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Top 5 Reasons to Use a Wooden Brush: LPN’s Fave Hair Brushes and Comb

For the better part of a year, I have been working on a hair post. I have tried everything I could get my hands on.. and I’m still in the process. But before I start digging into all that is good and great in the natural haircare product world, I thought I’d share with you a quick, but useful post on my hair care tools: the wooden masterpieces that keep my hair healthy and strong.

Today I’m sharing with you the only tools that touch my head these days: my bamboo wooden paddle brush, my purse-sized natural bamboo bristle brush and my bamboo wide tooth comb.

I use only wood bristle brushes and combs. Here’s why:

The Top 5 Reasons to Use a Wooden Brush / Comb

  1. Natural wooden bristles help to naturally condition your hair, and evenly distribute your hair’s natural oils down the hair shaft
  2. Wooden bristles are also gentle and durable. Since they are wide, they are less likely to break the hair when combing.
  3. Wooden bristles don’t produce any static (that you will find with synthetic brushes and combs)
  4. Wooden bristles feel like little massaging fingers on your scalp – particularly if you’re familiar with acupressure. I sometimes will brush with my purse-sized oval brush firmly on the scalp to massage my “noggin” :) This also helps increase circulation on your scalp, bringing lovely nutrients to the hair follicles
  5. Wooden hairbrushes crafted from bamboo, which is a sustainable resource – it rapidly regrows after being harvested, and it can grow in damaged and soil depleted soil

Olivia Garden Healthy Hair Paddle Brush – Wood Bristles

This is my favourite of all my brushes. Because I have long hair, this brush works masterfully through long and thick hair. It’s a breeze to do a quick and gentle brush with this paddle. I find I loose less hair in the brush than others (measured by how often I have to clean it out). It’s gentle, lightweight and the best brush I’ve ever used. Seriously. Ever. The bristles on this one are ionic, so anti-static, and wood tipped. The entire bristle isn’t wood. If you’re looking for completely wood bristles, or, if you have thinner hair, or short hair, you may love my purse-sized brush below.

Where to Buy

You can find my favourite brush for a VERY affordable price of $11 USD on Amazon! Or find the same paddle brush, with completely wooden bristles (their “massage” brush) for$21 USD also on Amazon here.

Bass Oval Cushion Wood Brush

My other love is my little bamboo Bass brush, which I keep in my purse. It’s small and handy, perfect for travel and for daily use on the go.  It’s great for lovelies that have shorter or thinner hair, and don’t need the giant paddle brush. The bf likes to steal this one once in a while “because it feels nice”. haha

Where to Buy:

Find this little lovely again on Amazon, for only $11 USD! I actually purchased mine at Whole Foods, but I paid a few dollars more, so I recommend picking it up online.

Widu Wide Tooth Hardwood Comb

My Widu comb is what I use after showering. When I have wet hair, it is the gentlest way to get through the tangles. Always use a wide-tooth comb on wet hair, and prevent hair loss from bristles getting caught in wet and overly-elastic hair.

I also use the wide tooth comb when I’m applying a hair mask and combing it through. It comes with a bamboo fabric headband as well, so you can do a hair mask and face mask at the same time :)

Where to Buy

I bought my Widu Wide Tooth Comb on Amazon for $12.95 USD.

There you have it, gorgeous. Have a wonderful weekend!

X

K

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  • Kristen

    I bought a wooden brush from the Body Shop back in the 90s. I love it and for the fact that it has held up for this long! I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

    • Love it! My favourite tools are always the tried, trusty and good quality ones. They “don’t make them like they used too” hehehe xx

  • Wow I’ve never thought about maybe using wooden combs and brushes over plastic varieties. Even though I’m so into natural health and clean living these days, that actually never came to my mind until I read this post!

    I’ll definitely make a huge effort to swap the plastic for the natural options and will also be telling others about it and sending them to this page.

    Thank you!

    • Thanks for popping by Aimee! Love hearing from readers :) xx

    • Prets

      The wooden brushes and comb are miracles to the hair. But how do you clean them?

  • Lynne

    So I totally went and bought this hairbrush after reading your post – not gonna lie I’ve never been more pleased with a hairbrush in my life. Thank you for the suggestion!

    • I am so glad to hear it!! It is my first hair tool love too. The day I have to part with it will be sad, indeed!! I hope you have a long and happy relationship with your new hair bursh @disqus_HVLsfGdIY9:disqus <3 xx

    • Victoria

      I can’t find anywhere in the stores wood hairbrush,where did you buy it?

