Boar Bristle Brush

Compared to plastic hair brushes, natural bristle brushes tend to be more expensive.  So are they worth the extra outlay, and is there really any difference in quality?

The basic answer is yes, there is.  Natural bristle brushes tend to be easier on your hair, leading to less splits and pulled hairs.  Mainly, however, natural brushes give you added benefits that plastic brushes simply can’t.  One of the main ones is that they boost the natural shine of your hair by taking the oils and spreading them evenly throughout your hair, from root to tip.  Natural bristles simply catch and spread the oil, while the oils don’t attach to plastic and therefore they cannot do the same job.

As with any brush, you should consider the style and shape that you need, whether it’s rounded for blow-dried hair or circular for getting rid of tangles.  You should also make sure that the brush looks nice and is something you’ll enjoy looking at, holding and using, because otherwise it’s likely to just sit on your shelf and become an expensive dust collector.

When shopping for a natural bristle brush, your potential price range is enormous.  The cream of the crop in natural brushes is Mason Pearson, the British company which has been producing high quality natural bristle brushes for well over 100 years.  If you invest in one of these brushes, you’ll almost certainly be thrilled with the quality and how pleasant the brush is to use.  The downside, however, is the cost, as one of the brushes will set you back somewhere between $80 and $100 each.

If you can afford that, or want to spoil yourself, that’s great, but if not, plenty of cheaper options are available.  Anything too cheap (under $10 to $15) you should be wary of, but in the $20 to $4o price range there are a lot of good quality, attractive brushes available.  Shop around and see what looks good, and enjoy your new natural hair!