The Detangling Brush Most of Our Evaluators Raved About
We evaluated six models, including the Felicia Leatherwood, the Tangle Teezer, and the viral Unbrush on kinky, curly, wavy, and straight hair
When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. Learn more.
It’s a tale as old as time. Growing up, the dreaded Hair Wash Day typically occurred in my household on Sunday evenings, after church. My mother, who often could not handle the pressure of the day, would frequently enlist my aunt to wash, detangle, and straighten all of our hair.
I have two older sisters, and being the youngest, I had to go first. My aunt would first detangle and then shampoo our hair in the kitchen sink. The painful detangling process was often the worst part because my hair was so coarse and thick.
She used the same wide-tooth comb on all of us. All you could hear for hours were the repeated cries of my sisters and me yelling, “Ouch!” and my aunt’s repetitive reply, “Sit still!” This process was never pleasant, and as a kid, it felt like inhumane torture to me. Oh, but the results made it worth it.
I have always been skeptical about this type of brush because I never understood how the moving arms work. At first glance, it seems the brush would get tangled in long, thick, bushy hair, but I was wrong. The bristles of the Bestool Detangling brush are flexible yet firm and well-spaced to give maximum effectiveness. “To say I was surprised by this brush’s performance is an understatement. Totally floored is more like it,” says evaluator and CR writer Jodhaira Rodriguez. The arms move with the hair as it detangles. The brushing section is wide, so evaluators were able to detangle more hair at once.
“Absolutely no tugging, no pain, and noticeably less hair ended up on the brush than usual,” says Jodhaira.
The handle’s surface consists of different types of plastic, which helps to give users a sturdy grip and confidence to apply pressure if needed. Evaluators also felt the brush could stand the test of time.
Photo: Camille Briggs Photo: Camille Briggs
“I also appreciated the flexible design and the thicker bristles,” says Mary Beth Quirk, CR’s managing editor for Shopping. “A solid option, literally!”
All of the moving parts of the brush seem a bit intimidating at first, but the results speak volumes. When it comes to comfort, ease of use, less hair loss, and the easiest to clean, the Bestool ranks at the top of the list. The Bestool also comes with a “control bar” that helps determine the stretchability of the movement of the arms. If you need more stiffness, add the control bar. However, this was a turnoff to some. “I don’t like that you have to work to determine which placement is optimal. I just want to grab and go,” says Ginger Cowles, CR’s managing editor for Rapid Response.
This brush is wide with flexible arms so it is very easy to clean. I was able to remove hair from the brush by hand and rinse off the rest. The Bestool is affordable and efficient, thus receiving the Editor’s Choice distinction.
The Olivia Garden brush is head (medium size) and shoulders bigger than the other brushes, and it appears a bit intimidating. It looks like it can be used as a weapon because of its size, but when you pick it up, you realize the brush can only beat up on tangles and knots. This brush is very comfortable to hold and lightweight. The curved paddle handle fits well in your hands and is the perfect size to ensure a firm grip.
“I love the handle on this brush. It just felt right to me somehow,” Ginger says.
The diameter of the brushing area was also larger than all of the other brushes evaluated. The bristles are so spaced out that I was concerned about having to repeat sections to ensure the hair was fully detangled, but that wasn’t a big problem. Most of the CR product evaluators were able to detangle their hair with fewer strokes, on average, with the Olivia Garden than with the other brushes.
“I think I lost significantly less hair than usual, so it edges out my go-to brush. I would 10 out of 10 recommend this to a friend and keep using it myself,” Jodhaira says.
Photo: Jodhaira Rodriguez/Consumer Reports Photo: Jodhaira Rodriguez/Consumer Reports
My teenage daughter really enjoyed using this brush. Unlike any of the other brushes evaluated, the Olivia Garden has small balls at the tip of each bristle, which is good for scalp stimulation and is a nice touch.
“I like how big the brushing area is as well, and how it’s curved like, well, a head. I actually enjoyed the balls on the ends of the bristles; they massaged my scalp slightly, which felt nice,” Mary Beth says.
The brushing area is well spaced and the bristles are very firm. Cleaning was a breeze. “This brush is probably the easiest to clean of all the brushes in this evaluation,” says Ginger.
There is also a small ring at the end of the handle so the brush can be hung on a hook for storing or drying. Tug on the ring (it’s retractable) and it becomes a sectioning pick. Wow, right? The detangling efficiency, the comfort and versatility of the handle, and the ease of cleaning are why the Olivia Garden is the gift that keeps on giving.
Although this brush worked well for several hair textures, it was also especially good for wigs and extensions, as the bristles are firm, but not too firm. A brush that’s too firm would stretch and straighten the waves of my wigs. I want my straight wigs to stay straight, wavy wigs to stay wavy, and my curly wigs to stay curly and frizz-free. The Olivia Garden is not just a great option for your hair, but it’s the best brush for wigs and weaves.
The Tangle Teezer brush has what its manufacturer calls patented 2-tiered technology. The 325 bristles are supposed to remove tangles and knots with the taller flexible teeth while smoothing hair for a glossy and frizz-free finish with the shorter teeth. Most of our evaluators agreed that the Tangle Teezer got the job done, but didn’t measure up to the other brushes. The bristles, being so close together and not as firm, did not work well for thick, hard-to-detangle, or extremely curly hair. “The bristles are not strong enough for 4C hair,” says evaluator Tasha Massey, a senior administrative assistant at CR.
