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The 5 best hair brushes money can buy

A golden oldie

By Briar Clark

BEAUTYcrew Beauty Editor / February 03 2023

Nothing beats a classic — much like a tube of Revlon ‘Cherries In The Snow’ lipstick provokes memories of our mother and grandmothers’ beauty routines — so too does the humble hairbrush.

A simple and effective tool in taming thick and frizzy hair, the hairbrush is the unsung hero of a solid haircare routine. Heck, Marcia Brady’s silky strands wouldn’t be half as impressive if they hadn’t received a carefully counted 100 strokes of a hairbrush a day.

And while you might think that a hairbrush is best suited to straight hair types, even curly hair can benefit from a brushing (just make sure your hair’s wet).

Regardless of your hair type, we’ve hunted down the front runners in the hairbrush category — it’s smooth sailing ahead…

Denman Large Classic Styling Brush

The Denman brush curling technique has become a viral hack for defined curls. While we’re sure there’s a trick to getting the twist just right, there’s a reason the technique has been named after this classic styling brush. The anti-static rubber base is fitted with nine rows of nylon pins that carefully comb through the hair, detangling and defining strands.

$35.85 at Adore Beauty

Tangle Teezer Original Panther Black

A handbag essential, the tangle teezer is small but mighty and easily tackles dry or wet tangled and knotted hair. The two-tiered teeth simultaneously smooth strands and massage the scalp to promote overall hair and scalp health.

$28.05 at Adore Beauty

Mason Pearson Small Extra Brush Pure Bristle Black

Mason Pearson is the Bentley of brushes. The illustrious 130 year old history of the handmade brush spans generations; Mick Jagger famously took a Mason Pearson brush to Jerry Hall’s abundant waves of blonde hair in the bowels of Studio 54. Best suited to fine hair, the Mason Pearson smooths and softens strands, without accentuating damage and split ends.

$390 at Hair House

Drybar Super Lemon Drop Detangling Hair Brush

Got hair extensions? This detangling brush is extra gentle on tape-in extensions to ensure you get longevity out of your faux locks. The lightweight brush easily glides through hair without tugging or pulling on your investment.

$33 at Sephora

The Wet Brush Pro Paddle Detangler

If you have thick, full hair then you’ll know how beneficial a paddle brush can be before heat styling. Yes, this wide-set winner can be used on wet or dry hair, but we especially love the fact that we never lose volume after a brushing sesh, and the paddle doubles as a hair mask applicator in the shower.

$25.95 at Adore Beauty

A hairbrush is a handbag essential for some of your favourite celebrities — Lily Collins fringe wouldn’t be the same without one.

Main image credit: @victoriakwessberg

Briar Clark

Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).