The brush your hair needs now
If you have been using the same hair brush for years or never given a thought to the ability of your hair brush listen up. The right styling tool can make the difference in breakage, frizz, shine, and bounce. No shampoo, styling cream, fancy iron or blow drier can overcome having the wrong brush for the job. Got some Christmas cash? Consider investing in the proper brush to make styling in 2021 easier – because you use it, every single day!
There are so many different brushes on the market how do you choose the right one for you? Here is a crash course in the most basic of all brushes.
Paddle Brush
Used for detangling and smoothing
Best for all hair types, wet hair and long hair
Everybody should have a paddle brush. If you are going to have one brush make it a Wet Brush. Wet brushes are specially designed with flexible wide-tooth plastic bristles to detangle wet hair without snapping. Hair is most delicate when wet so to prevent breakage it is super important you begin detangling in small sections from the bottom of the hair working up to the root. Most frizz I see is actually caused by snapped hair – if you have a lot of frizzies or fly aways around the ear to middle of your hair good chance you are snapping your hair while detangling.
Paddle brushes come in many types. The two you should consider are a wet brush with nylon bristles and a boar hair paddle brush.
Nylon Bristle Paddle Brush
Wet brush Paddle Brush Nylon Bristles
Used for detangling wet hair
Best for fragile hair, long hair, straight to wavy hair
Boars Hair Paddle Brush
Used for detangling and smoothing dry hair
Best for all hair types
Okay, stick with me. The gold standard in boar hair paddle brushes will always be the Mason Pearson brush. At a price tag over $150 that is out of reach for even most hairstylists. I mention it so in case you ever can get your hands on one – do it! The tightly packed bristles, lifetime warranty, and out of this world magic smoothing properties expertly distribute hair’s natural oils and create the ultimate shine.
Mason Pearson
Not ready to invest in a $150 brush? Here is a perfect dupe for the Mason Pearson at a much cheaper price point.
Wet Brush Shine Brush
Used for detangling wet hair
Best for fragile hair, long hair, straight to wavy hair
Wide Tooth Comb
Used for detangling
Best for curly hair
Wet Brush Wide Tooth Comb
Curly gals should use a wide tooth comb to evenly spread a leave-in (no rinse) conditioning treatment from roots to ends. At night, run the comb gently through wet or dry hair and secure your hair in a loose bun to ensure you won’t wake up with frizz or tangles.
Round Brush
Best for layered hair
Used for big, bouncy blow outs
There are two main types of round brushes – metal and natural. Small brush barrels create more volume and tighter curls, larger brush barrels create more smooth styles. Below are the two most recommended by hairstylists.
Metal Round Brush
Best for straight to wavy textures
Olivia Garden NanoThermic Ceramic Round Brush
Metal round brushes are usually vented which allow air flow to pass through the brush while the blow dryer heat warms the metal barrel similar to a curling iron. Creates a quick blow out on straight to wavy hair, the metal may get too hot for fine or fragile hair.
Boar Bristle
Best for fragile, fine, and curly hair
Ibiza Boar Bristle Round Brush
Tension and a firm grip is key to creating frizz-free, smooth styles. Boar bristles have more grit allowing for more tension on the hair resulting in a more polished look.
Fine and fragile hair won’t overheat around the wood barrel and the thick bristles are perfect for smoothing frizz on curly hair. Natural boar bristles also spread hair’s natural conditioners down the hair shaft softening hair and smoothing the hair cuticle increasing shine.
A boar bristle brush should be used to smooth hair after a blow out or iron and before bed to spread hair oils to dry ends. Use a good quality boar bristle brush since cheaper bristles can melt under blow dryer heat causing more damage than good.
Denman Brush
Used to smooth tight curls, short sleek bob haircuts
Denman Classic Brush
If you have very curly hair you may have never thought of using this odd looking nylon brush. The denman brush made popular by the Denman brush company is just the tool to grip curly or coily hair when blowing hair out straight. Its slight round shape allows for max tension and the wide spaced nylon bristles glide through thick hair.
Ladies looking for the perfect tool for a short, sleek bob should get a Denman brush. The angle of the brush and easy to handle size makes it the best brush out there to make your hair sleek and straight with the perfect subtle bend on the bottom.
There are a million different types of brushes out there. Find which one is right for you in this post and then experiment with different materials and brands in the category. By clicking any of the images you will be directed to an available option on Amazon. I am not affiliated with Amazon, you may find a better price elsewhere.