      • You can find Bass online on Amazon, and at Whole Foods. You can find Olivia Garden on Amazon as well :)

      • Child of Jurema

        The Sprouts in my area (Colorado) had every single variety of bamboo comb, brush, and hair-picks your could possibly imagine in all shapes and sizes.. I can’t say for sure but they look identical to the ones in the photo posted above.

        To the poster: thanks for sharing this. And I think maybe more emphasis should be put on the static electricity bit; as it can be very destructive to not only your hair but also your clarity of mind.

        Static very slowly kills your hair, and can really muck it up. My views on hair are a little different than some, but I see hair on the head is a something rather metaphysical and has much more of a connection to one’s spirituality (not meaning religious, but rather pertaining to one’s purpose) than most of us may initially perceive. These views are transposed from my culture and Native American philosophy.

        I appreciate your post because; as a male, I don’t get quite the same reaction to sharing this information, and there seems to be more enthusiasm from your readers, for whatever reason; So, instead of writing my own post about the benefits of wooden hair-tools, I’m just going to refer people to yours! What a lovely post, thank you very much.

        • Thanks for your kind words :) and appreciate your support. It’s nice to see some male readers taking part in the conversation. xx

  • Lauren

    What is your opinion of boar bristle (ethically obtained) brushes? How do they compare to wooden bristle brushes?

    • Hi Lauren,

      There is a lot of hype around the boar bristle brush – and a hefty price tag – but I had a very hard time finding an ethically sourced boar bristle brush. Have you come across one? Or a company?

      I have very thick and long hair which is also on the drier side. The main benefit of a boar bristle brush is the claim that it distributes the hair’s natural oils/sebum down the hair’s shaft. Wood bristles also help do this, with the added benefit of being great for massaging the scalp. For this reason, as well as ethical, I would say the wood brush wins every time. :)

      I have not tried a boar bristle brush, but cannot imagine it would be any more wonderful than the wood products I’m using now.

      xx
      K

      • Lauren

        Thanks for your thoughts. Widu makes a boar bristle as well as the wooden bristle…but they are super expensive! Ambassador (?) I think is the name- and they do a boar bristle brush as well for a lot cheaper. But you are right- if you have something that works great for your hair why change right? :) My wooden bristle brush works great on my hair too- but mine sounds opposite from yours- long, fine, straight and limp. I usually call it boring- but over the years I truly have grown to love it. BTW- I have found that my new wooden bristle brush has added some volume which a big plus!

        • Thanks for sharing dear :) Jus tsawa the boar bristle brush. Would be curious as to how they actually harvest the bristles.

          Also, love that you’re getting volume with the wooden bristle brush – it is great for that!

          xx

      • Cheryl Elin-Smith

        I have a Mason Pearson all natural boar bristle brush, and love it. From what I’ve read on their site, and other places, they ethically source their bristles. I do have a wooden comb, I keep in my bag.

    • Joanna Cardoso

      I’m using a boar bristle brush and is fantastic, I have long hair is very shinny and healthy .I bought online in wildgood, and i choosed this because they are a ecofriendly company and i’m having a good results, You should try to use boar bristle brushes!!Makes difference!!

      • Lauren

        Thanks for sharing! I am definitely going to check out that website! I really want to try a boar bristle brush as I had heard they can leave your hair quite soft and shiny so I’m glad to hear you think so. Anything to help my long straight hair! Thanks again!

  • мιƨƨ♔ιиƨαиɛ

    Thanks for this wonderful info. I needed to find something more “natural” to brush my hair with.. and wood seems just about right.

  • Vicki

    I just bought a really nice wooden bristle brush, I believe its by Widu. I bought it because of the anti static claim but…it makes my hair staticky like crazy! :( Do you have to use it for a period of time so the bristles absorb some of the oil before your hair stops being staticky or do you have to treat the bristles in some way? Thanks!!

    • Oh dear! My bristles are ionic on the Olivia brush – so no static there, but on my completely wood bristles from Bass, like your Widu brush, it is definitely a volume builder – unless you’re working with oily hair, or – an oily brush:

      If it’s crazy static I would recommend gently and lightly oiling your bristles on the brush with some light argan oil – just a few drops massaged onto the bristles ever so lightly. Let me know how this goes.

      xx

  • This is awesome! I had no idea it could effect that much, thanks for the tip!

