I tested three hair brushes including an affordable option to keep your locks flowing
I SAW a trichologist – a hair and scalp specialist – who said my brush was damaging my locks and recommended a gentler, natural, boar bristle brush instead.
This week, I put three to the test.
BUDGET
DENMAN D81M medium finishing brush with mixed bristle (£12, lookfantastic.com): When looking to buy a boar bristle brush, I quickly learned that they don’t come cheap.
This is by far the most affordable option here, but does have nylon bristles alongside the boar bristles – and, in fact, it was my mum’s brush of choice when I was younger, so I am already familiar.
The nylon brushes definitely help to detangle wet hair as they are more sturdy, and I can imagine they’d be a godsend for thick hair.
But my fine hair ended up quite static every time I used this, and it didn’t feel as smooth as it did with the others – though it’s definitely more gentle than the paddle brush I used before.
MID-RANGE
CHRISTOPHE Robin Travel Hairbrush with Natural Boar-Bristle and Wood, (£49, lookfantastic.com): There’s quite a jump in price between mixed bristle brushes and pure boar bristle ones.
This was the cheapest reputable entirely boar bristle brush I could find – which says a lot.
It’s smaller than the other two, so I found it took far longer to work through my hair and I had to resort to sectioning it when wet to speed things up.
The wooden handle is comfortable to hold, but I found the bristles slightly too soft.
If you have shoulder-length or shorter hair that might not be a problem.
But it meant it didn’t do a great job of detangling my waist-length locks, although it is great for creating a slick-back bun.
LUXURY
LA BONNE Brosse N.01 The Universal Hair Care Brush, (£138, libertylondon.com): Before I even knew about the benefits of boar bristle brushes, I’d been trying to justify the spend on this piece of art (no exaggeration) since seeing Molly Mae using one of the baby pink brushes in a YouTube video.
I hate to say it, but even without factoring in how Insta-worthy the design is, I found it the most efficient brush of the three tested.
The bristles are sturdy enough to detangle hair without getting caught or pulling hair, but they’re soft enough that they don’t scratch your scalp.
Sometimes, you really do get what you pay for, unfortunately.
Pick of the week
THIS week is Boots Beauty Advantage Week – which means there are different bargains to be had every day.
Today might just be the best one yet, with 20 per cent off brands such as Fenty Beauty, Sol De Janiero and Huda Beauty.
Plus every day there are flash £10 sale items when you shop online, including Lancaster Sun Beauty Body Milk SPF30 175ml, which was £28 but for 24 hours is only £10.
Shop online and at Boots.