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TheWashDay editorial · Updated · From the makers’ own pages · How we compare
Detangle with a wide-tooth comb or a flexible detangling brush while your conditioner is in; define with a styling brush once your styler is on. These eight are compared by what their makers publish: when to use them, what the bristles or teeth are like, and how to clean them. One thing they don’t agree on is direction, so read that before you start.
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Prices are from each maker’s own store, checked .
A device without a price here is one whose maker’s store gave us no single price for the version we list.
Maker directions, sizes and label details for each product
Brushes and combs whose makers describe them for detangling or defining curls, from the makers’ own US pages. We haven’t used or tested them, and commissions never change the list or its order.
Detangling and defining are different jobs
A wide-tooth comb or a flexible detangling brush takes knots out, usually on wet hair with conditioner in. A styling brush with rows of pins or bristles, such as Denman’s D3 or Bounce Curl’s EdgeLift, brushes your gel or cream through to form defined clumps; Bounce Curl says to detangle with another brush before you use its styler.
Pick the detangler for wash day and add a styling brush only if you want to brush-style.
Brush With The Best’s guide for the Felicia Leatherwood brush says to part your hair in four, split each section in half and start at the bottom, working back toward the roots, re-wetting a section if it dries. Denman says the same for its D28 comb: start at the ends and work your way up.
Tangle Teezer’s guide for its Naturally Curly brush has you brush from scalp to tip instead, one conditioned section at a time. Our detangling guide works from the ends up, and the drawing there shows why that order helps.
Detanglers: three brushes and two combs
The Felicia Leatherwood Detangler Brush has widely spaced flexible bristles and works on wet or dry hair, and its maker also suggests it for taking down braids. Tangle Teezer’s Naturally Curly brush is made for 3C to 4C hair, in Regular and Large, with longer, firmer teeth; Tangle Teezer says not to use it with heat, as the teeth can melt. Wet Brush’s Original Detangler has flexible bristles and works on wet or dry hair, but its page gives no steps, size or material.
For a comb, Denman’s D28 has extra-wide teeth for wet, thick and naturally curly hair and doubles for spreading conditioner. Ouidad’s Double Row Detangler has two rows of long, soft, rounded teeth; Ouidad suggests its own detangling spray first for stubborn tangles.
Styling brushes: Denman D3 and D4, Bounce Curl EdgeLift
Denman’s D3 has 7 rows of pins for medium-length hair and its D4 has 9 rows for long hair. Denman says to use either on wet hair with a twist of the hand to form spiral curls; on the D3, the pad and pins come out for cleaning.
Bounce Curl’s EdgeLift has plant-fiber and flexible round-tip bristles, grooved side edges and a handle for parting, for hair longer than 3 inches. Bounce Curl says to use it on detangled hair with cream and gel on: start at the roots, tilt the brush so your hair falls into the grooves, glide it down each section, then scrunch and diffuse or air dry.
Keeping them clean
Tangle Teezer says to take hair out after each use, rinse the brush in warm water now and then, with a little mild soap or shampoo for build-up, and let it air dry. Bounce Curl says to wash its brush with a mild shampoo and dry it bristles down, and its page also describes a spray cleaner left on for at most 10 minutes. Denman’s D3 pad comes out for cleaning. The other makers give no cleaning directions.
What this comparison does and doesn’t claim
We haven’t used these brushes and combs; we compare what their makers publish. This isn’t a ranking, and we make no claim that any of them prevents breakage. We don’t show prices on this page yet; each maker’s page has its current price.
Questions before your next wash
Should I detangle curly hair wet or dry?
Most of these makers describe detangling on wet hair with conditioner in. The Felicia Leatherwood brush and Wet Brush also say they work on dry hair.
Do I need a styling brush?
No. A styling brush is for brush styling, where you brush a gel or cream through to form clumps. You can detangle with a comb or a detangling brush and style with your fingers.
