weigh in on bbb

[ravenheather]

I'd like to know if your hair loves bbb or hates it. Also what type of hair you have and where/how often this fits into your routine.

[jextxadore]

I don't think my hair reacts to a BBB, but I don't like it — every time I use one, it makes my hair all matted. Shiny, but matted. And they're a lot of effort to clean (and I find I basically have to rinse the bristles after every stroke lest I look like I have salt in my hair).

So I don't use them anymore.

[~honeyflower~]

I love my bbb it gives a glossy shine and makes my hair really soft. I have very straight hair that is thick and course so I have to section mine. I use it everyday without any problems and on Saturdays I clean it with shampoo.

[alexis917]

I have a BBB but refuse to use it. No matter how often I clean it it attracts dust. Though it does make my hair shinier, it's hard to put something so dusty looking near my head!

[Madora]

I'd like to know if your hair loves bbb or hates it. Also what type of hair you have and where/how often this fits into your routine.

My hair L O V E S being brushed with a pure bbb! I've been doing it daily since 1960 (100 strokes per day).

My hair is medium fine, slightly wavy and moderately thick. I brush my hair in the morning (after detangling it with a wide tooth comb first).

[ravenheather]

My hair L O V E S being brushed with a pure bbb! I've been doing it daily since 1960 (100 strokes per day).

My hair is medium fine, slightly wavy and moderately thick. I brush my hair in the morning (after detangling it with a wide tooth comb first).

How and how often do you clean your brush since this seems to be an issue for others?

[akilina]

I have never had an issue with my bbb getting dirty??
Keep it in a little cloth bag if its getting dirty.
When I wash mine, I get all the hairs out of it with a comb, then I shampoo and condition the brush bristles.
I only do it though when I remember to do so. I might wash it today while the idea is fresh.
It usually happens once a month or so.

[Chanie]

My hairloves it! It doesnt snap aand hurt anymore when im brushing, and i get shine at the same time :) amazing, i have medium thick hair, suffering from bleach and heat damage :)

[CarpeDM]

I have two Mason Pearson BBB's (the extra large and the sensitive) and my hair loves them. My hair is a combination of fine straight and medium wavy and I use my BBB once a day.

[ravenheather]

I have two Mason Pearson BBB's (the extra large and the sensitive) and my hair loves them. My hair is a combination of fine straight and medium wavy and I use my BBB once a day.

Which brush do you prefer?

[Diamond.Eyes]

I didnt care for my BBB brush. I apply oil to my ends daily so there was no need for me to disperse the oils from my scalp. I prefer my Paul Mitchell wide-tooth comb for all brushing purposes. :p

[TheWhiteRabbit]

I like my BBB but my bristols (sp) are too soft. I have to go find one that has a bit stiffer of bristols. So far my hair doesnt hate it, but it doesnt demand it either so I am unsure at this point in time. I havent had a problem with mine getting dirty like some people have, I wash once a week and everything is happy.

[Madora]

How and how often do you clean your brush since this seems to be an issue for others?

I wash my brush every day, with a touch of Neutrogena hand soap on a nail brush. I scrub between the rows - horizontally and vertically, then rinse well in cold, running water.

While some make think cleaning a brush every day is a bit excessive, I find that using a clean brush every time I brush helps extend my washes. Personally, I can't see putting a linty or grungy brush on hair I'm trying to keep as clean as possible.

[jeanniet]

I use a BBB about twice a week before a wash for scalp massage and distribution of oils. I have a Mason Pearson large Extra, and love it. I wet clean it weekly using the cleaning brush and mild soap, but also do a dry cleaning after every use. MP brushes should never be immersed in water or put under running water, but there are very good cleaning instructions on their website.

[ravenreed]

My hair hates them. They make my hair look flat, stringy and oily, even if both my hair and brush are clean. I only use them to brush out dry shampoos. That way there is no whitish residue left behind.

[Orangerthanred]

My hair hates any type of brush or comb. I can barely finger comb it when I'm in the shower. Any sort of brush makes my hair so extremely fluffy and huge. :P Only down side is I've wasted a lot of money buying BBBs and fancy "conditioning combs" that my hair hates.

