The reprise of the shaving brush.

If there's one piece of grooming equipment that's been woefully neglected over the past decade it has to be the humble shaving brush. With beards being the facial trend du jour, the old school method has been shelved, much to the detriment of our chins we might add.

Some guys may wonder, why even use a brush anyway? Although these guys look pretty amazing sitting on your bathroom shelf, they shouldn't be left there. Not only do brushes whip up an unbeatable lather, it naturally exfoliates the skin, brushing away all those dead skin cells and general grime before lifting the hairs razor ready.

Looking back at old movies, you will see gents using their brush in tough circular motions and making up a thick and wonderful lather. This is a shaving brush urban myth method and should never be done at home. Using circular motions will only weaken the bristles of your brush in the centre, meaning bad news for future shaves. Like any other product, you need to learn how to use it properly to get it's best use. We at The Brotique have an amazing range of brushes available for all budgets, so here's how to use and take care of it properly in 5 easy steps:

1. Dip the tip in warm water, ensuring it is wet through
2. Flick off excess water and dip into shaving cream
3. Make sure the tip of the brush is coated as evenly as possible
4. Apply to the face using gentle back and forth motions (not hard circular no matter how tempting)
5. Invest in a drip stand to allow to dry naturally while upside down on the window ledge

Making sure your brush has dried properly will do wonders for its shelf life. Leaving it 'right way up' is a recipe for disaster as it doesn't allow the bristles to dry properly, not to mention leaving all the nastiness from your face at the core of the brush, causing it to rot. We don't want that now do we?

We at The Brotique are and always will be concerned that products satisfy every criteria of environmental and ecological protection. We sell both badger and synthetic shaving brushes to cater for all our customers but when asking for our recommendation, we would say badger brushes can really stand the test of time. The softness, durability and ability to retain water makes the badger brush makes it totally worth the extra spend. Here's a list of our favourites:

Cash: Imitation Badger Brush by Kent £10

Debit: Small Horn Kent Badger Brush H4 £45

Credit: Silver Tip Badger Kent Shaving Brush £59

Splurge: Kent Luxury Shaving Set with Stand £118

Want the perfect soap to complete the set? We couldn't recommend Honest Rosewood and Honey shaving soap enough. £30

Did you find this post helpful? Don't forget you can tweet us over at @the_brotique and tell us your thoughts.