Pros and cons of BBB brushing

[Carrieberry77]

Hi guys,

Inspired by Victorian/Edwardian ladies and their hair brushing habits I have pondered about purchasing a soft boar bristle brush akin to the ones that were used historically to distribute natural sebum to the drier ends.
I know that in those times the washing of one's hair was an activity reserved for just several times a year and therefore brushing served the purpose of keeping the hair clean.
As a modern day lady that washes her hair 2-3 times a week do I benefit from the daily habit of brushing thorougly with a boar bristle brush (after untangling of course)?
Is the distribution of sebum beneficial for hair growth or does the risk of breakage through brushing outweigh the benefits?

I would love to hear your experiences, with boar bristle brushes. :o

https://cloud10.todocoleccion.online/postales-galantes-y-mujeres/tc/2018/05/20/17/121522375.jpg

[lapushka]

A BBB for 1a hair is fine. It can really smooth the hair down.

For me? It splits and fuzzes my already F hair into small cobwebby fluff. It's too much for my texture, IMO, and I don't like it. I do not use a brush the entire week (I weekly wash). I only use a Tangle Teezer on dry hair pre-wash, and then a Wet brush on my hair post-wash when it comes out the towel damp. That's all. I don't use these tools that often.

But it's a really personal thing.

Some people love a BBB and swear by it.

[Carrieberry77]

A BBB for 1a hair is fine. It can really smooth the hair down.

For me? It splits and fuzzes my already F hair into small cobwebby fluff. It's too much for my texture, IMO, and I don't like it. I do not use a brush the entire week (I weekly wash). I only use a Tangle Teezer on dry hair pre-wash, and then a Wet brush on my hair post-wash when it comes out the towel damp. That's all. I don't use these tools that often.

But it's a really personal thing.

Some people love a BBB and swear by it.

Thank you for sharing your experience :)

[queencarrion]

It really depends on your hair, as lapushka mentioned.

My parents and grandma always swore by boar bristle brushes and they were the only brushes in the house. It took my until age 26 to realize that BBB actually made my hair really frizzy and poofy -- a wide tooth comb and/or wood bristle brush (I have a tek brush) when necessary yields much better results and no frizz.

Definitely give a BBB a try but I probably wouldn't invest in an expensive one until after trying it out for a few weeks or months.

[ExpectoPatronum]

I've wanted to give BBB a try but with my curls, I'm not sure if it's work. I suppose my best bet would be to use it after detangling to spread oils throughout my hair.

[maryalana]

BBB make my hair super silky and smooth. I only use it when I need a sleeked back look or want my hair to look super straight, which isn't often. I worry about damage when using it as I swear I can hear my hair breaking when I brush it. Usually it's just a quick comb when I wash it and then I'm good for the week.

[truepeacenik]

For me, “sleek” looks oily.
I lightly smooth the top layer after detangling and gentle combing.

[Synester]

I have super fine hair...where is a good place to buy a real or proper BBB? or a good quality name brand if there is even such a thing? (links) i would like to try it out and see what all the fuss is about. my hair is just so baby fine and lots of people say its potentially damaging. That worries me. But i am curious how my hair handles it.

[Carrieberry77]

I heard that Kent soft BB brushes are good for fine hair, but I have never tried them

[NicoleJean]

I have very fine; dark blonde; slightly wavy hair that gets frizzy. I like the way the BBB feels on my scalp and my hair does appear shinier when I use it. However I keep it's use to a minimum because I noticed I was getting some hair breakage with it. However I did use a straightening iron at 400 degrees almost every day until almost 2 years ago and my ends are at least 5 years old so they may be more fragile than someone whose ends have never been or rarely heat styled and not Chemically treated. I wish I wasn't having this breakage issue because I really love how the brush feels on my scalp. Maybe once my damaged ends get long enough I can trim most of the damage off eventually and than hopefully I won't have breakage from the brush anymore.

I do use the brush after every time I apply hair oil to my dry hair because I think the BBB does a good job also distributing oils you put on. I love it for this purpose.

Overall I'm glad I tried a BBB and would recommend it to anyone and say that it's worth the cost to try.

[Carrieberry77]

I worry about damage when using it as I swear I can hear my hair breaking when I brush it.

Do you use a soft or firm bbb?

[NicoleJean]

The pieces of hair I always find in my BBB are very short and have no white end so I know it's breakage.

