ProrasoProfessional Shaving Brush

This is the first shaving brush that I have ever owned. I was honestly looking for a badger hair brush since I had heard that they are much better than boar hair. I almost passed up on this brush for that reason. However, I read the great reviews, saw the great price, and recognized Proraso as a quality brand, so I decided to take a leap of faith and try it out. At $11, I figured, what's the worst that could happen? It sucks and and I go find a better brush.I have to to say, I have not been disappointed by this brush. It feels great and makes a nice lather fairly quickly. I haven't noticed any smell and I have lost very few hairs. I would definitely recommend this brush to anyone who is looking for their first brush and doesn't want to spend $30+ on a "better" brush. Maybe my opinion would be different if I had tried a lot of other brushes before this one, but for me, this is a great brush that I will continue to use for a long time.The only downside to this brush has been that the handle is larger than I expected and it doesn't fit easily into the stand that came packaged with the safety razor I purchased previously. not a deal breaker by any means.

This is a very high quality brush. It took a little breaking in, but within a week it was perfect. I found it works best with a high quality shaving soap or cream.

Handle is ergonomic, but feels cheap... A little added weight would go a long way. Brush works well in every other regard. I bought it as a gift and opted not to give it as the overall handle quality was lacking in gift quality.It is a good daily shave brush otherwise, especially if you want a quality knot that won't break the bank. A bit scratchy for the first shave and some minor bristle loss trough the first few weeks, but I'd buy this again for myself, but not as a gift.

2022 Update (2014 purchase)After trying all kinds of brushes at virtually every price point, this is still one of my favorite brushes. It's still going strong, but I should emphasize I rotate between lots of brushes.So why do I love this brush? It is an ideal size for a "big" brush. The company that makes this brush for Proraso makes lots of brushes with this handle shape, but they all have high/tall lofts. That makes them floppy and unwieldy on your face. You might not be able to tell it by the photos, but the loft on this one is a few mm shorter. A few mm does not sound like much, but it takes a brush that normally feels like a big ol' paint & stain brush and turns it into an ideal lather machine.__________________ORIGINAL REVIEWI really like this brush. It is BIG, but you probably know that ahead of time if you've read about boar/badger shave brushes. I have some really nice badger brushes, but there's just something about this boar brush that keeps me coming back to it. It did take a while to get rid of the smell, but it broke in nicely after only a few uses.

Brush works very well, just add a bit of the foam shampoo with a bit of warm water and mix. Saves you money on shave cream. A little goes along way, thick coating for a smooth shave

My first shaving brush. Made by Omega, this boar hair brush takes a little while to break in and has a decent amount of backbone. Like most boar hair brushes it has a 'piggy' odor when you first start using it. I followed an online guide that told me to swish it around in a bowl of dish detergent (Like Dawn) and water for a few minutes then rinse out. Afterwards, I lathered up a bit of the Proraso Sandalwood creme and set the brush down on the counter. This allowed the bristles to get back some of the nutrients lost in the detergent bath and to soften the bristles. It also imparted a fair bit of the strong sandalwood scent to mask the lingering odor of pig that was still in the brush. Took a few lathers to get it finally out of the brush and, by that time, the brush was nicely broken in. Very large coverage area when applying the lather to the face. The one thing that I didn't like to begin with was the diameter of the handle. It is very chunky. I have large hands but it took me a while to get used to doing the circular application motion during application of lather.Overall, a nice little starting brush. However, given the Semogue 2000 I use now, I would have given this brush a miss if I knew what else was out there.Shipping was fast and packaging was good.

The Proraso shaving brush is fine. If you’re looking for a stiffer brush with better exfoliation, or just not certain you actually want to use a shaving brush- it does the job. But for a bit more money you can get nicer brushes.Truth be told, I bought this by accident; my search included “badger” and this was promoted in the results. It’s boar hair. Rather than return it I decided to use it alongside badger and synthetic brushes for comparison. It was the cheapest of the 3, and also my least favorite.It’s stiffer than I expected, straight out of the box I wasn’t keen on rubbing it on my face- seemed more suited as a grill brush or perhaps to scrub espresso cups. After letting it sit in warm water it softens up nicely and has a nice scrub-y vibe. Didn’t smell great, think “wet dog” (pig?), but that went away after one use.Tried with three different shaving creams, its lather action is nothing special; similar to synthetic but less than badger. Pretty painless to rinse, dry, etc.It’s girth-y-er than some other brushes. The narrowest part is about 1.1” where the knot meets the handle, so it won’t fit in some brush stands (many are 1”- but it could squeeze in). The wide chrome handle is only plastic so be careful with your bowl/mug/scuttle; mine is marble and the bottom of the brush handle now has a number of unsightly scratches after just a few uses.

Got this as a stocking stuffer for my father in law! Great little product. The cardboard around the product is a little thin and got a big beat up in shipment but overall it was still great!