"A hair in the head is worth two in the brush." Oliver Herford
Being one of the most important hair accessories, how much importance or thought do you give while choosing your hair brush? Most of us, hardly look at anything else but the look of the hair brush, isn't it? But, you need to wait here a minute if you want proper hair care. Choosing the right hair brush is very important or rather crucial depending on your haircut. Choosing the wrong hair brush can lead to unnecessary hair fall and breakage. You also need to know which brush to use for what. In this article, we give you all the necessary information one needs while choosing their hair brush.
List of Different Types of Hair Brushes
Paddle Hair Brushes
A paddle hair brush is a hair brush with a wide flattened surface. It's used for styling long hair and smoothing them when wet. A cushioned design with all ball tipped tines will give more volume to your hair while a simple paddle brush will help you in smoothing out your long straight hair. This brush also reduces drying time as it goes through large amounts of hair at once. It should ideally be 3 inches wide.
Cushion Style Hair Brushes
A cushion hair brush has an air filled rubber cushion at the base below the bristles. The bristles come out of this rubber cushion. The rubber cushion helps in not being hard on the scalp. The bristles in these brushes are usually rounded. This brush also helps in smoothing long haircut styles and helping them keep knot free for a longer time.
Sculpting Hair Brushes
A sculpting hair brush is mostly used for styling. It mostly always has a rectangular base for bristles and has many uses but one. It helps in adding volume to short haircuts. If you are blow drying, this hair brush is very helpful as it helps you hold all your hair in place. In a similar fashion, you can also use it while applying serums and other styling products.
Round/Radial Hair Brushes
Round hair brushes or radial hair brushes are brushes that are extensively used for generating curly hairstyles. These are very useful in styling medium-sized hair and while just brushing, they leave curls towards the end. These brushes are round and have bristles all over the 360 surface. These are not really recommended or suited for short or long hair. These hair brushes are usually used while blow drying. A half radial hair brush is nothing but a radial brush cut exactly into half. One side of this brush is flat while the other is curved with bristles.
Thermal Hair Brushes
These type of brushes are really unique. These brushes have heat conductive materials in between them. Thus, while blow drying hair, with the heat from the blow dryer, even these hair brushes heat up. Due to this, the heat works not only on the surface of the hair but also internally while combing. You just have to be careful as the brush can sometimes heat a lot causing scorching. These are available in flat and round shapes.
Military Hair Brushes
Military hair brushes don't have a handle. They just have a base with bristles which you are supposed to hold in your palms and then brush your hair. This type of hair brush is usually used by men and it's a little unadvised for women unless you have really short hair. Some of these have a simple base but some have the air filled cushion. Depending on how much you spend, you can choose bristles from stainless steel, nylon, boar bristles and horsehair.
Vent Hair Brushes
These hair brushes have vents surrounding the base of bristles. The sole purpose of these vents are that they circulate the heat while blow drying the hair. Circulation of heat helps in better styling of the hair and also keeps the styling more long lasting.
Combs
A comb is less of a hair brush as it is made up of more of the same material as the handle. It has teeth in place of bristles and is one of the oldest tools used for combing hair. The materials that are usually used to make combs are ABS plastic, Rosewood, New Guinea Rosewood, Polyacetal, Ebony and Beech.
Now that you know all these different types of hair brushes, choose the one that suits your needs the best. Choosing the right hair brush for the right purpose can prove beneficial in more ways than one. It will reduce hair fall, increase volume, avoid unnecessary breakage and will enhance hair growth. Remember, that hair brushes don't only sort out knots, but also increases blood circulation of the scalp and thus enhances growth. Cleaning hair brushes is also simple. It can be done at home by washing them in shampoo water and taking out the hair stuck at base by a thin pointed object. Martin Luther rightly said, "The hair is the richest ornament of women." We have to make sure we brush it properly, right?