I always comb out tangles before using the BBB but you know how quickly they reform shortly after brushing. So sometimes when I use the BBB I still run into tangles and if a tangle gets caught in the BBB I swear it starts to rip and tear easily. I think because the bristles on a BBB are closer together than a brush like a pin brush. So when using a BBB brush SLOWLY!

[Carrieberry77]

However I keep it's use to a minimum because I noticed I was getting some hair breakage with it. However I did use a straightening iron at 400 degrees almost every day until almost 2 years ago and my ends are at least 5 years old so they may be more fragile than someone whose ends have never been or rarely heat styled and not Chemically treated.

I guess that makes sense.
Since in Victorian times their hair was virgin I'm guessing it was less prone to breakage and therefore only benefitted from the sebum distribution of "100 brushstrokes a day".

[Servana]

BBBs are the worst for my hair. I have thick 2A hair with mostly medium strands, but some fine at the front/top and coarse at the back/underneath. When I use a BBB my hair gets really greasy at the roots and extremely puffy at the ends.

My hair does best with the plain old plastic brush with the balls on the end, tbh. I've tried other stuff like the tangle teezer type (it hurts and my hair hates it) and seamless wooden bristles (hair really hates it).

I think a BBB is good if you're putting your hair in a ponytail and want to get the top smooth, but I wouldn't use it for regular brushing.

[Carrieberry77]

When I use a BBB my hair gets really greasy at the roots and extremely puffy at the ends.

That's definitely something I wouldn't desire because my scalp is quite oily already.

[SwanFeathers]

My hair has a love/hate relationship with these. I would never use it on freshly washed hair, because there are no natural oils for the brush to distribute, so it's mechanical stress without benefits. But, if you oil daily or practice water-only or sebum-only, it can be very helpful. I love the ritual of brushing oil through and find it very meditative, and as long as oil is present my hair loves it too.

[maryalana]

Do you use a soft or firm bbb?

I use a soft brush but I find that my hair gets caught in the fine hairs in the brush. Definitely not something I'd do daily but it does distribute oils more evenly and makes my hair super straight. I'd never use it on freshly washed hair but after a few days, and if I have an important event to go to, it's still my go-to.

[NicoleJean]

Does anyone know, when your brushing and hear that cracking sound is damage for sure being caused? Whenever I hear it, it scares me!

[NicoleJean]

I just ordered a soft bristle BBB and it will arrive next week. I'll report back on how that works for my fine hair. I'd like to try brushing my natural scalp oils down the length of my hair and away from my scalp to see if I can extend the days between washing. Apparently that's what they did in Victorian times to keep their scalp from getting too oily.

[RubberDucky]

My thick, somewhat frizzy hair hates BB brushes - it turns into a felted mat. So I stay away from them.

[Carrieberry77]

I just ordered a soft bristle BBB and it will arrive next week. I'll report back on how that works for my fine hair. I'd like to try brushing my natural scalp oils down the length of my hair and away from my scalp to see if I can extend the days between washing. Apparently that's what they did in Victorian times to keep their scalp from getting too oily.
Yes I would be interested to know what your experience is and whether it helps with the oiliness.

[Carrieberry77]

My thick, somewhat frizzy hair hates BB brushes - it turns into a felted mat. So I stay away from them.
Thank you for sharing. So far it seems that many thick/coarse/textured hair ladies don't seem to like the effect a BBB has on their hair

[NicoleJean]

Right now I have a hard bristle brush but like I said I think it’s causing me some breakage. I have tried using this brush on the third day after washing to see if I could redistribute the scalp oils to the hair length but it actually made my hair at the top of my head look even more greasy. So it was definitely bringing my scalp oils into my hair. Maybe I need to brush longer to move the oils down more but I was afraid to brush too much with this hard bristle version because I was afraid of breakage. So I’ll try again when I get my soft bristle version and I’ll try brushing much longer and see if it works. I’ll let you know.

[Wendyclaire]

I use a plain old plastic brush and it works good and my scalp feels good. Boar bristles are just to hard on my scalp. I do brush on a regular basis. I can’t stand the way my hair feels if I don’t.

[GrowingGlory]

Once I owned a Mason Pearson Large Extra boar bristle brush. It gave me great pleasure to draw it through my tail bone length hair. The tingle, the invigorating sensation made my scalp as happy as a baby. There was smoothness from an even coat of sebum. It smelled clean and fresh and was the most effective styling product that I have ever used. There was controlled volume with shine that brought out the best in the color of my hair.
A few years later I found neat, graduated breakage throughout my hair. Somewhat reluctantly I cleaned it then sent it off to a new home.

