occasion, but it's not a big annoyance and it's clear the brush will hold up to years of use. I've also tried a cheaper boar brush from Burma, and the difference is immense. The lather I can accomplish working for five minutes with the Burma, I can work up in thirty seconds with my Tweezerman. I'll even admit that I was a bit wrong on the softness- I'd like a bit more stiffness for scrubbing my face, but the tweezerman holds lather so well that I wouldn't risk going much more firm without assurances.
Customer Review: 2 months daily use [UPDATE: Now 1 Year] -- No Problems. Read This!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This brush is easily on par with many badger hair brushes costing four times as much.
I BELIEVE I KNOW WHY OTHERS WERE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THIS BRUSH ...
I read some of the previous reviews regarding excessive bristle loss, cracked handles, and the knot coming out of the handle. ALL of these problems are symptoms of improper care and use! I'm willing to wager that this is the first shaving brush for most purchasers, who are attracted by its inexpensive price. So, here are some care and maintenance rules for shaving brushes:
Although a shaving brush has a flat handle, this is so it can be set down conveniently while shaving. It should NEVER be allowed to dry sitting on its handle. It is absolutely crucial that you rinse the brush after use and then HANG IT WITH THE HANDLE UP (BRISTLES DOWN) in order to dry. Failure to do so will result in an early demise of your brush -- cracked wood handle, rotting bristles, loosening of the knot, etc. You can make a holder out of wire or a coat hanger if you do not want to buy one.
Also, when whipping up lather, your finger tips should be grasping the base of the bristles where they meet the handle, with the flat of the handle against your palm. Whip the lather using only the TIPS of the bristles. You don't want to "squash" the bristles while whipping up the lather.
Finally, when you rinse the brush, hold it bristles up under a gentle stream of water. Then, hold it with the bristles down and wring the bristles by gently squeezing the bristles between your fingers and thumb. Now, holding the brush where the bristles and handle meet between your forefinger and thumb, GENTLY shake the brush two or three times. Vigorous shaking holding only the handle will damage the brush. Now hang the brush with the handle up to dry.
Follow these rules -- which are standard for any brush -- and you should enjoy years of shaves from your Tweezermans brush!
[UPDATE: I wrote the above after two months of use. This update, after ONE YEAR of use, convinces me even more that this was one of the best shaving buys ever. It continues to perform perfectly, is well broken in, and is NOT losing bristles! I have recommended this brush to many friends, and all have been very happy with their purchase. Follow the care instructions above, and I believe you will be very happy with this brush!]
Customer Review: Great brush for all
Summary: 5 Stars
If you consider a Corvette a starter car because it's not a Ferrari or a Ford F350 a starter truck because it's not a dump truck then yes, this is a starter brush. You can purchase more luxurious and use-specific brushes but that doesn't take away from the quality of this brush. The $60 Parker silver tip chrome handle on this site is no where near as good a brush and cost four times more. I made the mistake of thinking this is a "starter" brush because of the price and some of the reviews on this site. Yes, it's very inexpensive compared to what's out there but that doesn't mean you'll outgrow it and want or need a more expensive brush.
Personally, I left this brush in the shower every day for months, most of the time resting bristles up. I just give it a good shake and it's held up great. Not a single hair has fallen out and despite being left in a damp shower it's still in perfect condition. The water has not affected the wood or glue one bit. One thing I won't do is leave it in a closed ziploc bag when wet when travelling. I assume that would be bad.
Other than that, the best advice I can give to anyone using a brush is soak it in warm/hot water for a few minutes before each use. When done, rinse out all the soap and give it a good shake. Do that with any and every shaving brush. FYI - this brush fits perfectly into the $22 Col. Conk stand available on this site.
Because shaving brushes don't cost as much as a Ferrari or a dump truck, I also have some more expensive ones that I do use more often. I won't name them because you don't need to spend more money to get a better shave. The only thing "starter" about this is the price, not the quality. I'm not trying to talk you out of a specialty brush, I just don't want you to feel you "need" one to get a better shave. Experiment with blades, razors, soaps, creams, oils and aftershaves first. If you have any money left and you still feel like it, then feel free to "upgrade." Keep in mind that the bigger the brush the more likely you are to get shaving cream up our nose or in your ears.
Bottom line, the Tweezerman brush makes a great gift or even an "upgrade" for yourself. Happy shaving.
Customer Review: Budget Badger Brings Bang For Buck
Summary: 5 Stars
Classic shaving, wet shaving, or whatever you want to call it, is essentially the idea that older style shaving tools and techniques deliver a better shave, a better shaving experience, and/or more economy, than the modern multi-blade cartridge razor and can of shaving cream gives.
Like any other pursuit or hobby, there are those that will approach it from a perspective of frugality, those who'll opt for luxury and status, and those who want to hit the sweet spot of performance for the least expense. The Tweezerman's Men's Shaving Brush aims for that last group, and hits the mark well.
The whole idea here is that the Tweezerman brush is the least expensive Badger hair brush available new, and badger brushes deliver high quality lather with less time and effort than boar hair or synthetic brushes.
There are certainly badger brushes to be had for several hundred dollars, and they sport a higher quality grade of badger hair, and more of it. There are cheaper brushes made of lesser material. With the Tweezerman, you get most of the performance of the luxury brush with a cost more in line with a budget brush of far lower quality.
My Tweezerman performs admirably, shedding few hairs after the first use. There is little heft to the handle, and there are certainly brushes that are more pleasing to the eye.
If you get the brush acquisition bug, the Tweezerman will become the Yugo in your collection of exotic cars, an object of some scorn. If you are used to a boar or synthetic brush, the Tweezerman will seem like hot stuff. If you like nice for less, the Tweezerman is a great buy, and if you treat yourself to a nicer brush later, you'll have a handy travel brush in the Tweezerman.
This little brush has been part of the routine that has transformed the necessary drudgery of shaving to an enjoyable time in the day that I actually look forward to. Not bad for a few bucks.
Customer Review: The Thing with Shaving
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought a Tweezerman shaving brush to replace a boar bristle brush I lost--yes lost. The Tweezerman does a better job because it's more comfortable and because it lathers up faster and thicker. That said, the differences are minor in respect to the final shave. Both do a good job and the job they both do good is keeping your skin wet while you shave. The badger bristles have a slight edge in this. You'd think keeping skin wet would be easy, but it's not. What lubricates a blade more than anything is the water itself and not what's in the soap. The second you splash water on your skin it immediately begins to evaporate, so by the time you get your razor to your face most of it has evaporated. The soap foam keeps the water at your skin--that's its job here. The best shave doesn't need any soap at all. Shave under a shower with no soap and you'll see what I mean. Try it as a test. You'll get the closest shave that way. Do this only if you have memorized where everything is on your face. Shaving foam does as good a job as a wet brush in my opinion and so I use it more often than not. My final view is that the Tweezerman brush is a great deal and works well. I can see no reason to buy a more expensive brush--some sell for more than a hundred plus some dollars. Whatever they add to the mix for this price is probably not worth it. If you want to impress people with your shaving acumen, learn to use a straight razor--not for wusses or the faint of heart, though. I have been using the brush for several months and have not had any of the quality issues like shedding bristles that others here have reported, so this experience seems to vary. There could be some quality control problems at play. I do make it a point to hang the brush upside-down to dry, though. Drying it bristle side up might allow water to pool so that the glue holding the bristles is weakened.