Since my hair became longer I've refrained from brushes of any type, preferring a wide toothed comb.
Now, I keep reading about these "boar hair" brushes. I saw them for the first time at a grocery store yesterday. They were encased in clear plastic, but seemed to be as stiff as the synthetic type bristles. I was almost tempted to buy one, but I prefer combing to brushing.
Unless a boar hair brush is better for long hair than a wide toothed comb?
type, preferring a wide toothed comb."
hmmmmm...I've been using one of those brushes with little plastic
ball tips.
Now I might consider switching to a WIDE -TOOTH COMB.
I used the thick plastic bristled brushes with the balls at the tips also (I used the vent brushes), until my hair went past my shoulders. At that point it just became too difficult, and the brush kept catching my hair and breaking it.
I prefer the natural bristle brushes. Ever see depictions of times before the 20's when women grew their hair really long? They used big natural bristle brushes to take care of their hair.
The problem with those plastic brushes is where the "bristle" is attached to the pad...they overlap on top of the pad and also flex at the base allowing hairs to get stuck and pull.
For me a comb isn't enough to go through the tangles, the bristle brushes seem to work things out much better and quicker.
I prefer the natural bristle brushes. Ever see depictions of times before the 20's when women grew their hair really long? They used big natural bristle brushes to take care of their hair.
They sound very interesting. I'll have to get myself one - thanks for the tip.
Which you choose to use should depend upon what you purpose is of using the tool. Boar's hair bristles are supposed to be good for especially straight hair, to assist in getting the cuticle to lie down flat. Think of each boar's hair as itself a tiny little comb that matches to some degree the roughness of the hair surface.
This sort of hair should not be used for detangling.
Boar's hair brushes are also useful in distributing natural oils to the ends of the hair -- not the oils from the boar's hair, but the oils from the person's own head.
You should note, though, that most boar's hair brushes have more plastic bristles than boar's hairs. Also, the cheap ones will use boars hairs that have been cut at the ends, whereas the good ones will have the natural tip of the boar's hairs at the ends. This is important if you are worried about scratching your scalp.
The one brush said 100% boar's hair, whereas the other only said boar's hair. I believe the second is the one I checked to see the stiffness of. I bet it did have some plastic bristles mixed in, which would account for me thinking it felt the same as a plastic bristled brush.
I think I may eventually get a boar's hair brush, but not until my sides have gotten a bit longer. Brushing my hair now tends to make my sides look frizzy.
I stopped cutting my sides about 3 years ago, and they are to my shoulder.
The previously bleached area of my hair is very wavy. The area that hasn't been bleached is only slightly wavy. Well, it isn't really "bleached," I used a haircolor remover on it to get the "white blonde" color. I also got a perm at one time, which is the pic shown here.
Of course, I meant this sort of brush.