The shaving brush is a classic shaving device that many of us have probably seen but perhaps never actually used.

A shaving brush is simply a small handheld brush with soft bristles that used to apply shaving soap or shaving cream to the face before shaving.

This is opposed to what most men do when applying shaving soap or cream directly to the face with their hands, straight out of the shaving cream can.

To use a shaving brush, you first run the bristles under warm water to wet the brush, shake off excess water and then dip it into your shaving cream or shaving soap. You then lather up your face in an upward circular direction which helps to lift up the face hairs.

If you need more lather, you simply run the brush under warm water and then continue lathering up your face without dipping the brush into the shaving cream again. You repeat until your face is suitably lathered.

Depending on how much money you want to spend, you can choose from many different kinds of shaving brushes. Some brushes are more elaborate than others and then there is the matter of the brush bristles themselves.

The shaving brush bristles are typically made from animal hair, specifically boar hair or badger hair. Badger hair brushes tend to be very prevalent.

Badger hair is specifically used because it retains water better than other hairs and as mentioned above, the use of warm water is an integral part of how a shaving brush works.

Shaving Brush Benefits

As far as the benefits of using a shaving brush go, the brush retains the warm water which is then mixed with the shaving cream and the mixture produces a thick lather which tends to translate to a smoother shave which is easier on your skin.

Plus, since you're using a circular motion to apply the shaving cream to your face, the circular motion lifts the hair away from the skin which tends to make it easier to shave than if it were lying flat on your face as it is when applying shaving cream with your hands.

Also, the motion of the brush against the skin tends to gently clean the face of dead skin which also assists in providing a clean and close shave.

When you're done with the shaving brush, you simply rinse it off and hang it to air dry until its next use.

You can buy a nice shaving brush set that typically includes the shaving brush, a razor and a small table stand that holds both the brush and the shaver.