How to Choose a Shoe Brush in the UK - Buying Guide
Shoe care involves three processes – cleaning, polishing and finishing – all of which require a different style of brush. We've prepared this buying guide to help you understand the differences and purpose of each type, and all the considerations you should be making while shopping.
1
Purchase a Type and Bristle Suitable for Your Footwear
It is important that the shoe brush you buy is suitable for the texture of your shoe material to avoid ruining them, so firstly, we're going to look at the different types and their footwear matches.
Get a Pig Bristle Brush for Removal of Dirt on Leather, Mesh, and Canvas Shoes
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Pig bristle brushes, also known as boar hair or hog bristle brushes, are perfect for scrubbing off dirt andwork well on tough-textured shoes due to their stiffness. They're best for sturdy leather shoes and boots like brogues, as they penetrate the perforations nicely to bring about a deep clean.
Pig hair brushes are great for pebble grain or hatch grain shoes too, as the bristles do a good job at cleaning otherwise hard-to-reach spaces between the grain patterns, eliminating excess wax that has built up in the grooves.
Finally, these brushes are also adept at working cream more effectively into embossed grain leather shoes. For more delicate material like mesh and cotton canvas fabric, however,we'd recommend getting softer hog bristles.
Horsehair Brushes Are Used for Shining and Buffing
Horsehair shoe brushes are the most commonly used type because they're adaptable to both cleaning and polishing, and are suitable for a variety of shoe materials; both regular leather and suede.
They're made up of horse mane or tail hairs and are much softer than tougher pig hair bristles, making them perfect for removing dust and irritants. Use horsehair brushes to give your shoes a good buffing and shining treatment.
Pick a Brass Bristle Brush for Tough Stains on Suede and Nubuck Shoes
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Brass wire shoe brushes are used to get rid of coarse dirt, and are especially useful for stubborn, deep-seated stains on suede and nubuck shoes. Because the bristles are quite tough, they're usually reserved for more heavy-duty cleaning, particularly with stains that have set strongly.
Brass can be quite tough on suede, however, and can cause the top layer to wear off gradually over time, so these brushes should be used with care. It's also important to note thatthis is not a brush to be used for daily cleaning, but rather kept for occasional use when the need to banish those tough stains arises.
Use a Crepe Shoe Brush for Daily Suede and Nubuck Care
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Crepe rubber is made of a light latex material. The texture is soft and sticky, thusfitting for delicate shoe materials which would be ruined by harder brushes. Overall, they'rebest for removing light stains on delicate suede and nubuck.
This brush style is alsoused to re-fluff the fine fibres on shoes, thereby expelling trapped dust and dirt. Good for dislodging grime, soiling and debris, they can be used frequently for daily care.
Use a Dauber to Apply Polish
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A dauber, or applicator, is a smaller brush with a round handle. Unlike all the other flat brushes, its longer handle means that your hands are less likely to get messy while applying polish or wax.
The shape is designed to give your fingers a comfortable grip and is capable of accessing hard-to-reach edges around the shoe. Polish, wax or grease are applied evenly using a dauber in a circular motion in order to adequately penetrate the leather.
Goat Hair Is Wonderful for Achieving a Mirror Shine
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Goat hair brushes are ideal for adding the finishing touches to your shoe care routine. They're even softer than horsehair brushes and will not harm delicate shoe surfaces, instead allowing you to achieve a mirror-like finish on your leather shoes.
If you want a brush that delivers a high-gloss effect and a bright finish to your shoes without damage or scratches, this is the style to go for.
Synthetic Shoe Brushes Are for Tough Cleaning
Source：amazon.co.uk
Synthetic brushes are rigid and tough, and avery useful toolfor removing accumulated polish, dirt, mud and stones from soles of shoes. They're essentially cleaning brushes that do their job without damaging your footwear.
These characteristics make this varietygreat for garden or other work boots and hiking shoes. You should, therefore, avoid using a synthetic brush on smooth leather shoe material.
2
Check for Signs of Quality, Such as the Handle Material and Bristle Build
Brushes also ought to have a wooden base or handle as opposed to plastic or resin. Although plastic and resin are lightweight and inexpensive, wood is more durable and will last longer. Look for a contoured handle for easy and comfortable grip with minimal slipping.
Finally, a brush with minimal shedding and firmly-attached hairs is always preferable. Do not worry if some hairs fall out on your first use – this is typical of natural hair as it is simply ridding itself of the weaker ends. You'll see less falling out as you continue to use it (assuming it's of good quality, that is!)
3
Get the Right Number of Brushes for Your Needs and Consider a Dual Brush or Set
You really don't need to have every type of shoe brush there is! All that matters is that you have a distinct brush for each step of your shoe maintenance routine –one for cleaning, one for polishing, and one for finishing.
Ensuring you have one of each will prevent polish residue or dirt on brushes used in a previous care routine passing onto fresh surfaces and hampering your shoe shine efforts. For efficiency and often better value,look for sets or multi-headed brusheswhich offer the varieties you need.
Moreover, you could get a separate brush for each colour of shoe you have if you like, but if not, two brushes would suffice – one for light coloured shoes and the other for the darker shade of shoes.
