Need Advice from Curlies/Wavies: Should I Buy A Hair Brush?

[Natalina]

Specifically a wooden hair brush, since plastic hair brushes pulls my hair out.

I've been using combs for most of my life, lately I've been using a seamless wooden comb and I love it - pulls out my hair much less than my wide-toothed plastic comb (possibly because of the way it's shaped). However, it doesn't seem to eliminate my frizz as much as I'd like to, it's great for getting rid of small tangles, but not so much on smoothing out my hair.

So I wonder if a hair brush would help smoothing out my hair more? I know frizz goes way beyond a good hair comb/brush, but I just want something to keep them under-control - no chunks of strands poking out here and there.

Oh and also, would a purse-sized brush be good enough? Because I've never liked the idea of combing/brushing big chunks of my hair, it makes me nervous. I always comb mine in small sections. Help is really appreciated! :)

Edited Note: I can't use boar bristles for personal faith reasons.

[Anne10]

I know what you mean, the combs don't smooth out hair the way brushes do. I use a boars bristle brush to brush my hair before I wash it. I haven't noticed any increased loss because of it. They make small purse-sized ones, too. I use a seamless wide-toothed Kent comb when styling but when my bare patches are showing I use a smaller boars bristle to try to smooth them over the bare area.

[chen bao jun]

Dunno, they never work for me but I'm a 3c.
I still use one sometimes to smooth the edges of updoes, but I'm stopping even that and just smoothing on some aloe vera since it creates frizz even there. Brushing my hair makes me look like Elsa Lancaster in the bride of Frankenstein. Doesn't matter if they are natural boar bristle, wood quill, bamboo, wide spaced, whatever, it just doesn't work (except a denman brush when my hair is full of conditioner, which some do to encourage curls. I did it for a few months and then realized that that too was pointless, my curls don't need encouraging, theyre just there. the denman was doing literally nothing, I stopped it and my hair looks just the same).

[PraiseCheeses]

It depends - just how curly/wavy is your hair?

If you're in the 2a-2b range, it might make pretty smooth waves. 2c and beyond sends you into the danger zone. Anything in the 3 range, and the brush becomes a boomstick. Here's the old "Curlies brush your hair (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=7003&page=2)" thread - a lot of the pictures don't work anymore, but there are enough there for you to get the idea. :lol:

However, if you wear your hair straight frequently, it might be handy to have a brush around. I'm naturally 2c-3a and well acquainted with the "boom!" effect, but I usually wear my hair straightened (heat-free of course) and occasionally use a boar bristle brush to smooth things out and distribute oil more evenly through the length.

[jeanniet]

Brushing really depends on how much curl you have. Anything in the 3s or 4s, I'd say you don't want to brush, except may occasionally before a wash as a scalp massage or using a Denman in the shower. I think most 2s can get away with brushing, especially if they don't mind losing a bit of the wave in exchange for smoothness. Brushing will help with smoothness, but again, if you have much curl brushing will create more frizz. A purse-sized brush would be fine if that's what you want.

[Natalina]

@Anne10, PraiseCheeses - Thanks for your advices! But I can't use boar bristles for personal faith reasons, I probably should have put that on my post, sorry. Would something such as Mini Bamboo Hair Brush from Body Shop be a good enough substitute?

@Chen Bao Jun, jeanniet - I'm in the 2b/2c range so I guess my hair would probably like it then. :) Thanks for your help!

[Vrindi]

I have a wooden pin hair brush that I use on my 2a hair, and I love it. It's also a cushion pin brush, so it's awesome for head massages. I think I got it at whole foods, but I believe Body Shop has one too, not sure. Between that, my bamboo wide-tooth comb, and my tangle teezer, my hair stays pretty well-behaved. Also, I find that the wooden brush helps to distribute the oils I've put on my ends a little more evenly.

[SerinaDaith]

I use a wide toothed comb a day after wash day. Any combing or brushing on wash day equals frizz. If I have to put it up on wash day then I put it up straight away. Any waiting till dry then combing on wash day = white girl pouf. I am a 2c/3a so wavy/curly. I also stretch washes a lot which has helped a lot. I love my wood comb and I also finger comb. I actually tossed out my brush after joining this site.

[biogirl87]

I use a wide toothed comb a day after wash day. Any combing or brushing on wash day equals frizz. If I have to put it up on wash day then I put it up straight away. Any waiting till dry then combing on wash day = white girl pouf. I am a 2c/3a so wavy/curly. I also stretch washes a lot which has helped a lot. I love my wood comb and I also finger comb. I actually tossed out my brush after joining this site.SerinaDaith, I wouldn't necessarily agree about the part I bolded. When I wash my hair, after it dries, I find I have to brush it to get the pouf and will often need to comb my hair after it is dry to get it to have a bit more volume. The only situation when I didn't have to use brush or comb to give my hair more volume after washing was in my teens when I only used shampoo on my hair (didn't follow up shampoo with conditioner).

