From the Mouth of a Hairstylist: Hairbrush 101

These next few posts are going to be about the tools you should have at home, and how you know that you have the right ones! I've decided to start with brushes, as I feel like lots of people out there are using the wrong brush type for their hair - so, here is my Hairbrush 101!

There are TONNES of hair brushes out of there, and it's always hard to tell which one you should have. Round or flat? Plastic or natural bristles? How ever are you suppose to know what one is right for your hair? So, I've come up with an easy to follow way of determining what sort of brush is best!

Types of bristles:

There are basically 4 types of bristles that you can consider - Boar bristle, Nylon bristle, Mixed bristle or porcupine, and Ionic bristles.

Boar bristle is exactly what you think it is - a natural bristle made from the hair of boar. It's soft, and really the most ideal type of brush that you can buy. Boar smooths the cuticle of your hair and leaves you with soft, smooth and shiny hair. They don't pull and tangle as much as some other brushes can, which makes them great for people with easily tangled hair. While it is best to look for 100% boar bristle brushes, they tend to be quite fragile and tend to be better for finer hair, but a mixed bristle brush with mostly natural bristles are great all around brushes for everyone!

Nylon bristle covers basically everything from plastic to nylon to rubber bristles. You see them a lot on flat brushes, but they can really be on any type of brush. Nylon brushes are great because they are sturdy and, depending on how close the bristles are together, can offer great control over the styling of your hair. Never use nylon brushes where the bristles are at two levels on the brush. These brushes pull the hair and create more problems than they solve - always find brushes with even length bristles when it comes to synthetic! Nylon brushes can sometimes become tangled in hair, so I never recommend them for people with exceptionally fine hair, but when used in flat or cushion brushes they work great as an every day brush for most hair types!

 Porcupine bristle, or a mixed bristle brush uses both synthetic and natural bristles placed together in the same brush. They are really the best of both worlds, and typically are the strongest of all the brushes. They are great all around brushes for both fine and thick hair, and offer great control for styling. When looking for porcupine brushes, look at the base of the bristles and make sure there are multiple bristles coming out of the same starting point. This allows the mixed bristles to pass through the hair more evenly!

Ionic bristles are ceramic coated bristles that speed drying and help to smooth out frizzy hair. They are typically only found on round ceramic or tourmaline brushes that are designed to speed up drying times, but I've noticed the technology moving into other forms of brushes too. They are also fantastic for creating volume in hair, so if you are looking for a great volume brush this is the way to go! Sometimes you can find these bristles mixed in with natural or synthetic brushes, and they are a great way to increase drying time and help with smoothing out hair!

So, now that you are educated on the types of bristles, the next step is to figure out what shape of brush you need for your hairstyle. The best way to figure it out is to determine what your style goal is. Are you looking for smooth and straight or for lots of volume? Ask your hairdresser or pay attention to what they are using when they are blowdrying your hair. They are often using a brush similar to the brush you should have at home to help you recreate your style.

There are several shapes that brushes come in: round, flat, cushion and denman or radial.

Round brushes are pretty straight forward. Used most often to create volume, they are great for people with fine or limp hair. The best type if you can find it are vented which allows the heat from the blow dryer to pass through the brush and dry the hair faster, which means less damage to the hair. Often you can find round brushes with ceramic or tourmaline centers which are awesome for smoothing hair as the ceramic heats up. Available in all sizes, these brushes are great for anything from short to long hair!

Flat or paddle brushes are great every day brushes for people with long hair. They often have a huge surface area which allows the job to get done faster, and work well for getting the tangles out, especially if made with boar bristles. When using as a blowdry brush, they work best for smoothing hair and dont provide much in the way of volume.

Cushion brushes are probably the most common brush people think of when they think of a brush. With the bristles lifted up off the handle of the brush by way of a soft plastic backing, these brushes have a lot of give and are great detangling brushes for fine and normal type hair. As a blowdry brush they are used mostly for smoothing and tend to work best for medium length hair.

Deman or Radial brushes look like half a round brush but should not be used as such. They are a classic styling brush that works best for smoothing bobs and bangs, and don't have a huge amount of use away from smoothing out shorter haircuts. Men with short styles really enjoy using this type of brush. If you want to use a Denman brush, I recommend you talk to your hairdresser about the best way to use them. They are a very hard bristle brush and can be hard to use, but once you know how they are a great tool in your brush arsenal!

Brushes are very crucial to your ability to keep your hair with minimal damage from heat styling and pulling at your hair, and they are also very important for your daily style.

The reality of it is, you could probably use one of each kind of brush. I don't think that one brush can do it all! If you are really looking to have one,great all around brush, it is actually worth spending a little extra money on one that will serve multiple purposes and help you style your hair. Dollar store brushes are often not the best thing for you hair, so consider looking for something a little bit higher quality.


All of the brushes pictured above are made by Denman Brush Inc which is absolutely my favourite brush company. I have slowly been converting all of my work brushes over to denman brand because I just love them, but there are tonnes of other fantastic companies to consider too. Look into companies that you trust like the brand that makes your blow drier or flat iron. Those companies often sell companion brushes for their hot tools and are generally great products!

Anyway, I hope I've taught you a little bit about brushes and what you should look for in a brush for your hair type!

For the love of your hair,

Kyleigh.


All photos above are from www.denmanbrushus.com and are used for educational purposes only. All credit goes to the company Denman Inc. and the photos are not used maliciously. No copyright infringement is intended, and all photos link back to the original site.