I recommend the type of bristles for hairbrushes based on the hairbrush purpose. And this way of thinking maybe a complete shift in the way most people think about styling their hair. It could be as simple as choosing the right hairbrush to get the right type of bristles, right? But before you can choose the right brush, you might need a little more information and determine its purpose. There’s a brush for every job, whether you style your hair in a bouffant hairdo, opt for natural waves, detangle or go for a Hollywood glam hairstyle. Often the right type of bristle brush will make your appearance all the better. Besides, choosing the right bristle brush will make your styling much easier.
Recommended Bristles For Hair Brushes
For detangling hair choose bristles that are wide spaced. To create more volume choose a teasing brush. For a good head message and to detangle hair choose a bamboo bristle brush. A mix boar and nylon bristle brush will condition your hair as well as detanlge. for drying and styling choose a round ceramic boar bristle brush. According to Stacey, Hair Research Analyst, “Choosing between a round bristle brush, a paddle brush, and a boar bristle brush can be harder than you think if you are not familiar with each brush type.” However, a quick reference chart like the one below can help you figure out what type of bristles are needed quickly.
| Type of bristles recommended for hair brushes #1 Picks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bristle Brushes | Recommendations | Rating |
| Wet Brush Original Detangler Hair Brush | Great for detangling your hair. My #1 choice for thin to medium hair. | Excellent |
| Bamboo bristle brush | Perfect for detangling hair and head massages. stimulates circulation and help promotes a shiny and healthy looking hair, | Good |
| Teasing brush with a mix of nylon and boar bristles | Perfect for creating lots of lift for thin hair, texture for ponytails, sectioning hair, and of course creating a bouffant hairstyle. | Good |
| Denman Classic Styling Brush 9 Row | Great for detangling your hair and taming frizz when used with a spritz. My #1 choice for thick curly hair. | Excellent |
| Denman Free Flow Wide Spaced Pins 9 Row Hair Styling Brush | Great for detangling your hair and taming frizz when used with a spritz. My #2 choice for thick curly hair. | Excellent |
| Thermal bristle brushes | Round brushes are great for styling your hair. Creates waves, curls and even straightens hair with the aid of a blow-dryer. | Good |
| Round brush with natural 100% boar bristles | Great for creating waves, curls and even straightens hair with the aid of a blow-dryer. The go-to brush for styling hair used by most all professionals and salons. | Good |
| Boar bristle brushes | Great for maintaining and conditioning your hair. Gives your hair a beautiful shine without having to rely on conditioners and or treatments. | Good |
| Mixed bristle brush | Great for maintaining and conditioning your hair. When used in combination the nylon also helps to detangle hair as your brush. | Good |
Read my article called “What kind of brush is best for thin hair” if you have thin or fine hair keeping your hair protected from unnecessary damage is your biggest concern. If you are asking what is the best hairbrush to tame frizz in your hair, then you should read my article called, “What type of brush is best for frizzy hair“.
What are bristle hair brushes used for?
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| Type of Bristles Recommended For Hair Brushes |
According to Meesh, Hair Product Analyst, “Boar bristle brushes are used to condition your hair naturally.” The natural bristles spread your scalps oils from the root to the tips of your hair with each brush stoke. Without conditioners and treatments, your scalp’s natural oils give your hair a wonderful glow. Read my article about boar bristle brushes, “Popular boar bristle brushes“.
Thermal bristle brushes
They make thermal bristle brushes out of a heat-conducting material that can help you dry your hair more efficiently. A bristle brush barrel made of Ceramic and Ion like the Olivia Garden Ceramic and Ion Thermal brush will speed the drying process and results in a lower level of hair warming. Its bristles offer an advanced grip that makes a smooth finish easy to achieve. This brush is great for beachy waves and easily created by wrapping the brush with small portions of your hair. This bush is great for styling your hair.
