We chose the Legacy Shave Evolution Brush as our top choice primarily because of its mess-free feature: you can pop it on top of your shaving can and do away with the mixing bowl. Its mechanism allows the cream, gel, or foam to come out through its durable nylon bristles. For your shaving needs, this is one of the important bathroom essentials you need to get.
To help you find the best shaving brush for both daily use and travel, we examined 36 products, checking each one for bristle type and quality, the durability of materials, and handle design. Keep reading to find out more about it and our six other picks.
Top 7 Best Shaving Brushes
#1 Legacy Shave Evolution Shaving Brush
Award: Top Pick
WHY WE LIKE IT: Legacy Shave allows you to enjoy the old school brush in a new way with its screw-on cap that you can attach to almost any gel or cream can. If mixing creams or soaps is not your thing, then this nylon-made brush is for you.
- Fits into most cans
- No cream/soap-mixing required
- Also useful for women
- Requires canned creams or gels
This product is so far the only type of brush on the market that can be fastened onto a can for automatic gel or cream application. To use it, you must first remove the upper part of the can so that the aerosol valve appears. You can then twist and lock the brush onto the can. It is also nice that the Evolution Shave Brush universally attaches to most gel cans and shaving creams.
The Evolution Shave brush allows you to control just the right amount of gel or cream that needs to come out while you brush, so there’s no wastage. This shave brush does that using the patented brush lathering technology and makes your can last four times longer. You can make your shave brush last longer by rinsing it thoroughly under running water and shaking it before drying. This is also the most hygienic shave brush because it dries faster than traditional shave brushes, thanks to the quality synthetic nylon bristles. If you’re redoing your bathroom, you might want to look into the best shower faucets too.
#2 Ikain Fik Pure Badger Shaving Brush
Award: Honorable Mention
WHY WE LIKE IT: Pamper yourself with a luxurious, barber-like experience right inside your bathroom with this Ikain Fik pure badger hair brush. The soft, short-bristled brush has an ergonomically designed wooden handle that makes cream or soap preparation delightful.
- Best budget
- Bulb-shaped brush
- Varnished wooden handle
- No drip stand or travel case
Badger hair is known as the softest and least foul-smelling of all animal hair brushes, which we’ll get into more detail later. The thick, sturdy bristles of the Ikain Fik brush retain water so you can build up a lathery cream or gel mixture. The high quality dense bristles of this shave brush create a rich lather for the best shave possible.
Besides creating a good lather, the product’s dense hair also helps remove layers of dead skin cells in your beard area. The handle of the 2.4-oz brush has a flat base so you can make it stand on its own once dry. For the rest of your bathroom cleaning needs, take a look at the best bathroom cleaner on the market.
#3 Parker Safety Razor Silvertip Badger Shaving Brush
Award: Best Quality
WHY WE LIKE IT: Experience the best of badger hair with this silvertip-bristle shaving brush, the highest grade of all badger hair. If you have sensitive skin, you’ll love the feel of this gentle, hand-crafted brush, which features an elegant-looking faux ivory handle.
- Premium silvertip badger hair
- With drip stand
- Attractive handle
- Relatively costly
You’ll be motivated to invest in a quality cream or soap with this highly water-absorbent silvertip brush. This product is by Parker Safety Razor, which has a nearly 50-year record in making quality men’s grooming accessories. Its premium quality bristles form into a 20-mm bulb, which is an average knot size for a shave brush. The bristles of this shave brush generate a luxurious lather when used with a quality shave cream or soap.
This handmade 5.6-oz brush best suits people with sensitive skin because of the extremely soft bristles it offers. After whipping up a rich lather, rinse the brush well, shake, and let it dry on the acrylic stand that accompanies the product. If you’re tired of arguing over who used the last of the hot water heater, take a look at this best tankless gas water heater.
#4 Frank Shaving Fine Badger Hair Shaving Brush
We’re sorry, this product is temporarily out of stock
Award: Best Fine Hair
WHY WE LIKE IT: If silvertip badger hair is too soft to your liking, then go for this brush with fine badger hair, which is a notch coarser than the silvertip. You can apply gel or foams with longer strokes using this high water-retention brush with a slender handle.
- High water retention
- Anti-slip handle design
- Free drip stand
- Soft for “aggressive” shavers
The knot size of this Frank Shaving product is 24mm, making it thicker than the Parker brush. The length of hair or bristles, also referred to as the loft of the brush, measures 54mm. That’s a little longer than the average shaving brush loft of 50mm. This means the shave brush can carry more water with the 24mm knot for wet shaving, and the 54mm loft can give enough backbone for lathering.
Longer hairs give shave brushes a softer backbone, the shaving parlance for the degree of bristle stiffness. The 4-oz, five-inch brush is designed to give you a better grip on the resin handle so you can make short and long strokes with ease. All in all, this is a high-quality shave brush that will give you years of service. Set this next to one of the best bathroom faucets and be ready for the perfect shave, anytime.
#5 Haircut & Shave Co. Synthetic Shaving Brush
Award: Best Synthetic
WHY WE LIKE IT: This brush features the most popular kind of synthetic knot on the market today, the Tuxedo knot, known for its robust but flexible bristles. This brush’s long loft and easy-grip, bright green handle offer a unique experience for wet shaving enthusiasts.
