When I first started the no poo method I read about using a boar bristle brush and all the benefits but most of those reviews were littered with people pushing a specific brand so I wasn’t sure if it was just advertising or the truth. I am one month into no poo and it’s going well except the grease build up in my hair between baking soda washes is a little excessive. Would a boar bristle brush really help with this or is a regular brush just as good?
Oh yes, it’s definitely worth buying one. It helps to spread the oils 
Don’t expect the brush to turn oily hair in fluffy clean hair but it does help you stretch between washes
I bought one, didn’t think it was helping until I had to do a week without because I had forgotten it at my boyfriends 
tough week that was 
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So I kept on with the boar bristle brush and I see if makes a difference but i’m still a little frustrated by using it. My hair is thick and I feel like it’s not getting to my scalp. I can’t feel it against my scalp and I feel like it’s not working. I have to sit there and do tiny section by tiny section of my long hair to make sure the brush is getting through and it takes a long time. Time I don’t always have with a 4 year old in the house. Do they make different boar bristle brushes for different thicknesses of hair??
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Hey, yeah I would recommend a boar-bristle brush too. I think the most common complaint about them is that they don’t penetrate the hair and reach the scalp like a lot of brushes we are used to. I have come to realise that this is just how they are and we need to use them differently to the brushes we may have had before. I need to separate my hair into sections and work on each section. Like one of the other commenters said it helps keep your hair looking ok between washes and makes it in my opinion more publicly acceptable. It doesn’t make it clean and fresh but does distribute the oil more so it looks less greasy. You need to brush more with these though, it is a bit labour intensive. Apparently there is a proper technique too where your brush your hair upside down from the back of your head to the front then flip your hair back and do from the forehead all the way to the back. I’ve not tried this as I just read about it today but i’ve just been doing sections and that works for me.
I wouldn’t recommend any brand - I bought mine on amazon and just looked for one with decent reviews. However there a good few comments on most boar brushes from people who say that the boar bristle brushes don’t go past the first layer of their hair and it doesn’t reach the scalp so bear that in mind.
I bought a wooden BBB that also has regular plastic bristles on it that help the boar bristles get to your scalp. I found it at Sally Beauty Supply but I bet it’s not too hard to find elsewhere.
Try the Sleek shampoo brush off dollar tree or Walmart. https://www.dollartree.com/sleek-shampoo-brushes/255729
Hi,
When I first bought one I heard from everywhere that you had to get a 100% BBB. I have thin long hair, but even for me the 100% one wouldn’t even go a 1/4 inch into my hair, it was ridiculous. This one here https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000TUOXCC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I got and on the one side it has a mix. It is very stiff and goes all the way down. You only have to part your hair once in the middle. I brush for 2 min at a time and then lightly scrape the bristles over a bar of soap, scrub it with my fingers, rinse, dry in a towel, and start again. It only takes like 40 seconds. I just find that I have so much build up that in one brushing I have to wash it at least 3 times. Otherwise it doesn’t clean it out.
Hope that helps!
I use a Mason Pearson boar bristle. It’s the only one that penetrates my hair and has been a game changer, but it’s like $300 for a large size (the pocket size didn’t go through my hair as easily). Would suggest Nordstrom if you wanna try it out or use a couple of them (amazing return policy) or Tressence.com if you want to buy (cheaper there because they don’t buy directly from Mason Pearson).
My hair is high density but very fine and prone to breakage, so I couldn’t use some of the cheaper ones that did penetrate because they snagged all the time. If the diameter of your individual hairs are thick, then I’ve seen recommendations for nylon and boar bristles mixed (which mason Pearson also sells for cheaper than pure BBB, but the $20 one on Sephora is also ok in my experience, just going to need replacing sooner). From what I read, the decision between boar bristle, mixed, or pure nylon, is all about the scalp and what penetrates. If you can find a boar bristle one that does, it is optimal. But definitely trust yourself if you’ve had issues. I incurred a lot of breakage on the way to figuring out what worked for me.
BBB is a game changer and it feels amazing, makes your hair shiny etc. You can get the “EGG” brand on Amazon. It’s very inexpensive but a good brand. Brush, brush brush. It doesn’t hurt your scalp but BBB distributes oil like no other.