Boar bristle brushes
Boar bristles are best for creating a natural texture and styling without pulling or creating too much tension. If you have really wavy or tight curly hair will want to be very gentle while using a boar bristle brush because the natural bristles can grab and pull your hair. Natural boar bristles have a lot of grabbing power. This, of course, is fantastic for styling hair, but thick curly hair folks need to be gentle. Boar bristle brushes are great for all hair types. What I love about boar bristle brushes is they are excellent at distributing scalp oils throughout your hair. One of my favorites for distributing your natural scalp oils throughout your hair is the Mason Pearson Popular Hair Brush, Ruby. The Mason Pearson Ruby boar bristle brush is for long and coarse to normal hair. Your natural oils give your hair a beautiful shine without having to rely on conditioners and or treatments. Some folks also advocate the use of boar bristle brushes to be used to detangle hair. This is true, we can accomplish detangling with a boar brush, but I am not a big fan of using a boar bristle brush to detangle. There are much better options for detangling hair. This bush is great for maintaining and conditioning your hair.To read much more about boar bristle brush and how to choose one, read my article called, “Choosing a boar brush“.
Detangling brush with nylon bristles
When detangling wet hair, be very vigilant because your hair is weakest while wet. If you pull too hard, you can stretch the hair, and it snaps, causing split-ends. So remember, your hair is at its most delicate when it is wet. My recommendation to prevent breakage is to opt for a brush with flexible plastic bristles spaced far enough apart to detangle like the Wet Brush. The Wet Brush is great a detangling even the toughest knots without tugging or pulling. The Wet Brush can be used on wet or dry hair and even works on extensions and wigs. However, experience has shown for folks who have thick curly hair using a Wet Brush takes longer to work through the tangles. To speed up the detangling, you can use another one of my favorites, the Denman 9 row brush. The brush has nylon bristles mounted in a rubber cushion that is a little stiffer than The Wet Brush bristles, thus allowing you to work a little faster at detangling thick curly hair. The Denman also comes in a Free Flow Wide Spaced Pins 9 Row. These brushes are great for detangling your hair and taming frizz when used with a spritz.
Mixed bristle brush
They make mixed bristle brushes from a combination of boar bristles and nylon bristles. The combination of bristles gives you the best of both worlds with the benefits for each type of bristle. The boar bristles allow you to distribute your scalps natural oils while the nylon bristles help to detangle. This is a brilliant choice for medium to thick hair types. One of my favorites is the Mason Pearson Handy Mixed Bristle Brush. It’s a bristle and nylon mixed brush of 6 rings of stiff bristles and nylon mixed tufts. This brush is great for maintaining and conditioning your hair.
Round brush with natural 100% boar bristles
Round brushes are the go-to brush to create blow-outs and salon-worthy hairstyles at home. The bristles give you the ability to form and style hair. You can create waves, curls, or even straighten hair easily using a round bristle brush. One of my favorites is the R+Co Round Brush. It has natural boar bristles, an ergonomic handle, and a handcrafted wooden core. I prefer a wooden handle over a two-piece plastic handle because wooden handles are more durable and last longer, especially under heavy styling. Round brushes are the go-to brush for styling hair.
Teasing brush with a mix of nylon and boar bristles
Teasing brushes are great at creating lots of lift at the roots. These brushes give your hair the illusion of fullness. Besides, the pointed end of the handle allows hair to be quickly sectioned. One word of advice is you should not over tease your hair because it’s harsh on your hair, so go easy. Teasing brushes are used to create lots of lift for thin hair, texture for ponytails, sectioning hair, and of course creating a bouffant hairstyle. The bouffant is a hybrid is a kind of hairstyle with hair raised high on the head that usually covers ears or hangs on the sides. My go-to teasing brush is the Drybar Texas Tease Teasing Brush because of its yellow color I can quickly find it in any drawer. Plus, it has the perfect combination of boar and nylon bristles providing the right amount of tension for teasing. Teasing brushes are used to create lots of volume.
Bamboo bristle brush
Bamboo bristle brushes are great for detangling hair with ease and comfort. Bamboo brushes excel at prepping your hair before straightening. Because of the bamboo sturdy bristles it can brush through thick hair, making it ideal for prepping your hair before using a flat iron or hair straightening brush. Another benefit to using a bamboo bush is you also get a great head massage. The head massage will stimulate circulation and help promote a shiny and healthy looking hair. My favorite is the GranNaturals Bamboo brush. It’s a paddle style brush so it can brush through lots of hair fast, and they mount the bamboo bristles in a flexible air cushion. Bamboo brushes are for detangling and head massages.
References
HairBrushy Article: What different hair brushes are used for
Johnson, D. H. (Ed.). (2018). Hair and hair care. Routledg https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uMuCDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=hair+care&ots=DM5gzVLuOX&sig=MMjz7q_OBrLgZ9iFLbqeUFindC4#v=onepage&q=hair%20care&f=false