- Fast drying
- Longer loft
- Stylish hand
- Soft for “aggressive” shavers
Like all Tuxedo knots, this brush is marked by black-colored bristles with white tips. It features a mid-range backbone, stylish handle, and dense bristles to help exfoliate your skin. Trying it out for the first time, this lather shave brush will offer an improved shaving experience because it is capable of creating a lather that will lift the beard to make it easier to shave.
Synthetic brushes are normally associated with lower lather uptake compared to their animal hair counterparts. But this 4.6-oz shaving brush tries to make up for it through its long 57-mm loft and densely packed bristles, having a knot size of 24mms. It’s more quick-drying than animal hair brushes so they’re ready for use the next time you pick it up for shaving ideal for wet shavers. To store such items in your bathroom, you could get the best shower caddy.
#6 da Vinci Brushes Uomo Synique Shaving Brush
Award: Best for Travel
WHY WE LIKE IT: If you travel regularly, you’ll want this slim da Vinci brush that can retract into a sleek metal case. It’s made from hand-bound imitation badger hair, making it perfect for vegans and allergy sufferers.
- Lightweight & built-in cap
- Retractable brush
- Imitation badger hair
- Small knot size
The German brush maker behind this product has been a leading name in artists’ and cosmetic brushes since the 1950s. The 2.9-oz badger brush has an overall height of 5.8” but shortens when retracted to its metal case, making it highly portable.
Because it’s made of synthetic fibers, the brush is friendly to sensitive skin. Its strong, quality fibers can withstand regular frothing and soap or foam application. What’s more is that it’s easy to clean and store. The flat metal base of the shaving brush ensures that it can stand on its own once dry. Now, there are times when your bathroom pipes or drainage blocks, the ideal tool to use to unblock these pipes is the best plunger.
#7 Je&Co Silvertip Badger Hair Shaving Brush
Award: Best for Gifts
WHY WE LIKE IT: You can skip the “break-in period” for this Jequil & Corenveo silvertip badger hair brush because of its odorless bristles. The hairs are packed in a high-quality resin handle with a stainless steel base, making it an ideal gift idea for family members or loved ones with a flair for luxurious shaving.
- Extremely soft bristles
- High water retention
- Classy-looking, stable handle
- No drip stand or travel case
This shaving brush is made of real and hand-crafted silvertip badger hair with a knot size of 21mm and a loft length of 50mm. Je&Co sterilized the animal hair thoroughly so that none of the badger smell remains on the product, which will leave your skin gratified with its soft and water-absorbing bristles.
The 4-oz, 4.3” brush can stand on its own as the black resin handle has a heavy stainless steel bottom. This badger brush also has a high-quality resin handle, fine texture, and a stylish design. It’s suitable for daily use and complements almost every razor type.
How We Decided
We decided to include as much variety in our shortlist as possible. This is why our selection includes synthetic and animal hair brushes, including the famed badger brushes, with varying grades.
Except for our best for travel product, we wanted to ensure that all the items in this best shaving brush buying guide will provide you with the optimum lather uptake. That’s why we featured synthetic brushes with longer lofts as the length of the bristles will help increase the moisture hold of the brush, bringing it close to the capabilities of animal hair brushes.
Best Shaving Brush Buyer’s Guide
The Most Important Factors to Consider
- Type of Bristles
- Badger hair
- Considered the gold standard in shaving brushes, badger hair is the gentlest of the four general bristle types. Its high water retention also allows you to make more lather. The softer the bristles, the more water they can hold.
- Pure: Sourced mostly from the badger’s body, this is the most widely available grade but also the stiffest.
- Best: This badger bristles/hair, mainly coming from the belly area, is finer, softer, and holds more water than the pure grade. Its color may range from gray to light brown.
- Super or Fine: Sourced from the badger’s back, this hair is normally light-colored on top and dark in the mid-section.
- Silvertip: Usually handmade and costly, this type is the softest. It’s also rare because it’s gathered from badgers during winter when their hair turns silver, making the high-end price tag understandable.
- Boar hair
Boar bristles/hair is coarser than badger hair and can feel rough on the skin. As a result, it helps lift facial hair and build a good lather. These boar bristle brushes usually hold less water than badger hair, but choosing a brush with a longer loft can help. They’re also less expensive but shed more quickly because it’s more brittle. - Horsehair
Horsehair is a good middle ground in terms of bristle softness. It wasn’t used for shaving brushes for a long time because they were linked to face anthrax that was reported among the U.S. military from 1915 to 1924. Current regulations and modern decontamination processes now make animal hair brushes of all kinds (including horse hair) safe to use on the face. - Synthetic
These brushes, usually made from nylon, are ideal for those with animal hair allergies or animal conservationists. Cheap synthetic bristles/brushes can be either too limp or stiff, but mid to high-range options can feel as soft as badger hair brushes. Synthetic brushes dry faster and can survive higher temperatures than animal hair brushes. They also don’t shed as easily as animal hair, but they don’t retain as much water as the latter.
- Badger hair
- Size
Larger brushes normally create lather more quickly than smaller products do. The overall height of your brush depends on the measurement of its parts:- The loft measures 50-55mm on average. A shorter loft provides a denser cushion and deeper exfoliation than longer bristles.
- The knot is the neck of the handle where the bristles are packed. It can go as wide as 34mm, but the average best shaving brush knot size ranges from 20-22mm.
- The handle can vary in weight, depending on whether it’s made of wood, synthetic, metal, or other material. The best handle length should be equal to the distance between the center of your palm to the tip of your thumb.