[Anne10]

@Anne10, PraiseCheeses - Thanks for your advices! But I can't use boar bristles for personal faith reasons, I probably should have put that on my post, sorry. Would something such as Mini Bamboo Hair Brush from Body Shop be a good enough substitute?

That one looks nice, Natalina. I would try that. This might be kinda "out there" but if you can't find a brush you like in any of the stores for people, try pet stores. Look for brushes that are used for grooming dogs or horses. You might find a good smoothing brush in a brush used for finishing horse coats, for example (some of those brushes are natural and some are synthetic so check before you buy). Kinda weird but it would be worth a try.

[Leeloo]

I didn't realize before lhc how much brushes broke my hair or pulled it out by the root, so I'd say use combs.

[spirals]

I cannot brush with out producing frizz and big poofy hair. So why do I do it? It feels soooo good on the scalp. I make sure I use it on detangled hair and spray the brush with detangler if necessary. I am naughty; I use a plastic brush with the ball-tipped bristles. I find I can get away with it if the bristles are not too dense. Some brushes have less bristles. Sometimes I can leave my hair down after brushing with a light application of oil over the surface of my hair and a good soaking of the very ends. But generally I do it at night before braiding for bed or before bunning. My former brush had a gel handle and the gel started coming out, so I just got a new one. I noticed the pad on it is a bit more rigid and it pulls less hair out. I'm thinking for some reason a squishier pad is worse for the hair.

I had this: http://www.goody.com/~/media/Images/Products/Style/SSF_gelcushion_Detail.ashx

I have something similar to this: http://pics1.ds-static.com/prodimg/161180/300.jpg Mine doesn't have the natural bristles, though, and the handle is actually turned 1/8 turn to the left, as if it were put on crooked. This helps the grip immensely, so gel isn't needed. Sorry that I can't find a pic of the actual brush I have. It's probably on it's way to being discontinued, as I found it at the grocery store.

[GrowingGlory]

For me, a wide-toothed buffalo horn comb is less frizz-provoking and doesn't cause any splits or breakage. My ends aren't dry anymore, either.

[anitacs9101]

How about a Denman or Denman-style brush? It has smooth nylon pins that shouldn't get caught in your hair. It's sort of like a cross breed between a Tangle Teezer and a wide tooth comb. You can also pick how many rows of pins you want.

ETA: I've also heard of people modifying their Denman (http://www.longhairaaron.com/2012/02/modified-denman-brush.html) by removing bristles which could make for a more comb-like effect.

[ExpectoPatronum]

I think even if you're wavy or even a curly, you should still have a hair brush. Maybe not to actually brush your hair, but I find a brush works better than a comb when I want to put my hair up and I want everything to be smooth and sleek. I have pretty thick hair so my fingers and comb don't really do the trick for me. I need a boar bristle brush to get that smooth shiny look.

[Arien]

I'm 2b/c and at the moment I use a tangle teezer. Before that I was using a wooden paddle brush. The only reason I switched to the tangle teezer was because I read such good reviews of them and I wanted to try them out. Now I have one I can't see me going back to my paddle brush... I just prefer using the tangle teezer, it's more manageable and I never break my hair with it. The wooden paddle brush smoothed out my hair really well. It occasionally pulled or broke a strand here or there. Not to direly though. The tangle teezer smoothes out my hair really well too. I brush my hair so many times a day wet or dry (I can't stand it looking scruffy) that it makes sense to use the tangle teezer that doesn't break or pull my hair at all. It leaves it shiny and smooth :). I brush my hair wet or dry. Usually twice when it's wet, and however many times I want when it's dry. I would say there is nothing wrong with a good quality wooden brush as long as your aren't going at your hair all day like I do :).

[Firefox7275]

Specifically a wooden hair brush, since plastic hair brushes pulls my hair out.

I've been using combs for most of my life, lately I've been using a seamless wooden comb and I love it - pulls out my hair much less than my wide-toothed plastic comb (possibly because of the way it's shaped). However, it doesn't seem to eliminate my frizz as much as I'd like to, it's great for getting rid of small tangles, but not so much on smoothing out my hair.

So I wonder if a hair brush would help smoothing out my hair more? I know frizz goes way beyond a good hair comb/brush, but I just want something to keep them under-control - no chunks of strands poking out here and there.

