I recently upgraded my badger brush for the MEN-U Premier Shaving brush. I wasn't sure what to expect because I thought my badger brush did a great job at creating a nice lather and gave me a close shave. Boy was I wrong. After doing some research and read the benefits of using a synethic bristle shaving brush over a natural bristle brush I was ready to put this to the test. Here's what I concluded after doing some testing and research:

• Natural bristle brushes (badger and boars hair are the two most popular for shaving brushes) absorb water and product. This leads to wasted product and cuts down on the durability of your bristles.
• Synthetic bristles do not absorb water or product, so you get the most out of your product. I'd need to use at least twice as much product with my old badger brush to generate the same amount of rich lather my new MEN-U synthetic brush creates.
• Since the synthetic bristles do not absorb water or product, it is much easier to clean than my old badger bristle brush. This also ties into why a synthetic bristle brush will dry faster.
• Use a stand with your shaving brush. Hanging your brush in a stand helps preserve your bristles and allows it to dry quicker and more effectively. One downside of the MEN-U Shaving Brush Stand is it's cheap. It works, but it's nothing fancy.
• Natural bristle brushes have a softer feel on your skin. When I first used my synthetic bristle brush from MEN-U, it has somewhat of a prickly feel to it. I was expecting this because I read about it online, but after using it some more, I actually enjoyed the invigorating feeling. The stiffer bristles help aid in removing dead skin cells.

Ok, so the most important question, did I get a closer shave? Yes, noticably better. After shaving with the MEN-U Premier Synethetic Bristle Brush, I kept touching my face to feel how smooth it was. I naturally have a lot of hair on my face, thanks to my Italian background, so I never get that baby smooth look like some men do. I noticed that my close shave look lasted longer, which backs up my thinking that I did actually get a closer shave. I'll be doing some video comparisons between my new synthetic brush and my old badger brush in the near future.

Overall thoughts: MEN-U Premier Synthetic Bristle Brush is definitely worth the money!