The best beard brush can transform your scruff, making a huge difference in how itchy, scratchy, and straight-up dandruff-y your facial hair looks. Experts are unanimous that a humble brush makes a huge difference. The right beard brush will prevent flyaways, tangles, split-ends, and dry, brittle hair. It also makes it a helluva lot easier to grow a beard from scratch. If you have a beard, you need a beard brush. While serums, conditioners, and balms might be pitched as must-haves, the best beard brushes are genuinely essential.
Benefits of Using a Beard Brush
Beard brushes offer a multitude of benefits for the modern beardsman. They distribute natural oils, give your beard a fuller look for styling, and make it easier to uniformly apply nourishing products like beard oil. Just as importantly, their thick bristles exfoliate the skin beneath your whiskers, promoting blood flow to hair follicles, preventing beard dandruff, and whisking away gunk. They can also help you avoid tangles, although guys with thicker, longer beards will do better with a wide-tooth beard comb or pick.
According to beard expert Matty Conrad, beard brushes are “exceptional for creating blood flow, for creating tension on short curly hair, for making sure we can control flyaways, for spreading the hair out as naturally as possible." They also help you spread beard oil through the beard in a nice natural way because natural bristles will adhere to the oil and drag it through the beard. As exfoliators, these tools can even help unclog pores to prevent ingrown hairs. If you're suffering from beard itch, it's time to introduce your scruff to a brush, stat.
Key Components of a Beard Brush
A quality beard brush will be made of a number of distinct parts, namely, the bristles, the body, and the handle. Your average beard brush will have a body made from either wood or plastic. Nowadays, a quality beard brush is ideally made from wood or bamboo; plastic is slowly being phased out of the picture. Traditionally speaking, beard brushes are rectangular in shape, with a handle on one end, and can be as long as two bars of soap. To the unknowing eye, beard brushes can often be mistaken for regular hair brushes.
Types of Beard Brushes
The best beard brushes all have a similar design: Boar bristles embedded in a wood handle. These days there are vegan alternatives, too. You'll find a lot of variety when it comes to size, handle type, and bristle firmness. Here are some popular options:
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Boar Bristle Brushes: Boar bristles make for the best beard brush, and there are actually benefits to choosing boar hair over horse, badger, or synthetic replicas. Since boar bristles are thick at the lower shaft, and thin at the upper, they work well to stimulate a kind of massage sensation on the face of the user. A boar bristle brush beard will work to condition the entire beard with either the body’s natural oils or the beard oil you choose to apply independently. The bristles have a unique way of working liquid substances through each follicle, root to tip. Boar bristles are favored for their variety in stiffness and ability to evenly distribute natural oils through hair for a healthier strand.
Vegan Beard Brushes: For bearded vegans, Horace Vegan Beard Brush is a top choice. Made in Germany, the brush uses bristles made from vegetable fiber and agave leaf as well as a colorful beech wood handle to leave you with well-groomed whiskers. BioniFil is a man-made synthetic bristle. It is a vegan and Halal friendly alternative. These fibers were specifically engineered to mimic the qualities of natural boar- there is no compromise in its ability to evenly distribute oils, detangle, and smooth beards.
Heated Beard Brushes: A heated beard brush is one of the best beard products on the market. A beard straightener is simply a beard brush that has an electrical connection, just as a conventional straightener would. Men with particularly curly hair will find their beards reflect the same. A beard straightening brush makes for one of the best beard brushes because it can be used as both a straightener and a regular beard brush. Most beard straightening brushes work via the same power sockets that beard trimmers do.
Round Beard Brushes: Some brands offer their regular beard brushes in a rounded version. What this means is that the body is cylindrical, instead of rectangular. Round beard brushes are considered to be more ‘heavy duty’ and ‘invasive’.
Travel Beard Brushes: The palm-sized beard brushes that fit perfectly inside of tough, manly hands are also known as travel beard brushes. Pocket beard brushes are almost always made from wood. They vary in size so you’ll be able to choose the most suitable ones for your travel needs. Quality branded travel beard brushes usually come in some sort of case or tin. This is to keep the bristles safe from damage whilst rolling around inside of a luggage or toiletry bag.
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Featured Beard Brushes
Kent MC4 Natural Boar Bristle Facial Brush: The Kent MC4 brush is a premium pick, suitable for hair, beards, and mustaches. This brush is made with a cherrywood handle and fits securely in the palm of your hand. The firm bristles may be too rough for very short beards or sensitive skin, but for most bearded guys, this is as good as it gets. Kent has been making fine hair brushes by hand since 1777.