[Thinthondiel]

My hair loves BBBs, but I've stopped using them since I can't be bothered to clean them all the time.

[Elessaelle]

I love my bbb, that's the only thing that helps with frizz, and my hair is very soft and shiny after brushing with it.
I use it almost every day and wash it after every use because there is usually a lot of lint on bbb after brushing... I guess my hair is lint-magnet :D

[CarpeDM]

Which brush do you prefer?

It depends actually on the size of your hands. I have rather large long hands so I prefer the extra large to the sensitive because it is more comfortable for me to hold, but if you have normal size hands then the sensitive should be a good size. I personally would not go any smaller than the sensitive size. I tried the small size and it was way too tiny for my head and hand and I used to get my hair caught between the brush and my hand, so I gave it away to someone I knew with really small hands :)

[Amorice]

My hair likes my BBB, so long as I use my tangle teezer first. I use it the night before I'm going to shampoo, I just go over my hair a bunch until the "mid section" (ear to shoulder-ish, not the ends but far enough that its not bathed in sebum) starts to look shiny. I haven't noticed any dust or dirt in it yet, and I've had it for a month, but I keep it in a drawer and reguarly use a comb to clean the shed hairs out.

[nobeltonya]

My hair didn't like one at all.. I have wavy, relatively coarse hair, and I just can't do any kind of combing/brushing, with anything, on my hair dry.. and it definitely didn't work wet. Just a wide-tooth comb after shampoo, conditioner and leave-in for me. :disco:

[ladylowtide]

I found it to be too much of a bother, for too little benefit. My hair seldom gets oily enough to justify using it, and I find it to be hard on my clean hair.

[Rufflebutt]

I love my BBB. It makes my hair so much softer and it makes stretching washes so much easier.

[QMacrocarpa]

Haven't used one in years, but it seemed to be hard on my rather curly, split-prone hair. My hair is quite a lint-magnet, so I would be needing to clean a BBB all the time. My tangle-teezers and plastic combs can go in the dishwasher, which I like.

[KwaveT]

I have hair that is anything from wavy to spiral curls. I like using the BBB. I use it after I use the wide tooth comb and tangle teezer. My hair is thoroughly detangled by this point. It spreads the oils of my hair and helps remove a lot of excess sheds.

[SongofLove]

I detangle in sections with a wide-tooth comb and then use my BBB, at least a couple of times a week. It makes my hair soft and fluffy.

[Sophiatrist]

My hair loves my bbb, it comes out very soft and shiny. Unfortunately I also lose almost every bit of curliness I had. Especially after oiling, if I let my hair air dry I get really nice long spiral curls. A little bit of finger combing to get it looking vaguely in place and I am good to go. It all starts to go away once I detangle with a wide tooth comb and it's pretty close to straight after brushing. I usually oil and wash every three days so the night before I'll detangle and then brush it out really well.

[Jorja]

I've been using one for months, but while I was cleaning it, I noticed concealed nylon bristles, so I'm not happy. It was a botanics one from Boots. I used to have a good brush through in sections before I washed it. It made my hair kind of stick together on top of my head, I'd have to rake my fingers through to separate it. I'm guessing that it's the oil doing this. My hair did feel sleeker after I'd used it though.

Next task for me is to find a decent one with just boar bristles! If anyone in UK has any recommendations I'd be grateful :)

[Madora]

I've been using one for months, but while I was cleaning it, I noticed concealed nylon bristles, so I'm not happy. It was a botanics one from Boots. I used to have a good brush through in sections before I washed it. It made my hair kind of stick together on top of my head, I'd have to rake my fingers through to separate it. I'm guessing that it's the oil doing this. My hair did feel sleeker after I'd used it though.

Next task for me is to find a decent one with just boar bristles! If anyone in UK has any recommendations I'd be grateful :)

Kent of London makes beautiful boar bristle brushes. You might want to check them out in person, however, to feel the stiffness of the bristles, etc.

Mason Pearson is another respected company. Several members here swear by their MP brush.

