Understanding Hair Brush Bristles: Nylon, Boar & Mixed - Which is Best for Your Hair?

With so many colours, shapes, bristle types and sizes, don’t you think it is easy to fall in love when you’re standing in the hairbrush aisle? I think so too. But with so many options I am always left to wonder, how can one be certain that they’re using the perfect hairbrush bristle  for their hair?

So before I start with the brush, I want to first give you a little background information about my hair, I have wavy to curly hair for the 3/4 th of my hair the rest 1/4th is stuck straight. I know not attractive at all, and the main reason why I pin curl my hair all the time. But whenever I want to straighten it I use a round brush, and over the years these brushes have helped my hair maintain that growth and shine.

So in order to give you a detailed lowdown on round brushes, I decided to explore my favourite beauty store. Read ahead to find out more.

I have collected 3 types of brushes:

Boar bristle (Natural):

Boar bristles round brushes or as they are also called Natural bristle round brushes are made up of the hair or fur of wild hog. It is absorbent in nature and hence helps in to spread the natural oils of the hair making the hair look really shiny. Many salons use boar bristle brushes as they give a better finish. It’s great for curly hair as Boar bristle brushes give the best tension to the hair.

Pro’s:

1. Imparts shine to the hair
2. Provides best tension to the hair
3. Finishes the hair beautifully
4. Catches even the ends of the hair
5. Best for both curly and straight hair
6. Gives a classic blow dry effect by drying your strands from every angle
7. During blow drying, the brush acts as a curling iron and can help you add waves, and volume

Con’s:

1. Makes the brush heavy
2. Expensive due to the bristles
3. The weight might lead to pain in the wrist

Nylon Bristle:

Nylon bristles are used to categorize all bristle that are made of plastic or Nylon. Nylon feels almost like iron hair. It is very stiff, straight and can hurt when touching them. This multitasking brush is usually paired with ceramic bodies as they help in conducting the heat to the body of the brush. A nylon round brush with a ceramic body emanates heat sealing the style and making it last longer. Remember to use a bigger brush to straighten your hair, and a smaller brush for volume and bounce.

Pro’s:

1. The brush is lighter than the boar bristle brush
2. It holds the style longer
3. Good for fine hair as it does not pull as much
4. Best to curl hair
5. Small bristles are good for taming unruly bangs

Con’s:

1. Makes the hair look dry
2. Ineffective on curly hair
3. Can damage hair more as it adds additional heat to the hair

Mixed:

Probably my most favorite kind. It has a mix of the above that means that it has both nylon and boar bristles. I don’t want to dwell much on this as it is pretty self-explanatory.

Pro’s:

1. It has less weight when compared to boar bristle
2. It provides great tension
3. It imparts shine to the hair
4. Help in smoothening down flyaways
5. Gives the same effect as a boar bristle brush

Con’s:

1. Most expensive kind
2. The weight is relatively less not really light

So there you have it, a lowdown on round bristle brushes. Hope you liked the post and do let us know in the comments below which are your preferred choices.