How do I properly use boar's hair brushes?

[lectraplayer]

I keep seeing recomendations to use a boar's hair brush, but so far I'm getting a whole lot of nothing. How does a boar's hair brush help, and why?

[MINAKO]

It's suppose to be used after detangling, of course also on dry hair only. Its helps to transport your natura oils down the hairshaft and also smooth the cuticle, however some hairtypes do not like it and it creates split ends, done to often, or it might not play well with wavy/curly textures. Some members do it like once a day. Others less often, i personally dont use boar bristle brushes unless my hair is straightened, othewose i look like a giant black cotton ball. XD

[Madora]

Perhaps this might help:
First of all, if you are not a regular brush user, you are going to need to "acclimatize" your scalp to brushing.A little at a time.
Start slowly, in the head down position. Detangle all your hair FIRST (with a wide tooth comb). Then take the boar bristle brush and brush SLOWLY from the nape to the ends of the hair. After each pass with the brush, slide your other hand down the hair you just brushed. The brush creates static. The palm of your hand helps tame it.
Number of strokes: start out slowly..with 10 strokes, and see how your scalp reacts. If you get dizzy or dislike brushing "upside down" then stand erect and brush (center part your hair first).
If your scalp doesn't hurt, increase the number of strokes by five. The next day, increase by 5 again, until you reach your goal.
The boar bristle brush...the best type of brush because it is made from wild boar "hair" which is the closest thing in nature that mimics human hair.
Not all bbbs are created equal! It all boils down to:
1) length of bristle
2) thickness/thinesss of bristle
3) how bristle clumps are spaced on the brush
4) stiffness or softness of the bristles
Other important considerations:
1) Size of brush and shape of brush. You want brushing to be a pleasant thing to do. You don't want a big brush that is too heavy.
2) The handle of the brush: should be ergonomically suited to your hand. The place at the neck of the brush should allow your thumb enough "wiggle room" to get a good purchase on it when you brush your hair
3) I found the most reliable brush is a brush that is elongated in shape
4) Number of rows of bristles: at least 5, preferably six rows of bristles, well placed apart! Bristles packed too closely together are hard to get through hair
Softness/Hardness of bristles:
Pretty much a matter of personal preference. The stiffness will eventually fade, depending on how much you use the brush.I prefer a moderately stiff bristle, with a little bit of flexibility.
If you are looking for soft bristles, then perhaps a baby brush might be more your style. But be warned, baby brushes don't really work on adult hair. Soft bristles can't really do much (at least they never worked for me).

Remember: A brush is only as good as HOW you use it! There's a proper way to brush that is hair friendly and it does not take that much time to do. Always detangle your hair with a comb before you start brushing!
For the sake of your hair: keep your brush and comb squeaky clean. It is a waste of time to put a dirty, hair filled brush on clean hair. Remove the hairs stuck in your brush every time you use it. There are "hair rakes" available on line that work perfectly for this task.
And, speaking from bitter experience (to the tune of $80!), try to choose your brush IN PERSON so that you can heft the brush and feel the bristles (test them on the inside of your wrist).
I believe in the power of brushing with a pure bbb..and have been doing so for over 40 years, with great results!
In conclusion: daily brushing gives you so many benefits: distributes your hair's natural sebum down the strands, removes dust/lint trapped in your hair/ leaves your hair silky and shiny. If you brush in the bent at the waist position, you'll reap even greater benefit because brushing helps stimulate your follicles, promoting better growth.
Happy brushing!

[lapushka]

It's not the best if you're curly. These brushes are all great for straight hair, but that's about it! The only thing it's good for on hair that curly is to slick back your edges.

[jeanniet]

If you're 3c, I'd really advise against using a BBB. It's generally not beneficial for curlies.

[endlessly]

About 10 or so years ago, I was sold on all of the benefits of using a boar bristle brush - your hair will be shinier, softer, more moisturized; it can help with dandruff and/or scalp pain from wearing certain hairstyles, etc. However, because my hair is a bit on the coarse side, it was an absolute nightmare. I ripped out more hair than I could even keep up with counting, had loads of breakage and split ends, and my classic length hair was about 1/3 the amount it is now. I only used it on dry hair after I'd detangled with a wide-toothed comb, then used another brush, then finally using the boar bristle brush as a last step. I was always incredibly gentle, too, but it would constantly catch and snag on my curlier/wavier strands and tear them. So, for me, I'd suggest to proceed with caution. Just because it's recommended and works wonders for others, it doesn't mean it will work well for you and especially considering your texture, you might have similar problems. On perfectly sleek, straight hair, I think it does wonders to help smooth the cuticle and give that additional shine, but not so much for wavy or curly-haired girls, I'm afraid.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

You could well be too curly to be able to use one, I'm afraid. Though do try one if you want to, you need to see what your hair likes and doesn't like.

[-Fern]

I have M/C hair, and I actually adore my BBB.... but I use mine completely differently than everyone else, apparently.

I use my BBB for two main uses:

Taming - There are times for work when I am required to have a very sleek, very neat bun. Literally, required. I have wavy hair, and my coarse hairs are all sorts of kinky, so when I first put my hair up in the morning... ugh, let's just say "sleek" and "neat" are not adjectives you would use to describe it. So I first put it in a ponytail (!), then get the canopy damp and add a little mouse. Then I take the ponytail holder out but continue to hold all the hair in my left hand while brushing back through once with my normal cushion brush, THEN use my BBB to go over everything and smooth it out, keeping my hand tight on the ponytail. It usually takes three or four passes on every section to get the hairs lying straight with one another. Then secure with a hair elastic again. This really does make an unbelievable difference with taming all my baby hairs, coarse hairs, kinky hairs, and just generally wayward locks.

Shine - I did borrow heavily from Madora's advice here, but I think I am a little different in that I don't run hair THROUGH the brush... I only gloss the brush OVER hair. My bedtime ritual now involves inverted brushing dry hair (gently, with cushion brush), then glossing over (running from roots to tips, using one hand underneath the hair to maintain good contact for the full length). Then I tip my head to the side and brush hair from the side with cushion brush, then gloss with BBB. Then the other side. I do feel like it increases shine and general hair comraderie between the medium & coarse strands. Between this and the Rinse-Out Oil Method, I have had waaay less frizziness, and my hair in general looks smoother.

Also worth noting: My hair does not get along with combs at all. The medium & coarse hairs seem to provide too much friction against one another and I have crazy breakage with combs or doing anything to it at all while wet.

[mzlbcmami]

I love my boar brush. It feel so good on my scalp and really spread the natural oils nicely! When I lightly oil my scalp it helps with getting the oil throughout my hair without having to use so much oil. :)
Since I have such thick hair I like to part my hair in sections and really get on the scalp and brush from tip to end while watching a movie or you tube videos. It's so relaxing. ^__^