Badger Vs Boar Brush: Which Should You Choose For Shaving? 

If you are wondering about the similarities and differences between badger vs boar brush, continue reading this comprehensive comparison. 

Since they first appeared, brushes have proved to be helpful and supportive for tremendous use that more and more individuals include this good in their daily lives. 

When using a brush for the first time, you may start searching for various types and end up concerned about choosing between badger and boar brushes. In case you are struggling with this problem, don’t worry because this article was developed to guide you through it. 

What’s more, the information provided to you below was carefully collected, chosen, and illustrated most readily so that you can catch up on all essential details without any effort.

Overview Of Badger & Boar Brush

Badger 

Compared with other brushes, the badger brush is the most well-known and favorable kind with specialists. Using it brings you a soft and gentle feeling to maintain water and heat when needed. 

Consequently, the lather can become thicker and more robust, which is highly desirable for a brush. Because of its softness and propensity to “form” around items that it is rubbed against, some claim that their badger one has a far more luxurious feel.

In addition, when searching for badger brushes in the market, you will realize that “badger” is a broader term containing 4 smaller types classified by their features: Pure Badger, Best Badger, Super Badger, and Silvertip Badger. 

A good badger brush may endure for years and is more robust than a boar brush in terms of durability. Initially, a badger brush will have a distinct odor, but it will fade fast after the first two or three applications. 

Boar Brush

This type of brush is famous for beginners. Although people use boar brushes to do various things, it is best for pulling hair off the skin’s surface.

In addition, the boar brush allows the foam to penetrate below for a better shaving experience, thanks to the strength of hair used. Boar hairs also include a hook, which increases the capacity to take up hairs even more.

Another remarkable characteristic of boar hair is that it becomes softer over time because the brush’s hair splits like human hair. Therefore, when the boar brush reaches this period, you can use it to carry out other functions as you wish. 

However, the ideal time for using a boar brush is three months to ensure hygiene and quality. This period can change depending on how often you use it.

If you include it in your daily activities three or four times, you should shorten this period and replace it after a single month. 

Badger Vs Boar Brush: Detailed Comparison

Similarities 

When using the badger vs boar brush, you will notice that there are many similarities between them, including:

• High-quality products

Both types of brushes are high-quality items equipped with tight knots that you rarely witness the phenomenon of shedding. That may stem from the fact that most of the badger and boar brushes’ manufacturers you see in the market has the reputation of making these brushes passed down from several family generations.

• Handcrafter brushes are better

This rule is applicable for both kinds of brushes. However, remember that the quality doesn’t come only from the hair type but the assembling process. The latter is the determinant element of long-lasting brushes. 

Although hair accounts for one-third of the products, it is still considered a poor item if not manufactured correctly. Hence, try to look for handcrafter brushes to make sure that your products are well-assembled.

• Hair made from animals’ fur 

Although many people may not realize it, boar and badger brushes are derived from distinct species. Typically, the hair of a boar brush would come from a pig. Yet, this hair all originated from China as a product of the meat business. 

• Require suitable and high-quality shaving soap

Owning an expensive top brush is not enough for your comfortable experience, you still need appropriate supporting items, especially shaving soap.

Don’t be attracted by cheap ones and simply hope it would work with your high-quality work. You should carefully refer to it from the Internet to maximize the ability of your boar and badger.

• Lengthen the lifespan of brushes with great soap

Before using the brush, it is highly recommended to search for and carefully choose a suitable quality soap. Consider your budget and the one you own when making a decision.

• Uncomfortable smell

Badger and boar hair both stink immediately out of the package. However, the fragrance of badger fur fades considerably after 2-3 usage, and it’s no longer an issue. Boar hair smells indefinitely.

• Need appropriate care after shaving

Your work won’t be done after you finish shaving. As the face is one of the most sensitive areas of your skin, you have to know and take good care of it.

According to specialists, it would be better if you choose a caring balm suitable for your skin’s condition and apply it to immediately rehydrate it. Besides, give your skin time to rest and recover after a period of being infected.  

Differences 

Although badger and boar brushes are great types of brushes that you should consider, there are significant differences in case you don’t know what to choose among the two:

• Quality

Comparing the quality of the two types of brushes, the most noticeable point would be that while boar brush simply means “boar brush”, badger contains four smaller kinds ranging from best (most expensive) to lowest quality (cheapest price) as mentioned before.

However, according to specialists, even the pure badger with the lowest quality is still better than the boar brush. As a boar brush isn’t resistant, if you bend its hair by careless use, it will easily break and lose its initial shape. On the other hand, a similar action won’t cause much damage to the badger. 