Zeus Boar Bristle Beard Brush: Traditional boar bristles are prized for their ability to distribute moisture. This one is 100% boar, 0% BS. It’s a pocket-sized brush that doesn’t take up too much room in your dopp kit, and in testing, it’s just the right size for brushing beard oil into your whiskers. Made in Germany from pear wood, it’s rough on scruff and easy on your hand. It’s available with both soft and firm bristles.
Diane Premium 100% Boar Bristle Brush: The Diane military brush can help define natural waves in textured hair, and it’s also a handy facial hair brush for all men. The large wood handle contains nine rows of medium-firm bristles. This brush has all the detangling and dandruff-busting powers of our other selects (although it likely won't last as long), and at a lower price tag.
Kent BRD2 Boar Bristle Beard Brush: Kent uses a unique combination of bristles, which are cut at a 45-degree angle to penetrate deeper into the beard. The long, soft bristles reach skin and new hair, while the short, firm bristles help control scruff. We love that this brush comes in three different styles-round, oval, and with a handle-all made in France with natural stiff boar's hair bristles. If we had to pick one, we’d recommend the oval brush, which has a fine wood handle with grooves on the side for a smooth grip.
Wahl Travel Beard Brush: This pocket-sized tool uses beech wood and soft boar bristles to evenly distribute product and smooth out your facial hair.
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Live Bearded Boar’s Hair Beard Brush: The larger handle and width gives you fuller coverage while brushing. The bristles aren’t too firm if you’re worried about irritation, but still tough enough to control itching, flaking, and tangles. For avoiding dandruff and whipping messy beards into shape, it’s a long-lasting brush that won’t let you down.
Zeus Oval Military Beard Brush: For long beards and thick or wiry hair, we recommend reaching for this Zeus brush. The firm bristles are designed for the toughest scruff, and you can use it to work beard oil into your hair, to fight dandruff, and to smooth out rough facial hair. Zeus is a small grooming brand based in California, but its brushes are made in Germany using pear wood and boar's hair.
Horace Vegan Beard Brush: Made in Germany, the brush uses bristles made from vegetable fiber and agave leaf as well as a colorful beech wood handle to leave you with well-groomed whiskers.
Beardbrand Beard Brush: Made from 100% boar’s hair, the brush is a sleek design featuring dark wood and silky varnish. Beardbrand offers their boar’s hair brushes in regular sized, cylindrical form, and travel sized. Given the quality, the bushes are very reasonably priced.
Husky Beard Travel Sized Beard Brush: The brush pairs well with any oils and balms you might want to use.
Volt Utility Brush: The Volt Utility Brush is an extended handle brush (Pinewood) with a spiral-like pattern in which boar bristles and nylon ball-tipped fibers are combined. The combination of these bristles turns this brush into the perfect brush for almost every scenario. The benefit of the extended handle is that you can manipulate the brush more easily in and around your beard. It’s ergonomic shape makes it easy to reach your beard in difficult places such as under your chin and around your jaw.
Volt Octo Brush: The Volt Octo Brush is a smaller and more portable beard brush made of all-natural pearwood and natural boar bristles.
Beard Brush vs. Beard Comb
Even if you already own a beard comb, you still need a brush. Brushes are for beard care, and combs are for beard styling-with a lot of gray area. (It might be best to pick up one of each.) A comb is the easiest way to style a wild beard, particularly a long one. Hair is easier to control via a comb compared to a brush. Similarly, a comb works wonders in moving beard oil through the body of the hair. Oil is actually a great supporting element for smoother, less aggressive combing. The wide teeth of a comb are good for particularly knotty beards and can help dig into intense tangles. As a general rule, always use your beard comb before your beard brush.
How to Choose the Right Bristle Firmness
- Soft Boar Bristle: Ideal for cropped to medium beards (about 2" off the chin) and those with thin hair.
- Firm Boar Bristle: Best for medium to long beards (over 2" off the chin) and those with average to thick/textured hair.
- Soft BioniFil® Bristle: BioniFil® bristles are a soft and sturdy bristle that can penetrate most beard lengths.
How to Use a Beard Brush
Typically, you’ll brush your beard out after a shower to distribute any natural and applied oils. You’ll brush out a clean, dried beard from the bottom (at the neck), moving upwards and outwards-basically, make it big and bushy by sending it away from its natural growth. This process also distributes sebum and oils to keep the hair detangled. You can then brush it back down into place (with its growth pattern). The brush creates tension on the hair without pulling or snagging, smoothing out stubborn beards. If you're dealing with dandruff, don't be afraid to really dig in there and massage the skin.
