Shaving Brush #10083 Boar Bristle Proffessional

Let's face it, wet shavers either love or hate Boar brushes, and some will only use an expensive Badger brushes, and they're missing out. For the money the Omega Pro-49 series, and although the color alters the number, they're really all part of the Pro-49 series, just with a different handle, can't be beat.I've used badger, other boar (Semogue), and Horse hair brushes, and the Pro-49 is the best natural hair brush you can buy for under $50, possibly more. They lather really well, even new out of the box, and only get better as the break in. One gripe with most natural brushes is they don't hold enough lather for multiple passes, usually requiring another visit to the bowl/puck, which isn't the case with this brush, which easily holds enough lather for 3 passes. Given the bargain prices for these brushes, and I grabbed one on sale for something like $6.00, you can't beat them. Nice tall loft, nice dense knot, and good back-bone, yet soft tips.I'm usually a synthetic brush person, and this is probably the only natural hair brush I'll use on a regular basis, as they just plain work well above their cost. These thankfully also don't stink as bad as some boar brushes do the first time you use them, and my guess is Omega washes or treats the bristles in some way to eliminate most, if not all the stink.If you want a solid brush, capable of making copious amounts of lather, you can't beat this brush at any realistic price for a working person.

These Omega Pro series shaving brushes are a wonderful value. This model #10083 with the faux chrome handle is probably my favorite of the bunch, as it has a very slightly lower loft on the knot. For $10, you get a fine shaving brush. No, they're not as luxurious or the same as a $100+ good badger brush, but they are fun to use and a tremendous value. Once you break the brush in, the tips of the bristles will split and the brush gets softer with use. Please note they will smell like wet animal when wet for the first week or so, and it does take some time for the brush to reach its potential. A few good overnight soakings in cold tap water with a few drops of either dish liquid or shampoo, and then rubbing the tips on a rough towel, letting the brush dry well, and repeating this process, will accelerate your break in by several weeks. These are good for use with either hard shaving soaps or creams, and good for bowl or face lathering. Give it a little time and this brush will do the job well. There are a few cons- the handles are lightweight plastic and may not be the most comfortable if you have smaller hands. But, value-wise many very experienced shavers use them regularly. I've been making lather for 40+ years and still always have one of these around.

Brush is not a thick as other Omega I own. Soft out of the box with break in.

This is my first experience with a boar brush and so far I am enjoying my shaves. For a $15 brush I am getting the same quality as my previous badger brush only this one is larger and doesn't hold as much water. I find this decrease in water retention to be nice as my lathers are more rich and consistent. Also, I don't have to agitate the bristles by squeezing them so often to get the extra water out, which will hopefully add to the longevity of this brush.Being my first exposure to boar brushes, I was kind of amused by how awful this brush smelled at first. But I'm about four shaves in and the smell is fading away and is slowly being replaced by my current soap of choice: Bay Rum Shaving Soap By Sir Hare - Drunken Sailor - Thick Lather, Smells Wonderful, Amazing Shave!.The only downside I can think of this product is that the handle is a little to light for me. However, I don't find that a suitable reason to take a whole star off, considering the $15 price tag from a reputable name and the great shaves I'm getting.If you are looking for a new brush and willing to give boar bristles a whirl, I highly recommend trying this brush by Omega.

I soaked the brush overnight in a bowl of soapy water before using it. There was no smell or odor and I left it on a brush stand to completely dry. It is very easy to create lots of lather using this brush - however even though it has a 26mm knot, it is much smaller than similar badger hair brushes - the loft of 60mm makes this an ideal travel brush. It does have a bit of a backbone, being made of boar hair - I think I'll use this one strictly for head shaving as the stiffer bristles might help with a bit of exfoliation of my scalp.The plastic handle is on the smaller size as well - being made of ABS plastic, it is not very easy to hold when whisking up lather in a shaving bowl - perhaps the best way to use it is to apply some shaving cream to the brush and then face lather it. There was no shedding of any bristles and cleanup was very easy as the brush head is on the smaller size and rinses out fast.For the price, I suppose you get what you pay for - this brush is very cheap and I would be happy if it lasts one or two years - it appears to be well made and should last for that time.

This brush is large and has a substantial feel to it, think more like a tool and less like a make up brush. The hairs are very long so you may want to lather up in the shower or go shirtless as the hairs when faned out may come in contact with your shirt collar. This brush breaks in fairly easy. I soaked mine for 10 minutes while washing up and it was ready to go. The hairs of the brush are soft with some backbone. When fully saturated, the hair diameter almost doubles that of when dry. I use the proraso blue line and with a about 2cm of cream I had more than enough soap for three passes. All in all this is a quality brush, the cost is spot on, it looks great and performs great right out of the box. For me this is a win. If you're on the fence, just get it. It's a tool and it does it's job well!