You see all these different hair brushes in store, online and when you go to the hair salon. But what do they do? and do they have a name? Sometimes when I’m doing a clients hair I will use up to four different brushes, starting at the shampoo sink with a wet brush, then a few different brushes and different sizes for the blowout.

Every brush has a purpose, that’s why they all look different. Think about make-up brushes. You’re not going to use a a blush brush to apply eye shadow.  Just like how you wouldn’t use a wet brush to do a blowout. To figure out what brushes you need in your beauty supply bag, you want to take into consideration what you will be using the brush for, and what kind of texture hair you have.

There are hair brushes for getting through tangles easily, for doing a blowout, even brushes that are made specifically for hair extensions. Having the right hair brushes for the job you need done is going to give you better results and make styling your hair easier.

Tangle Teezer

Do you have a hard time combing through your hair when you get out of the shower, or after a day at the beach? What you need is a wet brush. A wet hair brush makes it easy breezy to brush though hair when it is wet, hence the name wet brush. If your hair tends to get matted together or tangles easily when it is wet, you need this brush.

The Tangle Teezer has an innovative design to brush through any knots with breeze and it even gives you a little scalp massage. Don’t let imitators fool you, the Tangle Teezer is the OG wet hair brush, that really works. It’s great for all hair textures, perfect for kids, and comes in many different colors, patterns and sizes!

Moroccanoil Round Round Brush

Blowouts are becoming the way of styling hair and because of this there has been a surge of interest in round brushes in the last few years. The Moroccanoil Ceramic Round Brush is one of the best, and always gives me the results I want.

They come in ceramic with nylon bristles, ceramic with boar bristles, and boar bristles with a wooden barrel. Made with high quality materials this round brush will last you years. I’ve had mine for 5 years and it works just as well as the day I got it.  More more info on round brushes check out my other post about the best round brush.

Bass Paddle Brush

The paddle brush is a well known, and a  widely used hair brush. The bass paddle brush is made with 100% bamboo and the highest quality materials. I have used many different styles of hair brushes made by Bass and love them all.

Did you know there is a special way to use a paddle brush? I didn’t either until a fellow stylist showed me a little trick. When you hold the paddle brush vertically ↑↓ it will brush through knots easier because there will be less tension on your hair. When you hold the paddle brush vertically ↔ it will create tension which is useful when you want to use a paddle brush to blowout your hair.

Olivia Garden Vented Paddle Brush

The vented paddle brush is a great do it all brush. Being vented allows air to flow through for faster drying time.  Use this style paddle brush before a round brush to get some lift at your roots, and take some moisture out of your hair. Or use it to create beautiful straight blow dry styles. It’s not only great for blow drying your hair straight, but it helps with those crazy tangles. This brush comes in 3 different sizes.

  • Small – Medium – Great for fine to medium textures, and short to medium length
  • Large – Great for thick, long hair

Olivia Garden Teasing Brush

This is the brush you want when you need to add a little extra volume to your hair. Made with boar bristles, and it folds up so it’s great to pack in your bag for touch ups.

Just simply spray your roots with a light hold hairspray and back comb with this brush. Simple as that. And sometimes when I am doing a blowout I use a teasing brush to smoothing my hair line as I’m blow drying it, then finish with a round brush. This compact brush is also great to help smooth flyaways when you are creating a smooth ponytail or bun. This little guy can do a lot so it good to always have one on hand.

Remysoft Loop Brush For Extensions

If you have any kind of extensions, weave or wear a wig, I hope you are not just using any hair brush to brush through your hair. The loop brush is designed to gently move over where the extensions are attached to your natural hair so it doesn’t disrupt the bonds or pull out hair from your extensions or wig. It’s best to use an extension hair brush to get through any tangles and knots before you use a round brush or a paddle brush to blowout your hair.

The Denman Brush

This is a classic brush. I remember seeing a Denman brush in my great grandmothers bathroom. This hair brush is great for brushing through very curly, coarse, thick hair textures. Another awesome thing this brush can do is create the perfect bend at the ends of your hair when you blow out a bob haircut.

A little secret I learn is if you have very kinky, hard-to-comb-through hair, remove every other vertical row of bristles from the brush. The bristles are easy to remove by sliding the base of the brush off the handle (it’s made to do that) and just popping them off.

I hope this was helpful, and you learned what hair brushes will be best for you and your hair. As always feel free to email me with any questions and leave any comments below you have.