I converted to wet shaving some ten years ago. For those unfamiliar with wet shaving it is shaving the way people did prior to the introduction of cartridge razors. I also gave up shaving with canned shave cream in favor of lathering with a soap or cream and a shave brush.
Shave brushes are typically made of boar bristle, badger hair or synthetic materials. Badger hair brushes vary the most in their quality and price. They range in price from $10 to $200+. Inexpensive badger brushes tend to give a scruffy feel on the face and the expensive badgers generally are soft and luxurious. Boar brushes generally range from $10 to $30 and require some break in to perform well. They generally have good backbone and a pleasant feeling on the face. Synthetic brushes up to 5 years ago were junk. Improvements in materials the knots were made of in the last few years have made a huge difference. Currently a good synthetic shave brush costing $9 to $35 give many of the same attributes of a very good quality badger brush.
Within the last year or so a number of manufacturers have made available for sale synthetic knots in solid acrylic handles. In my opinion they are a great bargain and contribute to a positive shave experience. If you are interested in checking out the wet shaving experience I recommend the Badger and Blade site. There seems to be hundreds of shave soaps and creams much better than the canned options.
Here is a link to one of the manufacturers of synthetic shave brushes (there are many others).
http://www.italianbarber.com/collections/brushes/brushes-vegan-synthetic+razorock
Shave brushes are typically made of boar bristle, badger hair or synthetic materials. Badger hair brushes vary the most in their quality and price. They range in price from $10 to $200+. Inexpensive badger brushes tend to give a scruffy feel on the face and the expensive badgers generally are soft and luxurious. Boar brushes generally range from $10 to $30 and require some break in to perform well. They generally have good backbone and a pleasant feeling on the face. Synthetic brushes up to 5 years ago were junk. Improvements in materials the knots were made of in the last few years have made a huge difference. Currently a good synthetic shave brush costing $9 to $35 give many of the same attributes of a very good quality badger brush.
Within the last year or so a number of manufacturers have made available for sale synthetic knots in solid acrylic handles. In my opinion they are a great bargain and contribute to a positive shave experience. If you are interested in checking out the wet shaving experience I recommend the Badger and Blade site. There seems to be hundreds of shave soaps and creams much better than the canned options.
Here is a link to one of the manufacturers of synthetic shave brushes (there are many others).
http://www.italianbarber.com/collections/brushes/brushes-vegan-synthetic+razorock