These 11 Hairbrushes Detangle and Make Your Hair Look Better Than Before

The best hairbrushes for curly hair have wide-spaced bristles, says Stanley Nolan, assistant school director and beauty education specialist at the Ogle School in Houston, who recommends Denman brushes — a staple among stylists. Wide-spaced bristles “detangle and define curls while maintaining your natural curl pattern, so you get smooth results without compromising your texture,” she says. The seven rows of bristles on this brush are best for tackling medium-length hair. (The brand’s paddle brush is more suited for long hair.)

The Denman brush has flexible bristles that won’t tug or get stuck in your curls but that also feel nice against your scalp. There are multiple ways to use this brush, depending on your curl pattern. To learn how to use this brush to style your curls, various Denman tutorials on YouTube demonstrate handy how-tos.

Some customers complain that the handle can slip when the brush is wet, and the bristle pad may pop out when in water. (The pad is designed to come out for cleaning.) This can add frustration to the styling experience. Users also report that brushing out their curls can be a time-consuming process.

You know when you run a brush through your tangles and it feels like the strands are ripping (or worse, tearing) out of your head? That’s a terrible experience, especially if it happens regularly when you brush your hair. This Keranique brush limits breakage with wider-set, flexible bristles. This brush’s soft bristles are also for fine, wet hair, says Gretchen Friese-Oligee, a trichologist (a hair and scalp expert) and stylist at Eric Adam Hair in Colorado. However, she cautions that it might not glide as easily through thick hair.

Another plus is that the venting of this brush allows air to flow freely while blow-drying, making it a multitasking choice for both daily brushing and styling. The brush’s curved design helps it contour to the scalp, but the absence of padding may make it feel uncomfortably stiff for some users.

For fine hair, look for a brush with soft bristles, says Korab. The Oribe Flat Brush has two types of bristles: boar bristles for smoothing and softening, and shorter pins for detangling and massaging the scalp. An added benefit of natural bristles is that they help distribute hair oil from your roots down to the ends. That not only softens hair but also helps relieve the greasy look that fine hair can take on, even soon after washing.

Putting aside that this brush is beautiful and worthy of displaying on a vanity, it also has a lightweight grip that feels good to use. A huge downside is the price, which the highest on this list. However, with proper care the brush should hold up against daily use. Another common complaint is that while it works well for fine and thin hair, it can be difficult to pull through thicker strands.

That’s why Tangle Teezer’s detangling brush is up to the task. The teeth are long enough to get through thick hair but still gentle enough on fine hair. (You can also use this brush on dry hair; just don’t use it with heat, such as during blow-drying.) This is one you can take into the shower with you to brush your hair after washing or to distribute product evenly through your hair.

My hair is a combination of fine and thick, and is long — the perfect recipe for knots and matting. Getting anything through it, especially when wet, ranges from uncomfortable to painful, but the Tangle Teezer does it with a gentle hand. (Plus, the nice scalp massage from the bristles isn’t bad.) This small comfort has transformed my shower routine, and I’ve been a convert ever since my stylist used one of these during a cut years ago.

This brush comes in three sizes: mini, regular, and large. According to the company, the large size is ideal for long, thick, or curly hair, and the mini is perfect for travel. Everyone else can stick with the regular size.

If you have thick hair, you know how tough it is to wrestle a brush through it. You first sweep the top, then the bottom; the middle sometimes stays snaggly. This is a great brush for getting all of your hair, due to its hefty size, ergonomic handle, and paddle shape. You use some pressure to get it through your hair, but it’s not a struggle at all.

Korab recommends this hairbrush for giving a polished finish to thick hair. The boar and nylon bristles do the dual job of de-frizzing and improving the silkiness of hair while massaging the scalp. This one is heat safe, so it can also be used to style hair while blow-drying, and many users report that it makes at-home blowouts faster.

If you fight frizz on the regular, look for an ionic, ceramic, boar-bristle brush, suggests Nolan. “The ionic and ceramic properties help reduce frizz and smooth the hair cuticle, while the boar bristles gently distribute the hairʼs natural oils from root to tip,” she says. “This combination enhances shine and promotes healthier-looking hair with a smoother, more polished finish.”