[Jorja]

Thank you Madora that's good to know. I've heard of the kent brushes. Now I'm off for a google to find my nearest stockest! :)

[ravenheather]

I just picked up a cheapie bbb from the drug store. I'm going to try it out. If I love it, I'll save up for a nicer one. The kent brushes seem reasonable. Mason Pearson is out of reach for me though. Maybe one day.

Madora- do you know where they sell kent brushes in person?

[Madora]

I just picked up a cheapie bbb from the drug store. I'm going to try it out. If I love it, I'll save up for a nicer one. The kent brushes seem reasonable. Mason Pearson is out of reach for me though. Maybe one day.

Madora- do you know where they sell kent brushes in person?

Ravenheather, I've only seen Kent of London brushes in high end stores (and this was YEARS ago).

Their brushes are beautiful but the one I had just didn't mesh with my hair...and was too big into the bargain. I made the horrid mistake of buying the Kent brush (sight unseen) because another long hair had recommended it highly. It was very expensive and while beautifully made, just wasn't right for my hair. I learned the hard way never to buy a hairbrush w/o seeing it in person!

[PrincessIdril]

I love my BBB. I have the Mason Pearson boar bristle and nylon blend brush and I love it. I use it everyday, sometimes twice a day depending on how I've had my hair styled that day.
I know curlies aren't supposed to brush but I find brushing with my BBB to be more benificial for my hair than combing/doing nothing. It makes my hair shiny, breaks the curls up into waves (which I prefer) and gets all the shed hairs out.

[Golden]

My hair loves my BBB. I use it every time after I washed my hair (when it's dry, of course) before I use any other products on my hair.
I don't use my BBB after I oiled my hair (it's a Mason Pearson and I don't want to ruin it :D)

[ravenheather]

So where is the best place to buy quality bbb brushes in person in US?

[Firefly]

I'm a 2a/F-M/ii, and BBBs frizz my hair out. Once in a while I use mine to distribute oils before bed, but feel I get better results with scalp massage/finger combing to distribute oils. On a day to day basis I just use a wide tooth comb.

[Golden]

So where is the best place to buy quality bbb brushes in person in US?

I bought mine in a chainperfumeshop (I hope you understand what I mean :o)

[millyaulait]

I love my MP BBB (Sensitive.)

It really helps my dry ends, and I find brushing oddly therapeutic.

[Madora]

So where is the best place to buy quality bbb brushes in person in US?

Well, you might try the upmarket stores...Neiman Marcus. Also Macy's.

But you can find a perfectly good pure bbb at places like Target, Walmart and Walgreens.

If at all possible, flex the bristles with your fingers to see how supple (or not) they are. Brush stiffness can vary greatly from brush to brush.

Be sure it has enough rows across and that the handle feels comfortable in your hand. A lot of manufacturers make the "neck" of the handle too wide and it doesn't feel comfortable at all.

Also, be sure the brush back lies FLAT and is not rounded. A rounded bbb is a styling brush and meant for very short hair. It will tangle long hair badly.

[LuckyH]

after a few misses with BBB/BBB routine I've finally come up with the perfect combo for my hair and couldn't be happier! I think a lot of people unhappy with BBB's may just need to experiment a little more.

The first BBB I got was a Conair, I eventually realized it was a nylon combo and was way to rough on the length of my fine hair (I do occasionally still use it on my scalp though). So I got another from Kmart in the ethnic hair needs section...MUCH better selection then wherever I was lookin before. It's 100% BB and gentle yet effective. I comb with wide tooth wooden comb from bed bath and beyond and after it dries I BBB for smoothness and shine. Then I comb once more for movement and TA-DA, no more styling products or heat styling. YA GURL!

[LuckyH]

OH OH and half the time I leave for work I'm running late and have wet hair...so after much searching I finally found moderately priced travel BBB from Sephora to keep in my desk for when my hair actually dries! It was $16 (better than what I could find on the internet for travel size). It is a BBB with PLASTIC combo, I know this is a turn-off for many but it feels freakin nice running through my hair and haven't noticed any excess damage....used sparingly.