What Is The Best Beard Brush?
If you want your beard to look great, the most important thing you can do for it is brush it regularly with a good brush. This stimulates healthy hair growth and your skin’s creation of good oils that naturally soften your beard hair. But what makes a good beard brush? And how do you know what to look for? We’re here to help.
The good news is that a high-quality beard brush should last you a very, very long time. We’re talking buy-it-for-life long. So the upfront investment pays off for a long time. That said, it’s good to find the right brush for you.
Quick plug: It’s worth noting that many experts say our brushes are ideal for just about every beard type, so consider checking them out if you’re in the market!
What is the best beard brush wood?
One of the first things to consider in beard brush design is the material.
The majority of the brush is the handle itself, usually made of either wood or plastic. Most brushes are made of either cheap bamboo or plastic. Bamboo doesn’t have the same longevity as harder woods and nor is it as soft, funnily enough. Plastic, we try to avoid for a whole number of obvious reasons.
Our brushes are made with sustainable (FSC certified) Austrian pear wood. Pear wood has extremely fine grain and fibers which makes them naturally smooth without the need to lacquer, which is good because lacquer can add unnecessary chemicals and create static when brushing (definitely not desirable!). Instead, we oil our brush handles for added natural smoothness.
Finally, the handle should also be ergonomically shaped so that it is easy and comfortable to hold. You want a confident grip when brushing your beard so you can do it properly and not waste time.
A good beard brush has a high quality, fine-grained wood that does not need lacquer.
What kind of bristles do good beard brushes have?
While the handle makes up most of the brush, the bristles are arguably the most important part. Like the blade of a knife, the bristle material makes all the difference.
And like the handle, bristles are either natural (often either boar hair or horse hair) or synthetic (usually plastic).
The gold standard for a good, long-lasting brush is boar hair. Boar hair is coarse and stiff enough to be able to hold up to long term use and tame even the wiliest beard. Despite a lot of research, there is still no synthetic bristle that lives up to the stiffness and longevity of boar bristles. It also will evenly distribute oils through your beard and – importantly – reach the skin underneath to stimulate it. We use authentic boar hair for our bristles, minimally treated, and tested for quality.
Another good sign of a great beard brush is variance between the length of bristles so that the brush can more easily penetrate the hair and reach the scalp or skin, as well as provide more control over the hair. Flat cut bristles can’t penetrate the hair so instead of getting through to the skin their just push the hair around.
A good beard brush has boars hair bristles, with slight variation in length.
For our vegan customers, we also offer a vegan brush that uses tampico fibers from the agave plant as the closest possible natural substitute for boars hair. Get the best vegan beard brush here.
How to care for a beard brush
Once you have a great beard brush, you also need to care for it to extend its lifespan. If well-cared for, a brush will last you a long time.
To care for your beard brush, simply oil it once in a while with your beard oil to keep it from drying out. Just make sure the brush is fully dry before doing so.
To clean your brush, wash it under lukewarm water with a mild hand soap and set it, bristles down, to immediately dry (we don’t want the wood to absorb moisture). Visit our Care page for more on that.