This well-rated brush from Olivia Garden can be used on fine, medium, or thick hair. Some users struggle to get it all the way through wavy or curly hair, but others praise it for getting through their most unruly hair days. With an easy-to-hold, lightweight handle that feels good in your hands, this makes for an overall pleasant brushing experience.

Brushes typically don’t fit well in bags that are not tote-sized, which is why having a high-quality, budget-friendly, travel-sized brush is great. Since travel brushes are meant to be a secondary tool, it’s also a plus if they’re well priced, like this one from the Hair Edit. Its mini brush has both boar bristles and nylon pins for dual detangling and shine enhancing.

Users appreciate that the bristles effectively smooth flyaways and wispy strands along the hairline. The handle is long enough to fit comfortably in your hand without being a pain to keep in your bag. It’s also suitable for short, medium, and long hair (even extensions), and you can use it when hair is pulled back to help smooth out the top.

This brush is best used on dry hair, so you may have to keep a wide-toothed comb in your bag if you want to shower at the gym. Users also say that if you have thick hair, you may not be able to get it through in one pass — you’ll likely have to brush in layers. Given that this is a smaller brush (for travel), that’s not surprising.

First, we must acknowledge that boar-bristle brushes are more expensive than most other brushes. This one from Crown Affair is on the lower end of the price scale for boar-bristle brushes, making this a nice option, especially if this is your first brush in this category.

Boar-bristle brushes excel at distributing hair oil, says Nolan. This can help smooth hair and enhance shine. The Crown Affair brush is a dual-bristled brush with shorter boar bristles and longer nylon pins for gentle yet effective detangling. You can also use this brush to smooth out flyaways and frizzy pieces on the crown after pulling hair back.  

This brush can be used on all hair types, but the company says it is especially effective for medium to thick hair. One common complaint for boar bristles — that I can attest to as someone who has thick hair — is that natural-bristle brushes often can’t get through all of your layers of hair, which is why it’s a plus that this one has nylon pins. However, users with thin or fine hair also say that the brush helps move oil from the roots down the strands, resulting in a less greasy look and increased volume.

We know that hair extensions are expensive, and when you have them, your goals are twofold: to take care of both the hair that you have and your extensions. Tek brushes are designed to meet those needs.

When you have extensions, you must ensure that the products you use are specifically for extensions, as this will avoid pulling on the bonds, preserving your style, says Lia Taylor Hakim, founder of Hott Salons in Rye Brook, New York.

Friese-Oligee recommends Tek brushes because they detangle gently, one of the main reasons why this specific tool is ideal for use with extensions. “It won’t tug on the hair,” says Friese-Oligee. She also likes this brush for smoothing, saying it adds a volumized finish.

One final bonus: The base of this brush is made of wood. Buying it on Tek’s website allows you to customize the handle with your name (for an extra $10).

There is a hefty shipping charge for purchasing it directly from the brand’s website if you don’t meet the minimum charge, as these brushes are shipped from Italy. The option available on Amazon is slightly different but still features natural vegan bristles and is designed for use with extensions.

Wavy hair is best brushed out with a flexible paddle brush to detangle without flattening waves, says Korab. This paddle brush from Paul Mitchell is well priced, easy to use, and best for long, thick hair. Nolan calls Paul Mitchell brushes “high quality, reliable, and effective.” Users praise this brush for being able to stand up to knotty hair, detangle curls, and work through thick hair but call it gentle enough to limit breakage. Plus, the bristles are particularly comfortable on the scalp, making for a pretty, pleasant brushing experience. 

Although the brush is well made, there are complaints about balls falling off the bristles, bristles popping out, and the handle not being able to withstand the high heat of blow-drying and slipping in the hands when wet.

Finding a high-quality, vegan brush with natural bristles can be tough. This one from Dae stands out because it’s made with two types of bristles: longer bristles for detangling and massaging the scalp with the ball-like ends, and shorter boarlike bristles for smoothing.

Reviewers say that this brush feels nice and detangles well on various hair types (from fine to curly) without pulling or causing breakage like other brushes. One criticism is that it doesn’t enhance shine as advertised; for some people, the bristles don’t pull oil through strands as well as they’d like.

Due to the materials used, it can't withstand heat, so you’ll still need a suitable blow-dry brush if you style your hair. Save this brush for right out of the shower or to touch up and tame dry hair.