Hair brushes

[shopgirl61]

I recall my mother useing a half round boar hair bristle brush for her hair, it was on solid maple wood. I believe my grandmothers was also boar but on celluloid.

I have been useing a ball tipped vent brush since the 80s and am thinking its time to give it up as the main reason for it was that I used a blow dryer, religiously, at the time. My hair is very naturally curly and can easily get the frizzies, (such was my grandmothers hair). i'm thinking in addition to a new brush, its time to impliment some new styleing product aids as well.. i've used the silicone based things like biosilk but after a while it just can't manage my hair. So, any recommends for brush type as well as product's? I have never tried a hair pommade but think grandma may have used something along those lines, oh and btw, i've looked at several hair brushes at Sally beauty supply and can't find anything i like. I currently use a cricket because of its rubber handle (no slip )

 

[RodeoRose]

Though I like to use a paddle brush for brushing out pincurls, I swear by my bristle brushes for all other times! I currently have a Denman brush, which is quite nice. It really does make my hair all silky and voluminous. If you feel like making an investment, there's always a Mason Pearson; I keep hinting about the mini-sized one around the holidays lol.

 

[Antje]

Mine is from Isuniz, but they don't make them anymore, but it looks a lot like the denman brush rodeorose has

 

[Puzzicato]

Though I like to use a paddle brush for brushing out pincurls, I swear by my bristle brushes for all other times! I currently have a Denman brush, which is quite nice. It really does make my hair all silky and voluminous. If you feel like making an investment, there's always a Mason Pearson; I keep hinting about the mini-sized one around the holidays lol.

I have a Denman brush too. I used to have a Mason Pearson, but when the rubber perished (after 20 years, I must say) I couldn't afford to replace it!

 

[sheeplady]

I have a brush that is entirely boar bristles, it has the maple head/handle. I got mine from Vermont Country store, this is similar: http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/products/beauty/hair-care-products/vintage-hair-combs/boar-bristle-brushes.html?evar3=browse. Mine is a Fuller (bought it about four years ago), but I don't think the Fuller's have wooden handles anymore.

The only problem I find with the entirely boar bristle brush is that it is not the only brush I need to use on my hair. It is good for smoothing and spreading the oils around, but it can't actually get snarls out. (My hair is fine, and all the ball brushes do is pull it out and make snarls for me, so you might have a different experience.) But the boar bristle's just smooth the top. I've heard other people say that the boar brushes are just for "finishing" your hair brushing, and I think this best describes what the brush does for me.

I picked up a second boar bristle brush to leave in my camp bag at the pharmacy the other night, made by Conair. It seems nice. Not as nice as my other one, but also not as expensive. I also have some nylon bristle brushes that I use for travel and the gym, but the nylon needs to be pretty stiff to get through my hair.

I also use a Mason Pearson that I've had since I was young (maybe about 10 years old?). Mason Pearson brushes are the only kind of brush my mother can get through her hair, which is why I was given one when I started to grow my hair out. If you take care of it, it will last a long time. Mine is still in pretty good shape, but I also don't travel with it or use it at the gym for fear of leaving it somewhere. (I am not looking forward to the conversation where I have to tell my husband I need a new $100.00 hair brush.)

 

[C-dot]

If Biosilk doesn't manage your hair, maybe it's time to try Argan Oil. Moroccanoil (which I'm sure you've heard of) makes the most popular one, but there are alternatives out there for less money that are just as good. You could also try a serum, like Potion 9 or BedHead's After Party. These tend to be heavy on anything but thick, curly hair, so yours can take it.

I love my boar bristle brush, it detangles in the gentlest way. Mine is from Crabtree & Evelyn and is a good 30 years old, thanks in part to its wooden handle. If you make the investment in a good, wooden handle brush (this is key as they won't wear out like rubber) it can last you a very long time - In my case, longer than a lifetime

 

[Clabbergirl]

Hair Brush Quest

I've got limited experience with brushes since, like you, I have very curly hair that tends to frizz at the first sign of manipulation once it's dry. But I'm coming to think that the success of a hair brush is highly subjective and individualistic to a person's hair, maybe even the climate in which they live (humid, dry, etc.). I've bought several high-dollar brushes (not a Mason Pearson, however) that others in-the-know swore by, only to be disappointed that I wasted money on them when the cheap impulse purchase works better. I have a Denman classic styling brush that's great for brushing out tangles, but it doesn't seem to do squat for reducing frizz.

I bought a $2 Goody anti-static brush

(rubber bristles with balls on the ends and then shorter straight bristles mingled throughout) that works much better than the $10 Denman does for reducing tangles and cutting frizz. I've also got a tourmaline-based brush with rubber bristles - no big change but better than the Denman, imho. In my quest to find the perfect brush, I've had better success with a metal-bristle brush

(my grandmother used to use one of these for her hair - she said these were used as wig brushes? But they also were great at smoothing curls into waves.) - and that cheap plastic bristle brush than anything. A wide tooth wooden comb

is the only thing I can put through my hair that won't generate frizz - by the way. And boar bristle? Great for the top layer or 'canopy', but haven't found one that gets through to the bottom layers so not great for detangling (and I have fine hair, just a lot of it).

It seems like there isn't a lot of consistency in results from hairbrushes, although this has only been my experience. Others here with more knowledge may have more to contribute. I've only been brushing my hair for maybe the last year. I brushed my hair as a child, but quit when 'wings' went out, turned to a hair pick, and never looked back. Until now!

Confession: I still eye-ball the hairbrush aisle any time I'm shopping, trying to find 'the one'.

 

[C-dot]

For curly haired dames who are keeping their natural curl in, a wide tooth comb is really all you need. If you're blowing out or setting your hair, a boar bristle will do the job, but it'll require work!

 

[Vinnyhair]

best brush is one with natural bristles and long nylon pins!

I find a lot of cheap modern combs give you this stringy look(yes the picture is a little exaggerated), as the comb's teeth tend to separates the hair, which is not very vintage.

what you want instead is this, where all the hair appear to come together into a fluffy continuous wave. Like what other ladies have said, what you need a bristle brush as it fluffs the hair up.

Try to get the ones that have natural boar bristles, as they don't cause as much static in the hair as the cheaper nylon bristles do, you will find the natural ones have white dots at the tip of the bristle which is the hair follicle.

I had the same problem with bristle brushes not getting through to the bottom layers, then I fixed this problem by using a mixture brush that has long nylon "pins" dispersed throughout the bristles, so it fluffs the hair out and detangles at the same time! like this mason pearson one, but you can find cheaper alternatives that does the same thing, mine is from Brushworx from a few years ago.

this page I found quite useful too in choosing the right bristle brush: http://www.masonpearson.com/choose.html

 

[C-dot]

Yeouch. Cheap combs can't do that without a lot of product helping lol

 

[TillyMilly]

My favourite brushes are:

Mason Pearson- for shine (I had two but gave them to my sister years ago!)
Denman classic styling brush- for general
Denman metal tipped tail comb- for making precises partings

and my newest discovery for out of the shower/just out of bed detangling is the .... Tangleteazer. i know its a modern lump of pink plastic and I was skeptical at firts- but then it went straight through my hair....no snagging, no nothing. I bought a travel one to take away with me as i was so impressed.