[blackgothicdoll]

BBB can cause midshaft splits. I haven't gotten to the bottom of who it causes it for, but I have very coarse strands, perhaps the ends of the hairs are too sharp. I feel like they would cause breakage on fine hair for that same reason, but others swear by them so that may not be the case. I'd just say, use with caution. You don't immediately see midshaft splits, but when you do, you can't cut them off obviously unless you want a buzz cut...you just live, learn and grow it out. :(

[Carrieberry77]

The possible midshaft splits and breakage really makes me consider that regular bbb use might be too risky in the long run.
I just wonder how the Victorian ladies kept such beautiful hair by daily bbb brushing.
Maybe their brushes were extremely soft and gentle?

[NicoleJean]

Hello! I’m reporting back to update on my experience with a BBB. As a reminder I have very fine slightly wavy hair.

So first I compare a soft bristle brush to a hard bristle brush. I found the soft bristle brush to be about half as firm as the hard bristle version. Because of this I had to press down a bit harder to get the bristles to reach the scalp so if you have thicker hair a soft bristle version may not work as well for you. I did feel like the soft bristle version was gentler on my hair and I did not hear as much cracking as I brushed compared to when I use the hard bristle version. However with both versions I’m still finding the most lost hair pieces in my brush when I use a BBB compared to when I use a pin brush or comb. I’m also finding frequent short hair pieces in the BBB which are either breakage or shorter hairs with roots being lost I think from scratching the scalp with the boar bristles. So this in itself bothers me so I have decided to keep my BBB use To a minimum.

Now I will share my experience with using a BBB to distribute oils. My goal was to use a BBB To distribute my natural scalp oils away from the scalp and hair on the top of my head and down the length of my hair in hopes to condition the ends naturally and extend the length of time between washing. So the last 3 days I used both a hard and soft bristle brush and brushed frequently through out the day. Much to my surprise my results were completely opposite from what I was trying to achieve. I found the BBB would lift the oils from my scalp into my hair and by day 2 the hair on the top of my head was looking super oily. Normally this doesn’t happen for me until day 3-4. Not only was the top of my head looking super oily but the hair was also very limp and looked slicked down and just gross. No matter how much I brushed it seemed like I just couldn’t get my natural oils to move down the length of my hair and the hair on the top of my head just looked more and more oily the more I brushed. By day 2 I felt like my hair looked gross and I couldn’t wait to wash. So I will no longer use a BBB for trying to distribute natural scalp oils down the length of my hair. However I still like using a BBB for distributing oils I add into the ends of my hair and will continue its use just for that.

Also if you look at photos of Victorian women with long hair some of them you can see it’s very flat on top and the hair on the top of the head looks slicked down. While the lower down hair looks fluffier. My guess is that it’s scalp oil slicking the hair down on the top of the head. For me this did not look or feel good. So my new opinion is that Old ways of doing things may not always be better than modern ways but maybe at the time that’s the only options they had or knew. They also used many products and chemicals back than now found so be harmful to health so I think I’ll stick to washing with my shampoo or co wash approx every 3 days and enjoy feeling clean and not super oily!

[Carrieberry77]

Thank you @NicoleJean for reporting in such detail that's very helpful! :)

[NicoleJean]

Your welcome. Let me know your experience as well if you decide to try a BBB.

[lapushka]

Hello! I’m reporting back to update on my experience with a BBB. As a reminder I have very fine slightly wavy hair.

So first I compare a soft bristle brush to a hard bristle brush. I found the soft bristle brush to be about half as firm as the hard bristle version. Because of this I had to press down a bit harder to get the bristles to reach the scalp so if you have thicker hair a soft bristle version may not work as well for you. I did feel like the soft bristle version was gentler on my hair and I did not hear as much cracking as I brushed compared to when I use the hard bristle version. However with both versions I’m still finding the most lost hair pieces in my brush when I use a BBB compared to when I use a pin brush or comb. I’m also finding frequent short hair pieces in the BBB which are either breakage or shorter hairs with roots being lost I think from scratching the scalp with the boar bristles. So this in itself bothers me so I have decided to keep my BBB use To a minimum.

