Boar Bristle Brush

Buying hair brushes for kids, especially young ones and babies, isn’t often an easy thing to do. You need to not only makes sure that you get the right sized brush but you also need to consider how hard the bristles of the brush will be. For babies this is fairly easy as you need bristles that are very soft, so that you don’t damage or hurt their scalp or hair. Plus, babies have such thin, easy to manage hair that it doesn’t need anything more than a little directional help.

For older kids though it can get tricky. This is especially the case if your kids like to brush or comb their own hair, as you might be reluctant to invest much (or any) money in a good quality hair brush which is just as likely to get broken or damaged as not. However, if this is not a concern then it’s a good idea to get a good brush for your kids. That means something with natural bristles, which will typically be from boar hair or possibly some other kind of animal hair. Natural bristles are much gentler on your child’s hair than nylon or plastic ones, and are therefore much better for them in the long term.

Buying kids hair brushes is quite easy. Almost any major brand, whether brush manufacturer, pharmacy or online stores will carry a range of kids hair brushes. They are usually smaller and often shaped slightly differently than adult ones, but still you’ll find that they are not very much cheaper than full sized ones. You should always try to get one a little bigger than what you think you’ll need so that your child can grow into it rather than you needing to buy new ones all the time.

Finally, don’t forget to ensure that you can get a refund or at least exchange the brush if you find that it’s not working for you and your child. This is very important as you want the child to enjoy brushing, so you need the brush to not hurt or be uncomfortable for them, and you won’t be able to know this without testing it out.

Wooden hair brushes are becoming more and more popular these days.  One of the reasons for this is that they look and feel great – there’s no comparison between using a hair brush made of wood and one made of hard plastic.  Secondly, wooden hair brushes are often (but not always) higher quality, both in terms of the brush itself and the bristles used.

A wooden hair brush will usually come with one of three kinds of bristles – nylon, boar bristles, or hardwood bristles.  Nylon bristles are most commonly found in plastic hair brushes and they are generally the cheapest of the three options.  Nylon bristles are not particularly friendly to hair as they can easy catch and pull hairs, especially if the end is frayed or the small balls on the end break off.  However, people with very thick or curly hair may need to use nylon bristles as they do not tend to give in the same way boar bristles do.

Boar bristles are great for anyone with any length hair, provided that it is not too thick or curly.  Because boar bristles are natural, they have a certain amount of give, and very thick hair can be too difficult for them to get through, making them ineffective.  However, if you have the right kind of hair, boar bristles brushes are great as they spread around your natural hair oils, giving your hair a shiny, natural and very healthy look.

Wooden hair brushes can also come with wooden bristles.  The bristles are usually thin and have a small round ball at the end, and are set in a rubber cushion.  Wooden bristles are excellent for thicker hair because the bristles don’t give and so can easily de-tangle and get through thick patches of hair.

A wood hair brush can be made of any of several kinds of wood, generally some kind of hardwood.  One of the best types (although also one of the most expensive) is olive wood.  Olive wood can’t be penetrated by water, making them excellent for use in the bathroom and with wet hair.  Because olive wood is quite rare, the brushes are often hand made and of excellent quality.  As mentioned above, however, all this does combine to make them relatively expensive.

The ultimate in soft hair brushes is probably the boar bristle brush.  Although many people have never heard of it, and the name itself scares some, once you start to use a boar bristle brush you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

Most people want to use soft hair brushes for one of two reasons; either that they want their brush to be soft on their scalp (or often their childrens’) so that it doesn’t hurt and doesn’t damage the skin, or because they have fine hair which they don’t want damaged by hard, plastic bristles.  In either case a brush made from boar bristles is a good choice.

Boar bristles are commonly used for hair brushes precisely because they are soft – not so most as to give way completely, in which case they would be useless, but definitely soft enough so that they are not good for people with curly or very thick hair.  In addition to being soft, boar bristles are also natural, so unlike plastic they glide through hair much more smoothly, and help to spread and remove the natural oils produced by hair.  This leaves hair looking shiny and healthy, unlike plastic brushes, because the oils simply slide off plastic and do not get moved at all.

Boar bristles are also soft enough to give way before hair does, at least for the majority of hair.  That means that they are unlikely to break hairs or leave you with lots of split ends or other problems.  Again though, as stated above, if you have very curly, thick or knotty hair, boar bristles are probably not the best choice for you as they simply won’t be able to get through your hair at all (in fact, no soft hair brush will really be good for anyone with those kinds of hair).

If you’re looking for a soft hair brush fro your children, boar bristle brushes often come in small or child sizes, so you don’t need to worry about needing to use a lagre brush on a small head.  Kids may take a little time to get used to the different feel of the boar bristles, but they do not hurt or scratch so it shouldn’t take very long.

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!