I tend to think I’m a wet shaving purist. I like triple-milled British soaps. I like aftershaves with alcohol and menthol. I like shaving brushes made from badger fur and boar bristles. So when Wet Shave Club sent me a synthetic brush in one of my monthly boxes, I was a little apprehensive.
The two features I noticed, even before using the Satin Tip in my shaving routine, were the non-slip handle and the softness of the bristles. If I had my druthers, I would prefer the handle to be a little bigger, but it’s a minor issue. The most notable feature of the handle is the non-slip texture. When dry, the handle feels slightly slippery. But get it wet, and the the grip reveals itself. The handle has an almost “tacky” feel to it, without being sticky. The bristles are incredibly soft. With a name like “Satin Tip” they should be, but I had some concerns. How much water could synthetic bristles hold? And would the bristles be too soft for face lathering, especially with some harder soaps? I like a brush with a little backbone.
The question about holding water is easiest to answer. This brush is a black hole for water! I’ve never seen anything like it. None of my other brushes can hold water like this. When I’m building my lather, I add a few drops, then a few drops more, then a few drops more… And the lather keeps coming. However, here’s the deceptive piece. The lather hides in the brush. It’s even hard to tell how much lather you have, until you use it. Unlike other brushes where lather typically bursts forth from the knot, the Satin Tip brush seems to hold your lather in stasis only providing it when you apply the brush to your face. The added benefit of this is that the held lather increases the backbone providing you with an exceptionally soft, but firm brush.
Overall, I was very impressed with this synthetic brush; surprised even. It loads very easily, holds a ton of lather even if it doesn’t look like it, and was unbelievably soft on my face. I highly recommend this brush, and it is available in black and white on Amazon. I also recommend the combo kit that includes the Blades Grim “Smolder” shaving soap.
You can read my review of that soap here.
Regards,