Which Brush Type Will Give Me the Results I Want?

VENT
A vent brush has openings through which air from a hair dryer can flow. The vents
prevent air from blowing hair off a solid brush which can happen on non-vented brushes.

ROUNDER
Rounders enable one to literally roll hair over or under the brush. Rounders are made with nylon bristles, ion emitting nylon bristles, and/or all three variations of boar bristles. If the brush has boar bristles, one can wrap hair completely around the brush for styling or straightening. The bristles will hold the hair onto the bristle section.

Nylon bristles on rounder brushes permit one to penetrate into most hair textures and go through hair for brushing out sections. If the bristles are very short, one can, while using a dryer and an aerated brush, rotate the brush through hair very rapidly for setting bangs, flips, and small curls. Most rounders feature straight bristle rows; all tufts are the same length measured from the brush core which is straight, not concave or convex. However, Spornette, in the late 80’s, offered concave shaped bristle patterns that tend to prevent hair from slipping off the ends of the brush as hair is gathered towards the brush center. This style has recently regained a lot of popularity. 4 Many rounders feature metal barrels that assist in more rapidly drying hair sections. While some are solid pieces of aluminum or similar heat absorbing metals, the large majority of metal cores are aerated and feature bristles, which are relatively short compared to the barrel’s diameters. They are used primarily for setting bangs, flips, and curls. Ceramic powders are often added onto a metal barrel and rapidly heat up to dry hair quickly when used with a hair dryer. The ceramic additives radiate heat which is why the barrel can help in drying hair rapidly. As a general rule, the smaller the diameter of a rounder, the smaller the hair section length to be brushed or styled. Conversely, the longer the section to be worked on, the larger the brush diameter.

CUSHION

All cushion brushes feature a rubber or synthetic pad into which bristles are secured.

The size, shape, and the thickness of the cushion helps determine, along with the texture of the brush bristles, the amount of “give” the bristles have. The basic oval shaped cushion brush is what people have used for generations to brush out hair while, when used with nylon bristles, stimulates the scalp.

Paddle brushes(usually rectangular) are popular for mousse and gel distribution. The bristlepatterns on paddles are usually randomly set so all hair strands are ‘brushed’ and mousses and gels are more thoroughly distributed.