Just a quick report on my second morning with a non-rinsed brush from the previous morning:
Remember that I'm using an Omega Syntex brush, which has synthetic bristles. I have been hanging it (inverted, of course -- bristles down) to dry WITHOUT rinsing the soap out of it per a Gillette tip printed in the 1920s.
Even though there was a residual-lather mixture consisting of mostly my Grandad's soap but with some tallow-based shave soap as well, a close inspection of the brush revealed no unusual sights or smells -- meaning no obvious microbial bloom.
So I face-lathered once again using both the residual dried lather in the brush as well as some additional soap rubbed on the wet beard as usual. A two-pass shave left me ready to face the world.
For tomorrow's shave, I will try to remember to forego my Grandad's soap and use tallow-based Arko as the primary lather for the shave. Then 24 hours later, I'll once again inspect for bacterial growth.
So far so good. Looks like Gillette & Co. knew what they were talking about.
Open questions still remain as to the long-term effect on natural-bristled brushes of daily not rinsing out the residual lather after the shave. I don't foresee an issues with the synthetic-bristled brush.
Happy shaving!
I think as long as it dries properly and quickly the bacteria wont multiply too much. And the soap might create a bacteria unfriendly environment. Shaving with a clean face will also help minimize this. I tend to not always wash my face properly before a shave. This will be an interesting long term experiment.
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