Oh and also, would a purse-sized brush be good enough? Because I've never liked the idea of combing/brushing big chunks of my hair, it makes me nervous. I always comb mine in small sections. Help is really appreciated! :)

Edited Note: I can't use boar bristles for personal faith reasons.

No brush or comb is likely to eliminate or reduce frizz, frizz is individual hairs that are not clumped in with other waves and curls, the whole purpose of brushes and combs is to separate hairs from one another so that invariably encourages frizz. Wavy and curly hair is not smooth that is straight hair, if you try to force it to be something it is not that is often when it rebels. My hair is only 2a to 2c so not properly curly but I still look reminiscent of Diana Ross in the Chain Reaction video if I use a very wide tooth detangling comb or paddle brush.

In between washes use your palms, possibly coated in something be that a light conditioner or oil or natural jelly, to smooth over your hair and encourage any strays to join in with the others. Your hair is more likely to stay in its proper formation if you use the right products and techniques from washing onwards - the key ones for me (regardless if I wear my hair wavy/ curly or straight) are no shampoo but conditioner only, leave in conditioner applied to very wet hair, not overly drying my hair with the towel.

[Firefox7275]

I think even if you're wavy or even a curly, you should still have a hair brush. Maybe not to actually brush your hair, but I find a brush works better than a comb when I want to put my hair up and I want everything to be smooth and sleek. I have pretty thick hair so my fingers and comb don't really do the trick for me. I need a boar bristle brush to get that smooth shiny look.

That is like me saying everyone who has straight hair should have a curling iron so you can get curls! Maybe wavies and curlies don't all want or need our hair to be smooth and sleek, or don't want to stress the weaker points and protein bonds of our hair to force it into an unnatural shape. On someone with natural kinky coily hair a brush plus a ponytail elastic does not equal a sleek swingy ponytail it equals a cute 'afro puff'.

I'm proud of being wavy-curly after years of trying to force my frizzy 'straight' hair to be sleek straight hair (paddle brush and ponytail elastic were my weapons of choice for many years) and damaging it horribly in the process. My hair can be shiny and frizz free when it's wavy-curly which - thanks to both LHC and NC forums - is down to healthier hair and careful product choice. There are plenty of attractive up dos that work with waves and curls and don't try to pretend hair is straight.

[chen bao jun]

I have a wooden pin hair brush that I use on my 2a hair, and I love it. It's also a cushion pin brush, so it's awesome for head massages. I think I got it at whole foods, but I believe Body Shop has one too, not sure. Between that, my bamboo wide-tooth comb, and my tangle teezer, my hair stays pretty well-behaved. Also, I find that the wooden brush helps to distribute the oils I've put on my ends a little more evenly.
I got my wooden pin hair brush on Amazon.com. I gave to a friend who loves it. I also saw them at MOM's Organic market.

[chen bao jun]

No brush or comb is likely to eliminate ohttp://forums.longhaircommunity.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=2480465r reduce frizz, frizz is individual hairs that are not clumped in with other waves and curls, the whole purpose of brushes and combs is to separate hairs from one another so that invariably encourages frizz. Wavy and curly hair is not smooth that is straight hair, if you try to force it to be something it is not that is often when it rebels. My hair is only 2a to 2c so not properly curly but I still look reminiscent of Diana Ross in the Chain Reaction video if I use a very wide tooth detangling comb or paddle brush.

In between washes use your palms, possibly coated in something be that a light conditioner or oil or natural jelly, to smooth over your hair and encourage any strays to join in with the others. Your hair is more likely to stay in its proper formation if you use the right products and techniques from washing onwards - the key ones for me (regardless if I wear my hair wavy/ curly or straight) are no shampoo but conditioner only, leave in conditioner applied to very wet hair, not overly drying my hair with the towel.
As I said before, I'm 3c curly, so those of you in the 2s won't need this advice. But those of you in the 3s and 4's-- I 'm just smooth aloe vera gel on my hair when I do updoes now and it's working as well as a brush did, without creating those little fuzzies that stick up in the air that a brush used to create (requiring carrying the brush around and continually looking in mirrors to see if they have sprung out again and brushing them back--some of you know what I mean.)

[chen bao jun]

I use even combs now very sparingly. Fingercombing breaks my curls up much less that the most wide-toothed combs (and again, I have wood, I have horn, I have everything out there). Extreme curly talking here, though, so does not apply to the OP.

[Natalina]

Thank you all for your very helpful advices and recommendations! It'll take me some time to make my decision, but I'll consider them all. :)