After a month of the experiment, boar brush users will notice that their hair becomes softer and slowly split, which shortens the lifespan of the brush. 

• Price

When it comes to price, you will realize that badger brushes are usually more costly than boar brushes with similar quality. The only exception would be some pure badger brush is offered at a lower price than the boar ones. 

• Smell

The new boars’ hair brush stinks and is putrid at first. However, after a while, this uncomfortable smell would decrease due to the scent of the cream. 

However, this smell would never completely go away. So another thing to remember is to be careful with the creams you use because some types of scented lotions, such as rose, coconut, etc., would even cause the boar brush to smell even worse. 

On the other hand, a badger brush is the better choice in terms of smell because you will experience a little weird scent at first, and after several days or up to a week, no uncomfortable smell will be witnessed. 

• The lifespan of brushes

No matter how well the boar brush you buy, the average lifespan would range from a month to 4 months. After reaching this limit, you can still use the boar brush, obviously because it’s up to you.

After that, however, you will notice that the massive amount of boar’s hair will disappear, and the brush becomes totally trashed and unusable. 

Although the badger brush is more expensive at first, it is more economical in the long term. Only pay for it one time, and you can have it for up to 10 years without any severe damage witnessed. 

Nevertheless, several exceptions also happen with users. For example, unlucky customers may falsely purchase badgers poorly manufactured, as a result, they will last shorter than the properly made boar brush.

Besides, remember that the shaving handle will also affect the time of use, so you must choose an appropriate type.

• Feeling 

The boar brush is relatively short and dry. It has gained a reputation for its hooked coats for lifting and separating the hairs from the surface of the skin to maximize the amount of hair picked. 

Thus, when applying it to your face, you will experience hard and rough feelings. It’s not that bad, but it has a stiff, chilly feel to it. In case you own sensitive skin, surely you will never get used to a boar brush. The badger brush, in contrast, is luxuriant, silky, and quite pleasant to use on the face. 

In conclusion, whether a boar or a badger comb is more suitable will depend a lot on you and the quality of your hair.

Some individuals like the tough, intensely exfoliating feel of the boar bristle shaving brush, and others prefer a gentle, skin-soothing experience with the badger bristle shaving brush. So there is no one-size-fits-all answer between the two.

• Ability to retain water

When dipping the two brushes into the water, you will realize a significant difference between them.

While the badger brush can keep much water, the boar one can not. This phenomenon means that badger brushes can lather up more quickly. 

It is also more smooth and creamy, which is exceptionally suitable for sensitive skin that is easily irritated with hard influence. However, the boar brush also has its area of function. 

If your face skin is strong and healthy with tough hair, especially for men, a boar brush can be used to eliminate any missed hairs after shaving. 

• Heat retention

In the case of the boar brush, heat retention is virtually non-existent. Even when you dip it into boiling water, it cools down in about a minute.

The badger brush keeps the heat within the brush’s core, and the dense hair traps it to be warm for 10 to 15 minutes. This length is ideal for various purposes you aim at. 

Badger Vs Boar Brush: Which Should You Choose? 

Considering all the factors mentioned above, it is evident that a badger brush is a superior option in terms of many aspects. The badger brush is less smelly and provides a more comfortable experience of heat retention.

So, although it is pretty costly at first, the typical long lifespan of up to 10 years can compensate quickly. 

Simply speaking, unless you need a brush for a short time, the badger brush is a much more economical item. As a consequence, the amount of waste you eliminate to the environment is also reduced remarkably. 

However, the benefits of a badger brush do not mean that the boar one is a useless innovation that can not be supportive in any circumstance. On the contrary, it still functions well in its area (removing missed hair when shaving) and provides a satisfying feeling. 

Therefore, it is highly recommended that those owning tough hair should choose a boar brush while people with soft hair can utilize a badger. Besides, if you are a beginner learning to use a brush, the boar one will be more suitable and less costly. 

Another point to mention would depend on you. In case you prefer using hard and thick soap for the brush, or you simply own this type of soap and desire to utilize it, it would be better to choose a boar brush. 

This stems from the fact that tough hair or boar brush can enable it to easily take a suitable amount of soap out for use. On the other hand, the badger is more appropriate with shaving cream or soft soap. The combination of them will create thick and fluffy foam​ you may enjoy.

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, the key element in deciding whether a Badger or Boar Brush is more suitable would be your own various interests and demands as listed above. Besides, remember that the cheaper price means a shorter lifespan.

Hopefully, after reading this article, you can acquire more helpful knowledge that can be applied to your circumstance.