Plisson

Plisson is a French maker of shaving brushes, grooming tools and men's grooming products, founded in Paris in 1808. The company describes itself as the oldest shaving brush factory in the world [1], and its history is tied from the outset to Napoleon Bonaparte, for whom it made an early badger-hair shaving brush and to whom it became an official supplier [2]. Now a family-run business, it operates from workshops in the Côtes d'Armor region of Brittany and sells internationally through its own online store and third-party retailers.

The house works across several categories: shaving brushes and razors, hairbrushes, face, body and beard care, and a niche fragrance line. It positions itself around French craftsmanship and long-running savoir-faire, with production concentrated in France and, in the case of its brushes, largely finished by hand.

According to Plisson's account of its origins, the brand began with a married couple of brushmakers who, in 1808, designed a beard brush to meet the needs of the Emperor. Napoleon rose early, shaved daily and did not wish to call on a barber, so the task fell to his valet — a routine that created demand for reliable grooming tools. The couple went on to become the official brush makers for Napoleon, the military and the Emperor's family, and set up their workshop at 42 rue Phélipeaux in Paris.

The identity of the founders is recorded inconsistently within the company's own materials. Plisson's dedicated origins page names the founders as Jacques-Louis and Marie-Hélène, adding that Jacques-Louis was born in 1784 into a family of brushmakers and tabletiers and that the couple married in 1805 [2]. A separate page about the brand's eagle symbol instead captions the founder as "Jean-Louis," describing the initials as appearing on official documents dating from 1898 [4]. Both pages are on the brand's own site; the discrepancy is unresolved, though the detailed origins page is the more specific source.

The company traces its craft to two traditions: brushwork and tabletterie, the shaping of noble materials such as horn, ivory and exotic woods. It presents this union as the foundation of its expertise in fibre placement and handle-making.

Plisson's timeline centres on grooming innovation and official recognition. The company records its first patent in 1855, for a shaving brush with a porous frame designed for easier maintenance [1]. At the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris it was awarded a silver medal, and further patents followed for a beard brush assembly (1902) and a brush cement (1906). A third-party retailer history also notes an 1899 patent for an unbreakable bowl [10].

In 1934 the company broadened its range, introducing make-up brushes that it sold to women under a separate brand, Brosafar, which remained in business until the 1970s. Production moved from Paris to the Côtes d'Armor in Brittany in 1993. In 1999 Plisson integrated the Joris brand, a maker of high-quality shaving accessories, expanding its brush and razor offering [1][9].

The eagle, adopted at the brand's founding as a tribute to Napoleon, was dropped in the 1950s and then reintroduced in an updated form in 2021 [9]. In 2023–2024 the company marked its 215th anniversary, which drew editorial coverage from grooming retailers.

Shaving brushes remain the core of the range. Plisson grades badger hair by type, describing "High Mountain White" as the rarest quality of hair available in the world, alongside European Grey, Russian Grey and European White grades, plus a synthetic "High Mountain White" fibre marketed for sensitive skin [5]. Handles are made from materials including precious woods such as Macassar ebony, Santos rosewood, olive and briar, as well as blonde horn and finished brass. The company states its brushes are handmade in France and built with a removable, screw-mounted knot that can be replaced to extend the brush's life.

Beyond brushes, the men's care line covers facial care, shaving and after-shave products, beard care and body care, with the company emphasising natural formulation and French manufacture; it describes one shaving soap as made with a fully natural base and without titanium dioxide. An organic shea butter shaving soap carries ECOCERT Cosmos Organic certification [6]. The hairbrush range includes pneumatic and pure boar-bristle models, again described as made in France and finished by hand.

The fragrance offering is presented as "The 1808 Collection," a niche line of six perfumes that the company frames as drawing on Napoleon's life and grooming rituals.

Plisson centres its positioning on innovation and inherited craft. "Innovation is at the heart of Plisson and this is what has allowed the brand to stand the test of time," the company states, and it describes its know-how as transmitted from generation to generation. It presents itself, after more than two centuries, as a reference for shaving brushes and men's grooming. A 2024 retailer feature characterised the brand as "Innovative Parisian luxury," known for its collection of shaving tools and accessories [9].

The brand's principal historical distinction is the silver medal awarded at the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris [1]. Its association with Napoleon Bonaparte, for whom it supplied grooming tools, is the recurring theme in coverage of its heritage.

Plisson is active. It operates a multilingual e-commerce store and continues to expand its range across shaving tools, grooming products and its 1808 fragrance line, with its most recent visible milestones being the 2021 logo redesign and 2024 anniversary coverage [9]. It remains family-run and describes its products as made in France.