Do You Need a Shaving Brush?

The short answer: No. You can shave well with a safety razor using a cream lathered by hand. A brush makes better lather with less product and makes hard shave soaps easy to use, which is why many people end up buying one. If you're just starting, begin without one and add it later if you want.

Brushes are part of the classic shaving image, so it's easy to assume they're required. They aren't. Here's what a brush actually adds, and how to decide.

What a brush does

• Builds lather. A brush whips soap or cream with water into a dense, slick lather. Hands can do this with creams, but it takes more product and more effort.
• Makes hard soaps practical. Shave soaps that come as a solid puck often last months, but they're hard to lather without a brush.
• Spreads lather evenly. Small circles with a brush work lather into the base of each hair, which many shavers say helps soften stubble before the first stroke.
• Turns prep into a ritual. This is subjective, but it's the reason most people keep using one.

Shaving without a brush

Use a shave cream rather than a hard soap. Wet your face with warm water. Put an almond-sized amount of cream in wet palms, add a few drops of water, and rub your hands together until it turns glossy. Work it into your stubble with your fingertips against the grain, so it reaches the base of the hair. Add a little water if it feels dry.

Canned foam also works. It's airy rather than slick, so you'll want to relather between passes.

If you buy one: the three types

Type	Feel	Good for
Synthetic	Soft, holds water well, dries fast	Most beginners. Easy to care for and animal-free.
Boar	Stiffer, softens with use	Hard soaps. Needs a few weeks to break in.
Badger	Soft, dense, holds lots of water	Traditionalists. Usually the most expensive.

For a first brush, a decent synthetic is the simplest choice.

Looking after a brush

• Rinse out all the lather after each use.
• Shake or gently flick out the water.
• Let it dry somewhere with airflow, ideally bristles down on a stand. Don't seal it in a container while it's wet.

Our take

Get comfortable with the razor first. The razor is what changes your shave. The brush refines it. Once your technique is steady, a brush is one of the nicest small upgrades you can add, and it makes a good gift alongside a razor. See our safety razor gift guide.

New to all of this? Start with your first 5 shaves.