A hair brush does more than detangle, and the right one spreads oil, adds shine and suits your hair type. Here are boar bristle brushes, heirloom brushes from brushmakers and stylists, and everyday paddles.
The Hair Brush Guide: Boar Bristle, Cushion and Paddle, and Who Each Is For
Kent Brushes, founded in Hertfordshire in 1777, is described as the first known hairbrush manufacturer, and in 1885 an automatic brush-boring machine made mass production possible. That same year Mason Pearson created the rubber-cushioned brush. In 1898 Lyda Newman, an African-American inventor and hairdresser, patented an improved hair brush with synthetic bristles and a ventilation chamber for easier cleaning. The basic types have not changed much since. Boar bristles are the classic choice for spreading natural oil from roots to ends and adding shine. Crown Affair's dual-bristle brush, handcrafted for all textures, comes from Dianna Cohen, who started the brand from a Google Doc of her routine. Oribe's flat boar brush has an ergonomic handle, and Drybar's Flat Mate is made to smooth and shine, from Alli Webb's blowout bars. House of Braid, which Tassara Azad started in 2017 as a braiding salon in Los Angeles, makes a boar cushion brush. Use boar brushes on dry hair, never to rip through wet tangles.
Brushes made to last
Mason Pearson began in London in 1885, when the engineer invented an automatic brush-boring machine that won a silver medal, and the rubber cushion pad he designed is still made by hand. Each brush goes through 18 stages in the family's London-area factory, now run by his grandson Michael, a Master Brushmaker. The Popular mixes bristle and nylon. La Bonne Brosse, the Paris brand two business-school friends started in 2021, makes the N.01 by hand in France, and Yves Durif, who started at 17 in a Paris salon and later moved his New York salon into The Carlyle, makes the Brush D'Or. Altesse, France's last hairbrush manufacturer, takes 22 steps and about 7 hours to make a Prestige brush, with each tuft of boar inserted by hand.
Paddles, and the skip
Paddle brushes are for detangling and smoothing longer hair fast. Emi Jay, which Julianne Goldmark started at 14 by dyeing elastic in kitchen pots with her mother, makes a bamboo paddle in Pink Sugar. Moroccanoil's ceramic paddle is made for smoothing and styling, ghd's is the everyday one from the brand three hairdressers started in 2001, and Kitsch, which Cassandra Thurswell began with handmade hair ties sold door to door, makes a smooth and polish brush. What I would skip is using one brush for everything. A boar brush on wet curls or a stiff paddle on fine hair can cause breakage, so match the brush to the job.
Three paddles and a smoothing brush
Brushing well
Brush from the ends up, holding the section above so you do not pull at the scalp. Clean hair out of the bristles every few days and wash the brush weekly. A good hairbrush can last years if you let it dry fully between washes. Replace it when bristles split or bend. For boar brushes, a wide-tooth comb is the best tool to lift hair out of the bristles. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Slick Back Brush and TYMO, the Straightening Brush That Started With Thicker Hair in Mind.
