Customer Reviews

Black Handled Omega Professional Boar Hair Shaving Brush

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This thing would be a deal at twice the price. It's a large brush, and as the boar hair breaks in- the ends actually split- it gets softer and softer. Works well for face or bowl lathering, works fine with creams and great with soaps.

I am impressed with this brush. It has a very sturdy and stout handle, which makes it very ergonomic. A shaving snob might not like something this cheap, but this brush is perfect for an economical (poor) person like me. It definitely gets the job done and looks as good as it feels.

I bought this brush because I had purchased another Omega boar bristle shaving brush, "Omega Shaving Brush #10048 Boar Bristle aka The PRO 48" here on Amazon as well. I bought it because it looked like it had a really full knot and long bristles - in that regard the picture was accurate. What I didn't love was that it really smelled "piggy" and also the plastic chrome handle felt really cheap in my hand. BUT I love it anyway (really I do) ...

I own a number of brushes, among them good badger hair as well ... real stuff, 100% Silver Tip Badger Hair. They are totally luxurious to use ... soft, elegant and hold a tremendous amount of moisture and lather. That's always the basis for the comparison with badger hair to boar bristle brushes, i.e.: boar bristle brushes are NOT as soft and DON'T hold as much moisture or lather.

This brush is NOT A BADGER HAIR BRUSH ... but that doesn't matter one bit to me. I didn't buy it to simulate or compete with a badger hair brush. I wanted to experience a really good boar bristle brush ... and with regard to the head this brush makes the grade as far as I'm concerned (the handle is still cheap plastic, but attractive nonetheless - I have the red handle version).

PROS: Really long bristles, nice tight and full knot, really soft for a boar bristle brush, little to no smell, no shedding (so far after a few uses)

CONS: Nothing really significant. I don't love the plastic handle, but it's a $13.95 brush, not a $139.50 brush, other than that nothing I can think of for a boar bristle brush.

What I love about this brush, that could make me a boar bristle convert ... REALLY AND TRULY ... is that it's remarkably soft and full. It's as soft as a "best badger hair" brush IMO ... and that's pretty much out of the box. While I haven't used this brush as much as the other Omega I mentioned above it's already beginning to show splitting of the bristles (really important for a boar bristle brush, the more the ends of the bristles split the better the brush becomes to use).

The Omega "Pro 48" is really working in nicely, the bristles are splitting and softening wonderfully, and it's really great at creating a lather. This brush is already breaking in well, and it began softer than the "Pro 48" and I'm guessing it will continue to improve as I use it. However it's all about the lathering for me. This brush creates and holds a great lather.

I do a combination of working up a preliminary lather in a bowl and then finish working up the lather on my face. This allows me to really "tune" the lather to my liking as I paint it on and work it into my beard. If it's a little wet I'll work it a little longer, if it's a little dry I'll wet the head of the brush and work some water into the lather on my face. Either way I get to work the lather into my beard well, and that works well for me. I have a rather coarse beard that grows in multiple directions so the softer I can get it before shaving the better. Face lathering really helps with softening my beard, and I'm finding that a boar bristle brush does a better job than my badger hair.

So I'll continue to use different brushes as the mood strikes me on any particular day, but I'm becoming a boar bristle guy more and more ... and I have to say I'm really impressed with the quality of the Omega brushes so far.

Now if they'd only put a great handle on a boar bristle brush they'll get a full five star review from me ...

I have used a few different shave brushes and after hearing good things about the omega brushes I decided to give it a shot. The brush is still and is good for lathering hard soaps.

After 5 months of use the handle cracked down the side, I contacted Omega to seek a repair or replacement and never received a reply. I would suggest buying a brush from a company that respects its customers enough to respond to an email.

JUST GOOGLE OMEGA BRUSH CRACKED HANDLE

I wanted good quality, but didn't want to break the bank (just in case old school shaving wasn't for me). This fits the bill perfectly. Has a nice solid feel to it. It makes shaving a fun experience instead of a chore. Even if you stick with modern multi-blade shaving, you should try lather from a brush/soap/cream instead of a can. It feels better and works better. I'll never go back.

On a side note, Amazon and Wish4Star were top notch. Fast delivery, safe and sound.

This brush is huge compared to the other 3 boar brushes i have and works the best. I use it for hard soaps and it lathers better than any other boar brush I have used. It is stiffer than my badger brushes but very easy on the skin compared to lower quality boar brushes. I will use this over my BBB for hard soaps every time. Highly recommend. If I could only own one brush this would be it.

The quality of the brush seems top notch and it looks very nice but I find it to be too stiff to work up a good lather. Perhaps it would work better for lathering directly on the face rather than in a bowl. It's also rather tall and fat and it doesn't fit in my usual brush holder. I've used it a few times but now it just sits on the shelf.

Purchased this Black Handled Omega Professional Boar Hair Shaving Brush after my nylon (yes, synthetic) el-cheapo that came with the kit from the local dime store brush fell apart.

I've got a Silver Badger top of the line brush from Truefitt & Hill. It makes a thick, creamy lather in the soap dish. Boar Hair does not, it takes some getting used to to notice when you have enough soap on the brush. Boar hair makes the lather on your face. The Silver Badger is oh-so-soft and comfy . . .

However, for me, with very sensitive skin and a heavy beard (I get my 4:00 shadow at 12:30), I prefer the stiffness of the boar hair. I've found it has reduced my frequency of ingrown hairs. The boar brush can grab all those wiry whiskers and stand them up.

Yes, it's stiff, and yes, it's coarse at first, but, after a short break in period, I find these superior for getting a good face scrub of lather on than the Silver Badger hair brushes that cost many multiples more.

Also recommended: Feather Blades. Come on guys, it's shaving, not aromatherapy massage ;).

Omega boar bristle shaving brushes are a great place to start for anyone wanting to improve their shaves with a brush and the better soaps & creams. Great quality, many styles to choose from and great value.

Don't let the low cost and more coarse appearance of a boar brush scare you off---these brushes lather wonderfully and, once broken in, feel soft on the face.

The "Pro 49" is a large brush, is easy and fun to handle, and is also a tremendous lather-maker. It works especially well with soaps & semi-hard creams, but lathers soft creams well also. It doesn't look like it would feel soft on the face, but once soaked, it feels nice and soft---it bends and splays easily to paint or dab lather on your face. I highly recommend this brush to anyone. I started with boar brushes, then tried synthetics & fine badger brushes. I like this brush as well as any of them.

Two things someone must understand about boar bristle brushes: 1. They may smell a little funky at first. The smell will eventually go away. 2. They gradually soften with use. In other words, boar brushes improve (a lot!) with use.

A very critical earlier reviewer doesn't seem to understand the fact that a boar brush takes time to break in---the bristles split and feather somewhat on the tips, improving the feel of these brushes to a great degree. Also, it helps to soak a boar brush in warm water for a few minutes before using it. The bristles soften, collectively hold water and the brush is tranformed into a lather-producing machine.

I carried out a fair bit of research on what was the 'right' shaving brush, and was certainly leaning towards a badger hair brush. But based on cost, and also few good reviews here, I took the plunge and I'm pleased I did.

I've heard issues that boar/pig bristle is too stiff and needs breaking in, but I've not found this to be the case.

I've heard issues where cheaper brushes drop a lot of the bristles, and again, not my experience, it dropped maybe 10 bristles the first time I used it, which I would expect. Since then, no problems.

And it doesn't smell, at least if it does, the smell of my shaving soap masks it effectively.

And I can't explain why, but using a shaving brush is just much, much better than using my fingers to work in the shaving soap.