The Best Hairbrush for Detangling Thick, Bushy Curls

Even the best hairbrush and I are like oil and water: naturally disinclined. I have thick, Hermione Granger–like curls, and they have teeth that immediately break up my curl pattern and ruin it. Flat brushes, round brushes, tourmaline-infused brushes, $105 brushes—my youth was like a Dr. Seuss story, only instead of counting fish, my hair was breaking brushes and taking names.

Then in eighth grade, I got my hands on a copy of Lorraine Massey's Curly Girl Handbook and have been happy with just a wide-tooth comb in my shower ever since. But recently, a press release and a promise rolled into my inbox: a brush with 325 teeth, designed for detangling wet, thick hair as painlessly as possible. According to Tangle Teezer, its Ultimate Detangler Brush was made specifically with curls in mind.

If you're unfamiliar with the brand, its palm-size tools are famous for their needle-thin bristles that quickly slide into your hair to straighten out tangles. While most women with curls swear by them, I've never found them to be significantly better on my 3b hair than my cheap shower comb. But the Ultimate Detangler is one of the brand's first to come with a handle for leverage, plus the structurally enhanced bristles, which it says bend to minimize breakage and hair damage. I stuck it in my shower and waited for my next wash day.

I chose to go big with the test: Instead of letting my hair marinate in conditioner, like I normally do, I slathered my usual two handfuls on and immediately started dragging the brush through my hair. Actually, no—I expected to drag it, since my hair snarls and mats like a beast, but the brush glided through with zero pain and zero snags. I was done detangling in three minutes, and while I shed about as much hair as I usually do, I didn't stick nearly as many clumps of hair on the shower wall as typical (I live alone). They all just collected on the brush, which was equally dispiriting, but much more neat.

Finally, I get the cult of Tangle Teezer. Detangling my hair now takes a fraction of the time it used to, which leaves me with a few precious more minutes for staring at the wall, reading my shampoo bottle, and sitting down in the shower because I'm tired. Maybe I'll start using the time to shave—but I could be getting ahead of myself.

Tangle Teezer The Ultimate Detangler, $14, ulta.com

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