Adoring your curls means knowing each & every hair care product in your arsenal—& which hair care tools to keep far away from your crown. That means you know brushing is usually a big no-no for natural hair, with one big exception: the boar bristle brush.
But what gives this brush the right to break swear-by hair care tools? First, its natural bristle is gentle on your curls & coils to keep them from frizzing & breaking. But there are other boar bristle brush benefits as well, like reducing natural hair breakage & coveting the stylistic versatility you’ve been craving.
To learn more about how to pamper your hair with the benefits boar bristle brushes offer, this complete guide has got you covered.
What Is a Boar Bristle Brush?
Let’s start with boar bristle hair brush anatomy: What makes this brush different from a regular hair brush?
Two traits set boar bristle brushes apart from the crowd:
- It’s non-synthetic – Many brushes that you’re familiar with use a plastic nylon bristle. But boar bristle brushes are one of the best brushes for curly hair, made of all-natural fibers that are much more tender with your curls.
- It’s got keratin-based bristles – Did you know that boar bristles are composed of the same substance as your hair? Both are made of keratin, the protein that’s the main constituent in skin, hair & nails. Keratin is a strong, protective substance, which means that it scratches & tears less than other proteins. For this reason, keratin bristles are resilient enough to cradle & protect your precious coils in the long term.1
When your brush is made from 100% bona fide boar bristles, you can trust that your curls will reap the rewards.
So…what are those rewards exactly? Let’s dig into four juicy bristle hair brush benefits (made with boar & nylon bristles) that you & your locks have to look forward to.
#1: Bristle Brushes Help Calm Frizz & Improve Shine
There’s no denying that your curls are natural-born stars & embracing your pattern means learning to work & work with all the vivaciousness it comes with—including frizz. While you may have gotten your frizz-smoothing routine down pat, a natural boar bristle brush can be a tremendous ally for your natural hair type.
Your scalp’s natural oils are one of the main natural ways your hair fights frizz. But when you have either a curly, coily or tight-textured hair type, your pattern can make it a bit more of a journey for that oil to get from your scalp & down your hair shaft to smooth out & shine up your tresses.2
Using a boar bristle brush can help because:
- It’s exceptional at evenly distributing hair’s natural oils
- It calms the cuticle while creating brilliance
- It uses soft bristles to reduce friction & help quell frizz on days you want a sleeker style
@patternbeauty Wondering which brush to use? Here’s a quick guide to help you determine which PATTERN tool to use to style those joyful strands. Shop our hair tools on PatternBeauty.com 💛 #RockYourPattern #PatternBeauty #HairTools ♬ original sound - Jay Mark
#2: They Help You Create Lots of Different ‘Dos
Styling your hair is undeniably one of the crowning moments of nights out on the town or days when you want all eyes on you. But with so many styles, shapes & statements to make with your unique hair texture, you need versatile styling tools like a multi-talented boar bristle brush.
Made for gentle styling, boar bristle brushes work like a dream for easily & evenly distributing any styling product you’re using to create your hair look du jour. You can kiss uneven spray or finger applications goodbye & bid adieu to getting your hands covered in sticky product as you try to finger brush it through your hair.
Boar bristle brushes will happily do the heavy lifting for you. We recommend keeping them ready to create these gorgeous styles:
- Cute buns – A good styling brush makes it much easier to gather & part your curls so you can arrange them into the eye-catching updo of your choice. To give your bun a little extra oomph, PATTERN’s lightweight Curl Mousse will give your hair an extra hit of volume & lift.
- Super slick styles – Lookin for some extra shine? There’s nothing like a natural bristle brush to help frizz settle down while you take an ultra-sleek look out for a spin. For an extra touch of gloss, double up with a shine spray to add polished structure & a luminous sheen.
Combined with curly hair stylers that are formulated to cradle your curl pattern, boar bristle brushes ensure both fresh & tried-&-true hair looks have never looked better.
#3: They Assist With Keeping Hair Cleaner for Longer
You already know that less is more when it comes to washing curly & coily hair, the potential pitfalls of over washing natural hair means you’ve nailed your wash day schedule. But we all have those weeks where, even when we’ve stuck to our routine, our hair needs a little extra TLC & attention. So when jumping in the shower just isn’t an option, what should you do for your hair?
