More than just a brush with success

With so many different types and styles of brushes out there, what do you choose use? Here’s a quick brush up (sorry, had to) on brushes.

Paddle Brush

Want to tame curls a frizz? Paddle brushes are great for brushing and detangling, especially on longer hair, with their wide, flat bases. You’ll get smooth, more straight hair; this is not the brush to use if you want volume.

Vent Brush

With it’s wide teeth and open design, the vent brush helps the heat distribute through your hair better, speeding up the drying process. The option of using a flat or round brush open up the styling possibilities. Both can give you lift and volume, use the flat brush to quickly style and dry straight hair, or the round brush can be used create sleek, straight hair, and soft, flowing curls.

Boar Bristle Brush

This type of bristle is much softer on the hair, not to say that the plastic or metal bristle are bad, but some of them can tear at the hair rather than brush through it. The soft bristles massage your scalp and help to evenly distribute the oils on your scalp, leaving your hair shiny and soft. Any type of brush can be a boar bristle brush, and really, I would still use plastic if I still had long hair, for serious detangling. Think of this more as a finishing brush.

Styler Brush

The styler brush, also referred to as the Denman, has a the recognizable half moon curve to it. Use this brush at the roots of wet hair to get monster lift and volume while drying. Or, you can use a small 3-row boar bristle styler to tease and style the hair for even more lift.

Thermal Brush

The thermal brush is typically a round brush but can also be found as a flat or vented brush. These brushes work by having either a metal or ceramic core that is heated by your hair dryer. This heats up your hair internally as well as externally, helping it to dry even faster. Using a high quality thermal round brush is actually almost like setting your hair on rollers. Be careful if you have fine, damaged, or chemically treated hair, it would be wise to stay away from this type of brush as it can scorch your hair.

Brushes come in different combinations of types and styles, as well as brands, colors, bristles and more. So, what’s your favorite brush that you use? Is there a brand you’re partial to? Got any tricks or tips? Share your knowledge and help improve others.