Now I will share my experience with using a BBB to distribute oils. My goal was to use a BBB To distribute my natural scalp oils away from the scalp and hair on the top of my head and down the length of my hair in hopes to condition the ends naturally and extend the length of time between washing. So the last 3 days I used both a hard and soft bristle brush and brushed frequently through out the day. Much to my surprise my results were completely opposite from what I was trying to achieve. I found the BBB would lift the oils from my scalp into my hair and by day 2 the hair on the top of my head was looking super oily. Normally this doesn’t happen for me until day 3-4. Not only was the top of my head looking super oily but the hair was also very limp and looked slicked down and just gross. No matter how much I brushed it seemed like I just couldn’t get my natural oils to move down the length of my hair and the hair on the top of my head just looked more and more oily the more I brushed. By day 2 I felt like my hair looked gross and I couldn’t wait to wash. So I will no longer use a BBB for trying to distribute natural scalp oils down the length of my hair. However I still like using a BBB for distributing oils I add into the ends of my hair and will continue its use just for that.

Also if you look at photos of Victorian women with long hair some of them you can see it’s very flat on top and the hair on the top of the head looks slicked down. While the lower down hair looks fluffier. My guess is that it’s scalp oil slicking the hair down on the top of the head. For me this did not look or feel good. So my new opinion is that Old ways of doing things may not always be better than modern ways but maybe at the time that’s the only options they had or knew. They also used many products and chemicals back than now found so be harmful to health so I think I’ll stick to washing with my shampoo or co wash approx every 3 days and enjoy feeling clean and not super oily!

Normally a BBB isn't used for detangling the hair but for smoothing and slicking it down after you detangle, so to style so to say.

[Spikey]

Personally, I have very curly, fine hair and I love my BBB to death.

I think most people don't use their BBBs to do the right things, or else have bristles much too hard for their hair. A BBB can't be yanked through all your hair at once like a normal brush, the bristles are too soft to penetrate more than the first layer of hair. Instead, they need resistance/support from behind to feed the hair together through the brush. I always brush against either my chest/back, or put my hand on the other side of the brush to feed in hair. If you brush against air, you will get that frizzy mat.

As to the increase in "pulled out hairs" I will say that I do see more hair than usual on the BBB, but, thats because those hairs were already shed and my BBB does a better job of pulling them out than a comb or normal brush. And short hairs are shed all the time, It's why the frizzies around your face never grow out. They have short terminal lengths. If your BBB was ripping out hairs, you would know, because that really hurts.

Mine is from BASS, cost 20 bucks and has lasted me about 10 years. It's worth a try.

[Poi.Lily]

I haven't tried one, but it's on my list.
I was going to get one a while ago, reading it was good.
But I also read it kind of rips through your hair and that doesn't sound like fun.
I may try one and come back to let you know though!

[Kat]

For me, “sleek” looks oily.
I lightly smooth the top layer after detangling and gentle combing.

Yup. For me, BBBs make the top of my hair look flattened and greased down, and the rest gets dried-out and static-y. It does not distribute oils at all for me. A BBB brush will make my hair stick "together" more (its natural tendency is toward stringiness), but this comes also with tangling it slightly (its natural tendency is also toward tangliness).

I do have a soft one I use for smoothing my hair when I pull it back if that's needed (IOW, smoothing down wayward strands), but pretty much that's just because I already had it and might as well use it. Otherwise, any brush would do.

I can't remember the last time I've had a non-BBB brush-- I've had this one for a really long time-- so I don't know if brushes besides a BBB even work for my hair at all, either.

My hair is straight, medium-fine, and not all that thick.

[Liz_H]

I first grew my hair long about 20 years ago. The one piece of advice I found online was to get a BBB. I don't remember the brand, but it has moderately hard bristles. That long hair lasted about 2 years. I had a few split ends, so decided to donate it. When my constant headache felt so much better I kept it short for 15 years

I use it a lot now with my mid back hair. I always start with the bottom few inches, then gradually work my way up. If I don't, I hear those crackles. I do the same with any comb or brush. As Spikey mentioned, I usually brush it against my body.

I use it a lot to distribute sebum down the length. But I usually hold my hair just off the scalp, with the brush angled away from the scalp. This doesn't pull any more oil from the scalp, just moves the oil that's already on the scalp.

[Liz_H]

I just read a recommendation to only use a BBB after thorough detangling, in order to avoid damage from the BBB.

