This post originally appeared in May 2019 but I wanted to update it as I love this hair brush so much. I know it is a reader favorite too, it came up as a favorite purchase of 2023 over in Substack Chat. I definitely recommend reading through the comment section: your testimonials are pretty incredible.
If you ever told me that I would be gushing about a $200 hairbrush, I would have laughed. But do you remember Blair Eadie’s episode on our podcast? A listener asked her how she got her signature low bun and she professed her love for this hairbrush. And just as I blame Blair, she blamed our other friend Helena (check out Helena’s low bun tutorial here!).
And so it began. I needed to know about the magical hair brush so I ordered my own. RESEARCH, right!? It was work! Or so I told myself. And you guys… I loved it when I bought it in 2019 and 5 years later, I love it just as much. (I mean for that price you better love it, right?!) I’ll warn you that once you try this brush there is no turning back BUT the good thing is that it will last forever if you take proper care of it. I use mine nearly every day and it’s in perfect shape. So there’s that.
Finding a good hairbrush is of course, very important. I have naturally wavy, dry hair and didn’t own a hairbrush (except my Wetbrush which I have in the shower and also take to the beach. The wet brush is GREAT for those things – highly recommend but that is another post for another day!) until I bought this. I love mine so much and the main benefit for me is that the brush is so wonderful at distributing your natural oils down the shaft of the hair, helping to encourage healthy, shiny hair.
I can confirm that this is indeed, a magical hairbrush. All Mason Pearson brushes are handmade in England (they have been since 1885) and have a one year warranty. They also come with a nylon cleansing brush to help you take good care of your hair brush. If you take good care of it, you will have it forever. It should be the last hairbrush you ever buy. Mine has a rubber cushion and a mixture of nylon and boar bristles which is gentle on your hair and scalp. You can use it on wet or dry hair and it’s great on all hair types (yes, even curly hair!).
I will say that I bought it because I wanted to have an easier time getting my hair into a perfect pony or low bun. But what I love most about it is what it’s done for the health of my scalp and hair.
Here are some of my favorite things about the brush.
It allows for precision.
I am a bit of a beauty idiot and have very thick, unruly hair. If you have thick hair, this will be a game changer for you. Pre Mason Pearson, whenever I’d try to do a low bun or even a ponytail, I would inevitably wind up with tons of bumps. So I just kinda gave up, opting for looser styles or a purposely messy bun. This bristle nylon brush allows you to get your hair into a low bun that is perfectly smooth with no bumps or snags.
It won’t destroy waves and curls.
What shocked me about this brush is that it’s the first brush that doesn’t absolutely destroy my natural hair texture. It will detangle your wavy or curly hair, and actually make it less frizzy.
It is (really) good for your scalp.
I wasn’t prepared for how good brushing my hair with the Mason Pearson boar bristled brush. It feels amazing and also helps to massage and exfoliate your scalp. I have a dry scalp and with regular use I am seeing far fewer flakes. While gently exfoliating it also stimulates the circulation of the hair follicles.
(While I can only speak to the perspective of having thick, unruly hair I am told that the brush is also great for thin hair as the scalp massage can help to stimulate hair growth, and you’ll see less breakage using this brush.)
It makes your hair shinier and softer.
Not only does the brush stimulate those natural oils in your scalp; it also spreads them evenly over hair strands. My hair is so much shinier and smoother than it was before I started using it.
It makes hair more manageable.
Since using this brush every day my hair is so much softer and more manageable! The brush does such a great job distributing your hair’s natural oils down to the ends which means healthier, more manageable hair.
Where To Buy The Mason Pearson Hairbrush
I bought mine at Amazon – I bought this exact brush, which is, as I mentioned, a combination of nylon and boar bristles. I decided to buy this one because it had the best reviews, it’s what my friends have, and it seemed like the best brush for my hair type (long and coarse, to use their words). Not a particularly scientific approach, but I’m really happy with this one. I’ve had it for three months now and really, really love it. I’ve been told that the Mason Pearson junior mixture hairbrush is also great, and it’s (a little bit) less expensive. Same goes with the handy mixture brush.
Besides Amazon, you can also buy it at Nordstrom,Shopbop, Revolve, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, and Bluemercury.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may earn a small commission.
photography by Carter Fish.
