WCS Lantern Synthetic Shaving Brush Review

West Coast Shaving is bringing wonderful shaving brushes to market, like this Lantern Synthetic Shaving Brush, Black. As a requisite for wet shaving, a shaving brush is a staple in a shaving den. This one hits all the right wickets - synthetic hair for easy maintenance, large knot to whip up lots of lather, black handle for a sleek, modern look.

WCS Lantern Synthetic Shaving Brush Specifications

• Knot (diameter of bundle of hairs): 24mm
• Loft (height of the hair): 51mm
• Handle Height: 48mm
• Total Height: 99mm
• Price: $31.25 (or less)

About West Coast Shaving

Since 2008, West Coast Shaving has been in the business of making wet shaving accessible to all. They started in a two-bedroom condo in southern California making razor blade sample packs. Today, they still carry those extremely popular packs that let you find the right blade for your technique and tools, but they have expanded to include their own branded products.

Anatomy of a Shaving Brush

WCS Lantern Synthetic Shaving Brush Handle

Historically, shaving brushes have been made from everything from horn to ivory to wood. Today’s materials are a bit more eco and animal friendly. They are also easier to maintain and have greater longevity than some other materials. For this shaving brush, the handle is a deep black acrylic. 

The acrylic handle is smooth to the touch, difficult to break, and easy to wipe clean. So, you know that it will last and last and last. It polishes to a high shine and looks great sitting out on a sink or resting in a shaving stand. 

The WCS Lantern Synthetic Shaving Brush has a traditionally shaped handle. With its curves and ridges, it is easy to grasp. This allows shavers to whip up their lather with ease. This handle is 48mm which means it fits great in the hand for palm or face lathering. It also works great with bowl lathering but it is a bit short to work well in a mug. Regardless, there are many ways to get a great lather with this brush. 

It is also embossed on the bottom with the West Coast Shaving logo in white. This little touch is visible if you choose to hang your brush on a shaving stand while it dries. It can compliment your décor nicely.

WCS Lantern Synthetic Shaving Brush Head

The hair in this WCS Lantern Shaving Brush is a revolutionary synthetic fiber that is making synthetic haters think twice. Synthetics have a reputation for being plastic-y, scratchy on the face, and less than ideal for whipping up a great lather. Enter this synthetic hair from WCS. This synthetic is soft to the touch, whips up a great lather, and is easier to maintain than natural hair shaving brushes. It still boasts a firm backbone so it can whip as well on cream as it does on soap.  This cruelty-free option is also lower cost than badger hair brushes.  

The knot on this shaving brush is a “just right” 24mm. As many shavers look for bigger  and bigger brushes (26mm and up), this brush is still in the running. The densely packed head can produce a.lot.of.lather. The knot is also set deeply into the handle for comfort and durability. With the glue knot firmly entrenched deep in the brush, you won’t feel it while you lather and it is less likely to wiggle loose.

The loft is a generous 51mm so you can hold a lot of lather in the head. It reaches nicely into a bowl for lathering, or equally as nice with palm or face lathering. The loft is a bulb shape which is popular with shavers as it is the most common shape. It works great with all types of lathering.  

Maintenance

Here is where this synthetic brush really shines. In addition to all its other attributes, the WCS Lantern Synthetic shaving brush makes care a breeze. Synthetic brushes are excellent for travel (and for the forgetful or lazy) as they are easy to maintain. They dry quickly and are less prone to harboring germs (many can even be sanitized). Just rinse it thoroughly with clean water to prevent soap build up and set it out to dry - which it will do quickly.

Affordability

West Coast Shaving works to keep all the products reasonably priced so that as many people as possible can get into wet shaving. So, this shaving brush with synthetic hair is comparable to other well-known brushmakers: Simpson and Omega both have comparably-sized brushes for around $30.00 . You may be able to find a cheaper one out there, but not with this synthetic - which almost rivals badger hair for its face feel. And West Coast frequently has it on sale.  

Bottom Line:

This fabulous shaving brush checks all the boxes for a great product: fair price, fantastic face feel, fabulous performance, and easy maintenance.