Zingari ManBrush cleaner

Ease of use and effective in cleaning your shaving brushes.

I was surprised at this product and how well it worked. I have an Omega that I hadn't broken in yet and it did a pretty fantastic job getting that initial boar hair smell out. It is still faintly there but not nearly as bad as it was. It is a lot better than just waiting for the shaving soaps to work it out. The brush cleaner actually did a good job on one of my older brushes too. Using the brush cleaner seemed to bring back some of the fluff and bounce to a mixed hair brush that is pretty much my daily driver.As noted in some of the other reviews, one of the main ingredients is lye. I lathered the brush cleaner in my hand when I did mine and had so reaction on my hand (or face). I would be careful though about using this product too much and making sure there is a very complete rinse cycle of all the soap out of the brush, especially with vintage or expensive brushes. The brush cleaner worked really well on makeup brushes and cleaned them thoroughly. The smell of citrus (orange) is very pleasant and very subtle but smells clean.The price for this amount of brush cleaner is fine. The amount is probably like years and years worth because a little goes a long way. If you have dirty or old brushes, or brushes that just need a refresh, this brush cleaner is a good one to try.

Disclosure: This was sent to me for free via the Vine program. I did not receive monetary compensation to write this review, just the product itself.Keeping your brush clean, whatever brush you use, is important. Whether it's synthetic or natural fibers, a clean brush is a happy brush. I know, that's some Bob Ross mantra stuff there but it's true; a clean brush will outperform a dirty brush any day of the week, whether it's shaving, putting on makeup, what have you. Besides, a clean brush just FEELS good. No one wants to wipe a gunky swab of hair across their face. Get it clean! Since it had been awhile since I'd cleaned my brushes, and I use just plain old soap to wash mine, I figured I'd give this product a try. Couldn't hurt, right?So here's the rub. It can. It gave me a -bit- of irritation after cleaning and I shaved with it. From the top, the soap comes in an extra wide tub and is a fairly good chunk of lumpy soap. This is, I believe, a naturally saponified soap made of coconut oil and...well...sodium hydroxide, or lye. No, I didn't shave with it. But if you have a soap that's made with lye and it isn't processed out fully during manufacture, it can cause irritation as the lye gets trapped into the fibers of the brush. I loaded up the brush like I would for lathering, and basically just gave it a lather-like scrub in my normal scuttle. Once it was foamy and had soaked into the knot, I rinsed it twice. I let it hang dry and I used it two days later. When I lathered it this time, it lathered quite a bit easier as the knot had been cleaned of any so-called "superfats", or unbroken long-carbon chain fats numbering in the double digits...but it had also retained residual lye in the brush so that, when applied to my sensitive skin, it tingled. It didn't hurt, per se...it just...tingled.Overall, the product is great but you have to be careful in usage, especially if you have sensitive skin. Give the brush several washes or, if possible, leave it to soak in a sink full of water for as long as you can. Give it a good shake after that to shake out the water...and rinse it again. Rinse it as many times as you can to make sure the lye isn't in there. It DOES say on the packaging to discontinue usage if irritation occurs but, frankly, multiple washes should take care of any residual lye. I'll give this a four stars, despite deserving 3.5, because this does its job well, it does it at an economical price for what you get ($15 for enough cleanser soap to last you a good while), and the smell is incredible. Just...rinse it a lot.

I have used a cleaner like this for artist brushes for decades. I have used one for makeup brushes for a couple years and thought I'd give this one a try. I was surprised by the clumpy appearance, but know that won't take away from it's effectiveness. It did work well to remove oils from facial brushes. The orange essential oil, while smelling good, is not necessary though, as many people are sensitive to it. The sodium hydroxide (lye) and sodium borate (borax) are also strong irritants. A pH test strip read as 10 and quite alkaline. You will want to rinse the brushes thoroughly. From my previous experience with this type cleaner, it should last a long time, so the price is not unreasonable.

I have been using shaving soap and brushes for years and had never cleaned by brush. To me, it looked fine, but I figured I should clean it to make it work better for me. I like that this is made in the USA (Indiana), so I can trust the ingredients.First, I watched the whole tutorial video (in the bottom square of the windows in the top left of the listing). This is necessary for me, as I really was not sure how to use the product until I did. Essentially, you wet the brush and swirl in the container until it lathers a lot (just like with shaving soap). Then, using another bowl, swirl some more (I did it a minute) to lather it deeply into the brush, and rinse it out. I did this in the afternoon, so my brush had time to fully dry before I used it at night.As you can see, it cleaned my brush nicely and the brush fluffed up a lot. It worked well for my nightly shave. Since they recommend the brush be cleaned monthly, I would think this should last for several years, so it is a good buy to make your shaving better.