Boar Bristle Brush Care
So you stuck with me through my Boar Bristle Adventure! Thank you. I got about a week into this experiment and realized…I didn’t know how frequently to wash my brush, or even the right way to do it. I like to think that there are very few things I don’t know when it comes to the beauty industry (ha!), but I’m also willing to admit my shortcomings, as well as share my findings with you.
First things first…
Remove the loose hairs from your brush. You may find it easier to do this if you trim the hairs around the edges of the brush that have matted down, but you should definitely use an old comb to loosen them. I used the tail end of my teasing brush to pull the hairs off. Be sure that there are no more hairs tangled in the bristles before you proceed. Depending on your hair type and the amount you have, this may take some of you longer than others.
Moving on…
Run some moderately warm water into a shallow bowl or clean stoppered sink. Add a few drops of a gentle shampoo, or even invest in a tiny container of baby shampoo for this purpose. Bristle-side-down, dip your brush into the water. I would take care to wet just the bristles, in particular if your brush handle is made of wood (like the Christophe Robin ones), or if the bristles come out of a cushion, rather than a hard rubber base. This positioning will help prevent loosening of your bristles or warping of your handle, and help you give your brush a longer lifespan. Now, some people say to let your brush soak for about 10 minutes, others say just swish it around for one or two minutes and call it a day. I recommend allowing the bristles to soak if you use a lot of product in your hair, because there’s more stuff built up on the bristles that needs to be cleaned off.
Finishing up…
When you’ve swished your brush around for the appropriate amount of time, rinse the same way you washed, then gently tap off the excess water and lay your brush — once again, butter-side-down — to dry on a towel-covered flat surface. Just like you allow your makeup brushes to dry before standing them upright in your brush holder, allow your boar bristle brush to dry fully before flipping it back over or using it again.
