Badger Hair Grades

The Basics

 

Being a natural product, badger bristles vary greatly in color and texture because they come from different animals and different parts of the same animal.

The hairs are graded according to a standard scale into four grades:

Pure Badger | this is the most common badger fur and are usually dark in colour. They are the firmest and coarsest grade so if you want a brush that is firm, this is the quality you should go for. Often the tips are trimmed to shape the brush so his removes the very softest part of the hair. They are normally the most affordable and many men associate this with being of lesser quality. However, the main reason why this quality is more affordable is that most of the animal is covered in this type of fur so there is more availability of it for production. This is the preferred quality for most men because of its stiffness.

Best Badger | Best Badger bristles are finer and lighter in colour than Pure Badgers. Since they are finer, they are then more densely packed in the knot and as a result, a Best Badger brush will hold more water. This is important when lathering up your soap but not essential as you can always add a few more drops of water if needed. The bristles of a Best Badger are trimmed to length, giving a coarser feel of the hair against the skin, but they are still soft enough for face lathering and firm enough for soaps.

Super Badger | Super Badger bristles are simply Pure Badger bristles that are not trimmed to length, so they feel softer on the skin. You can recognize it because the knot will have a dark band of bristles and white at the top.

Silver Tip | Silver Tip bristles are the softest of all badger bristles and are therefore very gentle against the skin. They are made from the hair around the neck of the badger and because this is a small area, the price level of this type of hair is higher. This type of hair has naturally off-white tips and have excellent water retention. They are packed very densely in so they tend to have an abundant fluffy look.

Choosing which type of bristle you want is mainly a matter of preference, however, if your favorite shaving soap is too hard, it is a good idea to avoid the softest badgers. The Fitjar Islands Shaving Soaps are medium-soft soaps so you are free to pick whichever badger quality you prefer.

Do you have other questions about wet shaving or about our products? Send us a mail to hello@fitjarislands.no