[Daylilly]

I started BBB about four months ago. I only do it the night before a wash for five minutes than braid it for bed. My strands get coated really well and it conditions my hair. The next day I wash scalp only so no greasy look. I haven’t had a lot of breakage and my hair looks the best it has ever looked. I’m gaining length faster than before starting BBB. I do make sure to clean the brush regularly or my scalp can get itchy. I have a very inexpensive brush but I’m shopping around for a better one since I have really enjoyed adding BBB to my routine.

[Kat-Rinnè Naido]

I love my bbb. I only use it a few days after wash day, till wash day.
I oil my ends then use the brush. It helps to keep my scalp clean. I do not get the oily sebum but a hard to crusty type.
If I encounter a tangle, I stop brushing and separate the hair with my fingers then continue brushing. After brushing I run my hands palms together along my hair for a few minute thus reversing the poofy hair experience.

The George Michael recommended method is to flip you head over and brush extremely slowly while the other hand glides behind the brush.
I instead glide and hold with my free hand as I brush to prevent breakage. The hair in my brush is a lot less than hair loss and breakage I get from combing.

[Alissalocks]

I used a BBB for years but found it damaged my hair terribly. I have super thin hair though. Not sure if that makes me the anomaly but it's a big personal no-no for my hair growth routine. :shrug:

[AuntyMiki]

I tried using BBB, but it just wouldn't go through all of my hair. Couldn't come close to reaching my scalp.

[Allorapisma]

Personally, I have very curly, fine hair and I love my BBB to death.

I think most people don't use their BBBs to do the right things, or else have bristles much too hard for their hair. A BBB can't be yanked through all your hair at once like a normal brush, the bristles are too soft to penetrate more than the first layer of hair. Instead, they need resistance/support from behind to feed the hair together through the brush. I always brush against either my chest/back, or put my hand on the other side of the brush to feed in hair. If you brush against air, you will get that frizzy mat.

As to the increase in "pulled out hairs" I will say that I do see more hair than usual on the BBB, but, thats because those hairs were already shed and my BBB does a better job of pulling them out than a comb or normal brush. And short hairs are shed all the time, It's why the frizzies around your face never grow out. They have short terminal lengths. If your BBB was ripping out hairs, you would know, because that really hurts.

Mine is from BASS, cost 20 bucks and has lasted me about 10 years. It's worth a try.

Very helpful comment, thanks!

[Kathie]

I've been using a BBB for a month or so now and I love it. I brush twice and day and slowly. I don't brush to untangle, I brush to distribute oils and to care for my scalp.

I've noticed that I have more volume at my scalp and I dont need to oil the ends of my hair any more. I've also been able to stretch my washes to 7 days.

But that said I feel we need to be a bit cautious about coveting Victorian hair. Yes, sure, they had long hair during that time. But we don't have any quality images showing the actual condition it was in.

[Kat]

Personally, I have very curly, fine hair and I love my BBB to death.

I think most people don't use their BBBs to do the right things, or else have bristles much too hard for their hair. A BBB can't be yanked through all your hair at once like a normal brush, the bristles are too soft to penetrate more than the first layer of hair. Instead, they need resistance/support from behind to feed the hair together through the brush. I always brush against either my chest/back, or put my hand on the other side of the brush to feed in hair. If you brush against air, you will get that frizzy mat.

As to the increase in "pulled out hairs" I will say that I do see more hair than usual on the BBB, but, thats because those hairs were already shed and my BBB does a better job of pulling them out than a comb or normal brush. And short hairs are shed all the time, It's why the frizzies around your face never grow out. They have short terminal lengths. If your BBB was ripping out hairs, you would know, because that really hurts.

Mine is from BASS, cost 20 bucks and has lasted me about 10 years. It's worth a try.

I doubt that all of the people who have bad experiences "just aren't doing it right."

Everyone is different, and everyone's hair is different. What works for your hair may not work for someone else's, and it's not necessarily because you're doing it correctly and they're not. It's just that their hair is different than yours, needs different treatment and products, and reacts differently to same.

[LadyFortuna]

It makes my hair way to oily, no matter how much I clean the brush first. So I stick to my tangle teezer and wooden brush.