Another one of the benefits of boar bristle brush is how it can help to keep your natural hair cleaner for longer. This allows you to stretch the time you can go between washes & gives you a tool to handle those “eh” hair days that pop up every once in a while. Just be sure you’re in the loop and know how to clean your boar bristle brush properly.
Boar bristle brushes care for your hair between wash days by:3
- Brushing out buildup – We know you have places to be! But when you’re out being busy in the world, coily & curly hair types hold onto all the remnants of the day in the form of dust, oil, lint & skin flakes. A boar bristle brush stops that buildup from sitting on your scalp & brushes it out of your hair entirely.
- Moving oil around – An accumulation of grease is usually one of the tell-tale signs that you’re due for a trip to the shower. That trip only comes faster if all your hair’s natural oils stay on your scalp. But boar bristle brushes help coax those oils to the ends of your hair & away from your scalp.
The takeaway? A clean scalp is a happy one & using a boar bristle brush is a way to maintan your scalp health.
#4: They Can Protect Against Hair Breakage
If you’re early on in your natural hair journey, your curls & coils may still be in recovery. Many folks with natural hair find their crown has sustained damage or breakage caused by products & styling tools that weren’t designed with your natural curl pattern or hair’s best interests in mind.
In these cases, boar bristle brushes are a wonderful way to support your curls on their healing journey. Compared to other brushes out there, a boar bristle brush reduces natural hair breakage by:4
- Helping close your hair cuticle – The cuticle is the protective outer layer of your curl & since it’s porous. This means it can open & close to various degrees; when it’s open it can often be vulnerable to damage. Using a bristle brush helps smooth the cuticle closed, protecting your curls’ precious structure & introducing shine in one fell swoop.
- Using less force – Too much friction of any kind can cause breakage. From toweling your hair off too forcefully to using brushes or combs that snag, there are lots of ways to inadvertently cause breakage that don’t even involve using any hair care products at all. But the soft, keratin-based fibers in a boar bristle brush are impossibly gentle on your curls, helping to limit the amount of friction each hair strand is exposed to.
Boar bristle brushes help kiss breakage goodbye & jump-start your journey to a lifetime of healthier curls.
If you’re looking for extra reinforcement, be sure to pair your bristle brush with heat protectant on hot styling days. Combined with the formulaic shield provided by a heat protectant, your bristle brush lends a layer of structural protection against thermal damage.
How to Use Your Brush to Honor Your Curls
While bristle brushes can be an excellent tool, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. To ensure you’re not overbrushing, it’s important to understand the healthiest ways to brush your curls.
Follow these guidelines to get the most out of your brush:5
- Brush from the ends up & don’t start at the roots
- Make sure your brush has high-quality bristles that won’t snag your hair
- Brush damp hair, but only comb wet hair. Wet natural hair is too fragile for a brush.
- Clean your brush properly—it can get buildup too!
These brushing tips will ensure you’re handling your curls & coils in the healthiest way along with using the best possible brush.
Find a Brush Worthy of Your Curls with PATTERN
Now that you’ve got the scoop on boar bristle brushes, get ready to achieve new levels of styling & hair shine. This hair care go-to will become a staple in your routine, with the power to put flyaway in their seat & let you define exactly how much frizz you want.
At PATTERN, we want to let your curls be as buoyant & joyful as they desire by giving them the TLC they deserve. Shop our collection of styling products to play with your natural pattern, while nourishing your curls to the max.
Sources:
- Healthline. What Is Keratin? https://www.healthline.com/health/keratin
- Healthline. 6 Surprising Causes of Frizzy Hair – and 8 Ways to Combat It. https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/what-causes-frizzy-hair
- All things Hair. How a Boar Bristle Brush Can Help You Achieve Healthier Hair. https://www.allthingshair.com/en-us/hair-products/hair-brush/boar-bristle-brush-benefits/
- All things Hair. 7 Reasons You Should Try a Boar Bristle Brush. https://www.allthingshair.com/en-uk/hair-products/hair-brush/boar-bristle-brush-benefits/
- Refinery29. Are You Brushing Your Hair All Wrong? https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/brushing-curly-hair