Conrad also told us that brushes are essential for growing a new beard. “Usually, one of the first things I recommend [for new beards] is, ‘Okay, get a beard brush.’ Start growing your beard and give it a solid, say, six weeks of brushing it every night, really start to get that blood flow going, and spread those oils around. And it is actually a good thing to do to help stimulate growth. The actual brushing action is very, very good for your beard when you're first growing it.”
Here's a step-by-step guide:
- (Optional) Apply beard oil or balm to a freshly cleansed and towel-dried beard or mustache.
- Run beard brush through your facial hair from the roots to tips. Allow the brush bristles to massage the skin beneath your beard.
PRO-TIP: Aim to brush your beard 1-2 times daily.
Additional Tips for Beard Grooming
- Brush in the Morning: Brush your beard in the morning to start your day off on a good note. If your facial hair is long enough to look a bit wild in the mornings, then you'll already know why brushing after you get out of bed is a necessity.
- Use Gentle Strokes: Use short, gentle strokes that follow the natural direction of your hair, and take care while doing it. Brushing too quickly or with too much pressure will lead to skin irritation and broken hair, regardless of brush and comb used or hair bristles.
- Don't Over-Groom: Don't get into the habit of overcombing or brushing your beard. We recommend limiting each area of your beard to 4-6 brush strokes, twice daily.
- Use Specialized Beard Wash: Whenever you take a shower, make sure you treat your facial hair kindly by using a specialized beard wash. Your beard wash should be made from natural ingredients that are hand-picked to ensure your facial hair is never stripped of its natural oils and moisture.
- Apply Beard Oil and Balm: Once you've washed all the dirt, filth, sweat and tears from your beard, it's time to go a step further and apply a generous helping of nourishing beard oil. Once you've showered and gotten ready for the day, it's also a good idea to apply some beard balm. Beard balm will allow you to touch up your style throughout the day and ensure you only look like the most refined of the bearded chaps.
- Brush in the Direction You Want to Grow: Use your chosen products and beard brush or beard comb to brush your beard in the direction that you are growing a beard in. Doing this every day will help stimulate better hair growth, and you might find that you need to trim less when your hairs are finally cooperating.
Why You Should Use A Beard Brush
- Balances Oils: Bristles distribute sebum & beard oil evenly for optimal coverage.
- Stimulates Follicles: Brushing stimulates blood flow to the skin, activating hair follicles.
- Shapes Beard: Daily brushing trains wayward whiskers to lie where you'd like.
- Volumizes: Brushing separates beard hairs to give an overall fuller, shinier look.
Beard Brush FAQ
- Is it possible to brush your beard too much? Yes, especially if you’re using a beard brush with synthetic bristles. When you constantly brush your hair, you may remove more sebum and/or leave-in conditioner than you’d like, which leads to a dry, uncomfortable, and frizzy beard. Over-brushing may also damage the cuticles of your facial hairs, leading to unhealthy hairs prone to breakage.
- Why is boar bristle the best beard brush bristle? Because of its backbone (or stiffness) and its organic composition. The backbone of boar bristle is rigid enough to penetrate and detangle even thick and curly beards. The rigidity also allows the bristle to get to your skin and hair follicles to massage the skin to encourage blood flow and the distribution of your body’s natural sebum.
- Will routine brushings make your beard softer? Yes, the distinct feature that makes boar bristle ideal for your beard brush is its ability to distribute your body’s natural sebum throughout your beard or mustache. This naturally gives each strand a moisture-locking coating, which gives your facial hairs healthy elasticity and resulting softness. When used with beard oil, a boar bristle beard brush will give you your softest beard to date.
Maintaining Your Beard Brush
If you’re using a high quality device, such as a boar bristle brush, you’ll want to observe proper cleaning techniques to care for the brush itself. Like hair brushes, beard brushes collect hair between the bristles. Experts recommend a mixture of shampoo and water to clean the bristles of any beard brush or comb. If the brush has a wooden body, you’ll want to submerge only the bristles in the solution to prevent warping of the wood. This mixture will work to loosen any dirt and grime living between the teeth or bristles of the brush. If you’re struggling to get some noticeable grime or stray hair out of the device, use an old toothbrush to scrub into the smaller gaps. Some people also use cotton balls to clean in those hard to reach sections. Bathrooms tend to be moisture rich parts of the home. Beard brushes are best stored in cool, dry zones. If it is not convenient to store your brush outside of the bathroom, at least keep it in a zoned off area such as inside of a vanity cabinet.