  • Hi, I have a question. I don’t understand when to use a comb. I don’t comb my hair when it is wet. Only when it is dry. So I don’t have to use a comb at all, do I?

    • I use a wide-tooth comb for wet hair, I find it’s gentler on the delicate wet hair (which breaks more easily with a brush when stretched). It’s all about protecting :) xx

  • sahara

    i have a wooden comb but the problem is because of my dry hair it doesnt even enter my
    hair

    • Alyssa

      Brush it in sections.

    • Stupendous Jia

      start from the roots and go up the hair

  • Lisa

    How do you clean your bass brush. I love mine but it is in need of a good cleaning.

  • gm

    Hey if you look up “Olivia Garden Healthy Hair Paddle Brush – Wood Bristles” you can find that there is one brush which is the 1st one you have up there and another one with smaller thinner and more bristles. What is the difference? maybe the one you mentioned in the article is made more for massaging the scale? Please answer! thanks (:

  • gm

    *if you look it up on amazon i meant!

  • Cira

    Hi so are the bristles not fully wooden? x

  • Michelle Boucher

    I got my brush from Dollarama for 3 dollars (Canadian)

  • Hair Lover

    Does this wood brush work, I am about to order one but I don’t know if it works.

    • Sky

      i have one and till now it’s amazing =)

  • rose

    I I have a Philip kingsley wooden paddle brush, would you say wooden in general is better or preferably bamboo?

    • I’d say wooden in general is better – bamboo is just great as it is a sustainable resource :) xx

  • Reena

    Hi, I have BodyShop’s wooden hair brush, can i use it as a Dry skin brush as well?

  • Becky

    Hey….I wanted to try out the ecotools wooden comb, but couldn’t find it anywhere….are they not making it anymore?

  • Mubeena

    Hi… I have long and thick hair… What kind of wooden brush will suit for me?

  • Alice Kingsley

    I just bought the bamboo bristle oval brush today (July 20th) and it states that it helps hair growth and reduce hair loss. I’m still growing out my long locks (this time I’m going further down to my thighs which’ll take about 4 years and 4 months. I want to get the growing process faster by oils, massages, sulfate free shampoos, etc. My locks are at armpit length now and I got my hair cut and donated on December 15th 2015.) Not only am I trying to grow my hair faster but I’m also preventing hair loss ahead of time. As long as I keep it quiet towards family and friends, then I can develop my locks and probably have the length I always want before I donate it again. (I’m thinking of a long hairstyle soon afterwards because I always get bob cuts.)

  • Bella

    Thanks!!!! I actually read this article right after I got my wooden hair brush (which was like 5 minutes ago). I already knew how good wooden hairbrushes and combs were so, that was my inspiration. I got mine at empire beauty (San Diego).
    So guys go check it out!!!!!

  • 1Renu

    Hi I have the Olivia Garden paddle brush and I love it! I just do not now how to clean it. Do I clean it the same as I would a synthetic brush? I’m afraid to get the bristles wet because I don’t want to ruin it. Any thoughts?

    • I mostly just pull the hair out of the bristles after each use. If it needs a good wash, use a gentle castile soap and warm water. Avoid the dishwasher as it will ruin the wood!

      x

  • Clifford Martin

    This is all very good and I have a Bass brush and like it. But how do you clean it? It’s a bit of a pain and no instructions from Bass. This is a real down check on this brush for me. I’ve had it a year and still can’t get it clean. Thanks.

    • Try with some gentle castille soap and warm water and a fine tooth comb through the bristles. x

      • Clifford Martin

        Thanks. I’ll give it a try.

  • Aria Len

    Heck yeah! I have the BASS wooden paddle brush and it works AMAZINGLY on my afro textured hair. I don’t even use my wooden comb anymore. It just didn’t get through my hair at all.

    Wooden bristle paddle brush for the win!!

  • Denial Brain

    if you want to grow healthy, beautiful and striking hair Wooden hair brushes are amongst the top rated product for hair care.

    https://www.justbestreviews.com/wooden-brush-for-hair/

  • Kristy

    Funny, the comb in the first picture doesn’t match the Widu one you’re peddling, neither does that Widu pic match the actual Amazon product (which is for a pocket size and has only 3 stars)…

    • Thanks for pointing that out, Kristy. I’ve updated the post now, and added in one from my picture above, which I’m still using today (and this post is 5 years old). I’m afraid the amazon review is still only three stars, but I still use this one, and like it.

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