[Flittingsis]

I have had a couple different BBBs in the past and never liked them because the bristles were always too dense and couldn't get into my thick hair, let alone down to the scalp. I have recently been looking at the Mason Pearson and Kent mixed brushes (boar bristle and nylon) for the simple reason that the bristles are spread out more over the brush. I'm sure in the past I would have also tried to use the BBB as a normal brush, and just unthinkingly go at it. Now I know to be more careful and mindful about how the brush interacts with my hair. I want to try a BBB again to move sebum away from my scalp where it will typically just sit and get cruddy/waxy, then dry and flake. I have tried horn combs and wooden combs (cheap wooden ones w/out seams work the best to distribute, but they somehow tangle more easily, too) but they take forever to be slightly effective. I think I'll look into the BASS brushes like Spikey mentioned. That way there won't be a massive upfront cost.

[Kat]

I want to try a BBB again to move sebum away from my scalp where it will typically just sit and get cruddy/waxy, then dry and flake. I have tried horn combs and wooden combs (cheap wooden ones w/out seams work the best to distribute, but they somehow tangle more easily, too) but they take forever to be slightly effective.

Honestly, that's been my experience with BBBs, too, for this purpose. Maybe I would need to start brushing heavily daily right from wash day for it to make a difference, rather than waiting until my hair actually looks oily?

[Kathie]

Honestly, that's been my experience with BBBs, too, for this purpose. Maybe I would need to start brushing heavily daily right from wash day for it to make a difference, rather than waiting until my hair actually looks oily?

I start from wash day. I love the feeling of the BBB on my scalp, I feel Im getting a stimulating scalp massage. I've made it a morning and evening routine and my scalp feels weird until I do it now, I wake up feeling I need to brush and look forward to it before bed.

Gosh- I sound like a brush addict! If I find out my BBB is causing damage I'm going to be devastated.

[Jools69]

The pros for me are: distributing my natural oils throughout my hair, collecting and removing any loose hair or flakes, allowing me to stretch my washes, and also gives a nice scalp massage.

The cons: not many, but hair needs to have any knots or tangles removed, otherwise will snagged and I find it difficult to clean.


I start from wash day. I love the feeling of the BBB on my scalp, I feel Im getting a stimulating scalp massage. I've made it a morning and evening routine and my scalp feels weird until I do it now, I wake up feeling I need to brush and look forward to it before bed.
I have patches of psoriasis on my scalp and I find it helps to relieve it.

[Kathie]

The pros for me are: distributing my natural oils throughout my hair, collecting and removing any loose hair or flakes, allowing me to stretch my washes, and also gives a nice scalp massage.

The cons: not many, but hair needs to have any knots or tangles removed, otherwise will snagged and I find it difficult to clean.


I have patches of psoriasis on my scalp and I find it helps to relieve it.

Thats great! And good to know. A BBB seems so good for scalps!

[Flittingsis]

I was just perusing the Bass website to look at their brushes. I always lamented the fact that the only "mixed" BBB brushes used nylon as the addition, but coming soon there will be a bamboo pin and boar bristle brush! That's exciting to me. (Read more closely, the add for that brush says "available in 2020".... so who knows if it will ever actually be coming.) :pray:

[Kathie]

I was having a particularly oily hair week and thought I might have to wash earlier then planned. I decided to experiment with a few different braid styles, which required a fair bit if brushing between each style. I used my BBB for this... and does it ever distribute the oil!!

It's wash day tomorrow and my hair looks fine. Actually very voluminous. I find my natural oils help to hold my hair in what ever way I style it... so if I brush against my scalp it lays flat. When I'm ready to style it I brush my hair up from the roots and it creates some great root lift.

[brdmom]

I’ve bought a couple of bbb’s in the past and don’t especially like using them. It seems like brushing with them makes my hair look oily and also makes it staticky. Also, I don’t feel like the brush penetrates the hair well, and my hair isn’t thick or coarse.

[KokotheHen]

I find that using a boar bristle brush gets rid of my hair being clumpy when oily (especially when it is one or two days before wash day). It does flatten my hair, but it also makes it look shinier!

[Kat]

I've started to use mine after oiling (on dry hair) to help smooth the oil over more of the hair...

[ArienEllariel]

I've found that the key to using a boar bristle brush (especially if the bristles aren't firm enough to get through your hair normally) is to section your hair and work through smaller sections, giving each a good number of strokes. And only after detangling and brushing with a brush that will go through the entire hair (wood pin or tangle teaser for example). It's really helpful in stretching washes and leaving hair soft and moisturized (assuming you produce a decent amount of natural sebum). Sure, I have oily hair pretty quickly but this way I'm at least spreading that oil down my length where it can do some good.