How to Choose a Hair Brush for Your Hair Type
The right hair brush depends less on price than on two things: your hair type and how you style it. Stiff boar bristle that suits long, thick hair will be too harsh on a sensitive scalp, and metal pins that glide through curls will heat up under a hairdryer in a way wooden pins never do.
Here's how to match a brush to your hair, what each bristle and pin material actually does, and how to keep a wooden brush in good condition for years.
Bristles, wooden pins or metal pins?
Four material choices, each suited to different hair — and one factor most guides skip: whether the brush heats up when you blow-dry.
Soft light bristle
The gentlest option. Softer, lighter bristle suits sensitive scalps and works across most hair types, including fine hair that a stiffer brush would stress. It also stays cool under a hairdryer.
Black boar bristle
Stiffer than light bristle, and best suited to long and thick hair — though it can be used on any hair type. Natural bristle grips the sebum at your roots and draws it down the hair shaft, which is what leaves hair looking polished without product. Doesn't absorb heat when blow-drying.
Wooden pins
Antistatic, gentle on the scalp, and especially good for long and thick hair. The rounded tips massage as you brush — Redecker describe the wooden-pin head massage as something to do in the evening, and it does genuinely take the edge off a long day. Like bristle, wooden pins stay cool under heat.
Metal pins
The right choice for thick, curly and long hair — metal pins have the reach to get through dense hair that bristle can't. The trade-off: metal absorbs heat during blow-drying, so if you style with a hairdryer regularly, wooden pins or bristle are the safer choice.
Wide-tooth combs
Not a brush, but the right tool for wet hair and for curls. Wide spacing separates strands without disrupting the curl pattern or stretching hair while it's at its most fragile.
A note on size
As a general rule, longer or thicker hair does better with a larger brush head and longer pins or bristles. Beyond that it's personal preference — the material matters more than the dimensions.
Choosing a brush for your hair type
Fine hair or a sensitive scalp
Go for softer, lighter bristle rather than stiff boar. It's gentler on the scalp and won't stress fine hair, which breaks more easily than it looks. Avoid the larger brush heads — a smaller head with shorter bristles gives you more control.
Short to medium hair
A compact oval brush with natural bristles handles daily brushing well. Worth noting this size also suits children with medium to thick hair, though not babies or children with fine hair — they need something gentler.
Look for: Hairbrush Oval with Boar Bristles.
Long hair
Longer hair benefits from a larger head and longer pins. Wooden pegs detangle without static and give you the scalp massage as a bonus — genuinely worth doing before bed.
Look for: Hairbrush Oval with Wood Pegs, or for something more substantial, the Luxury Olivewood Brush with Maple Pins — boar bristle and antistatic wooden pins set by hand, in olivewood that's naturally water-repellent and holds up in a steamy bathroom.
Thick hair
Thick hair needs reach. Both wooden pins and boar bristle work well; metal pins work best of all, with the heat caveat if you blow-dry.
Look for: Olivewood Rectangular Brush with Hornbeam Pins, or the Hairbrush with Metal Pins.
Curly hair
Metal pins are the one brush material Redecker recommend specifically for curls, since they pass through without dragging. That said, curls are usually best handled wet with a wide-tooth comb — brushing dry curls breaks up the pattern and creates frizz.
Look for: a wide-tooth olivewood comb for wet detangling, plus a metal-pin brush if you want one for dry days.
Babies and children
Very soft bristles and a small head. A baby hairbrush is a genuinely different tool from a small adult brush, and children with fine hair need it rather than a standard bristle brush.
Vegan
Boar bristle isn't for everyone. Redecker make a plant-fibre brush that gives you the same smoothing action without animal bristle — ask us in store or get in touch and we'll point you to it.
Travel
A pop-up brush protects the bristles in a bag and takes up less space than a full-size brush. Not your everyday brush, but it saves the good one from getting crushed.
Why wooden brushes over plastic?
Beyond the environmental case — a well-made wooden brush lasts years and biodegrades at the end of its life, where plastic brushes crack at the pad and get thrown out — there's a practical difference. Wood and natural bristle don't build up static the way plastic does, so you get less flyaway hair, particularly in winter.
The brushes we stock are mostly made by Redecker, a family workshop in Germany that has been making brushes by hand since 1935. Beechwood and olivewood bodies, natural bristle and antistatic wooden pins, each set in by hand.
How to clean and care for a wooden hair brush
- Remove loose hair after each use — a metal cleaning comb pulls it out of the pad in one motion.
- Every few weeks, work a little gentle soap into the bristles with a brush and comb cleaner to lift out dirt and dust.
- Rinse the bristles only — keep water off the wooden body, which can swell and crack. Olivewood is more forgiving here thanks to its high oil content, but it's still worth being careful.
- Dry bristles-down on a towel so moisture drains away from the pad rather than sitting in it.
- Never leave a wooden brush soaking, and don't dry it on a radiator.
Common questions
How often should I replace my hair brush?
A well-made wooden brush should last several years. Replace it when bristles start falling out, pins bend or break, or the cushion pad splits. Plastic brushes typically need replacing far more often, which is a large part of the cost difference over time.
Is a boar bristle brush better than a wooden pin brush?
They do different jobs. Boar bristle smooths and distributes oil down the hair shaft; stiff black boar suits long and thick hair, while softer light bristle is gentler for fine hair and sensitive scalps. Wooden pins detangle, don't build static, and are especially good for long and thick hair. Neither absorbs heat when blow-drying, unlike metal pins.
Do hair brushes get hot when blow-drying?
Metal pins do — they absorb heat from the hairdryer, which can be uncomfortable and isn't ideal for your hair. Wooden pins and natural bristle don't. If you blow-dry regularly, that's a good reason to choose wood or bristle over metal.
Can I brush wet hair?
Use a wide-tooth comb rather than a brush. Hair is at its weakest when wet, and a brush stretches and snaps it. Comb from the ends upward, working in sections.
Is there a vegan alternative to boar bristle?
Yes — Redecker make a plant-fibre brush that works similarly to natural bristle without using animal products.
How do I stop static when brushing?
Switch away from plastic. Wood and natural bristle don't build the charge that plastic does, which makes a noticeable difference in dry winter air.
Can I try a brush before buying?
We stock Redecker brushes and combs at our shop on Dundas St W in Toronto, and ship across Canada. If you're unsure which suits your hair, come by the shop and try a few — the difference between soft bristle and wooden pins is easier to feel than to read about. If you're unsure which suits your hair, come in and we'll help you work it out.
Start here
If you're replacing a plastic brush and want one thing that works for most hair types, a brush with wooden pegs is the safest starting point. Browse the full range of wooden hair brushes and combs, or explore our wider natural hair care collection.