The flexible teeth were a bit too flexible, and two evaluators had to stop using the brush during the detangling session due to the “tightly packed bristles.” One evaluator had to pump the brakes on detangling while using this brush. “I find that for the really tangled parts of my hair, I have to go extra slowly to avoid causing any extra breakage,” says Jodhaira. Worrying about hair loss or the time it would take to detangle her child’s hair forced one evaluator to give up the detangling struggle completely while using the Tangle Teezer.
One bonus about this brush is the handle, which has a sloped shape at the tip that enhances the grip. The brush is also very lightweight and sturdy. “It felt like the perfect weight in my hand—not too flimsy so I felt like I could apply some pressure, but not too heavy,” says Mary Beth, who added that this model is now her go-to detangling brush.
The Tangle Teezer is a good brush for people with thin, fine, or straight hair, but for those with 4B/4C hair like me, the Tangle Teezer is just a tease.
My teenage daughter could not wait to try this brush after watching dozens of TikTok videos promoting it. She expected to be wowed by the magical detangling powers of the Unbrush. It did work well detangling her hair. She liked it but liked the Bestool better.
The FHI Heat Unbrush is shaped like a traditional paddle brush. The rounded cushion base has holes in it that the manufacturer says reduce styling time, but I don’t see how. The handle also fits well in your hand, and the brush is lightweight. My one complaint about this brush is that the bristles felt a bit flimsy. Another evaluator agreed, “I think I took more strokes because I was slightly worried about breaking it if I applied too much pressure,” Mary Beth says. “This was definitely my least favorite brush.”
Photo: Camille Briggs Photo: Camille Briggs
Another evaluator said it took more elbow grease to detangle her hair with this brush. “I had to compensate for the flimsy bristles,” Tasha says.
I found the Unbrush’s handle comfortable, and cleaning it was a snap. “Removing hair from the brush after I was finished was very easy. There were no stragglers like with some of the other brushes with tight rows of bristles,” Jodhaira says.
The FHI Heat Unbrush is designed well, has a great handle, is easy to clean, and gets the job done. I just wish the brush was a bit bigger and the bristles were firmer. The FHI Heat Unbrush is a good option for curly 3A/3B hair.
The Felicia Leatherwood brush, made by Brush With the Best, was a favorite for several of our evaluators. This brush was created by celebrity hairstylist Felicia Leatherwood, who is known for her mastery of the natural hairstyles of some of Hollywood’s heavy-hitters like Issa Rae, Ava Duvernay, and Jill Scott.
My favorite part about this brush is the bristles, which the manufacturer calls “flexi-bristles.” They are long, spaced out well, and firm. This brush is a bit smaller and narrower than the other brushes we evaluated, so it takes longer to work your way through your hair, but it definitely detangles coarse and thick hair well. Another plus is that this brush is easy to clean. The bristles are tall and spaced out well, so removing hair and dirt is pretty easy.
What I hated about this brush was the handle. Why was it made so awkwardly? It is shaped like a curvy mountain terrain and felt weird in my hand. The grip wasn’t gripping. My daughter’s hand was red after detangling one side of her hair with this brush. A weird, painful handle is a deal-breaker for me. There was no padding or grip support on the handle, which made detangling uncomfortable.
If you can get past the handle, which I couldn’t, I had to clutch my pearls because of the price. It is a few dollars more than the Olivia Garden Brush, but half the size and more uncomfortable. As far as detangling coarse, thick hair goes, the firm bristles work well and definitely get the job done, if you survive the handle. The Felicia Leatherwood is best for kinky/coarse hair.
Another Detangling Brush We Tried
There was nothing natural about the Crave Naturals Glide Thru Detangling Brush. I was first attracted to the unique pearlike shape of the brush, but it did not prove to be functional. The brush’s handle was too short for any of our evaluators to fully grasp, which made for an uncomfortable detangling session.
Forget about adding product to your hair. The brush kept slipping out of our hands even without hair products. When I used it, I had to hang on to some of the bristles because my hand was too big to firmly grab the handle, which felt weird. I was finally able to detangle my daughter’s hair with this brush, but the pain inflicted on my hand was too great to ignore.
I kept saying, “I wish the handle was bigger,” but that would not have solved the problem. The handle has an odd shape and does not appear to be designed to fit your hand like the other brushes. Plus, the bristles are so close together that cleaning this brush was quite a chore.
Photo: Camille Briggs Photo: Camille Briggs
“The closely positioned teeth were too tightly packed, which made detangling my daughter’s hair more challenging. I can not recommend this brush to anyone,” Ginger says.
The bristles had two sizes, a taller row and a shorter row. Those evaluators with thicker hair did not feel the brush could penetrate through their entire head of hair and were forced to give up mid-evaluation. Manufacturers of the Crave Naturals Glide Thru Detangling Brush say the size and shape of the brush make it travel-friendly. I don’t understand why you would take something out of town that you can’t use at home.
“The hair was being ripped and pulled, and there was a lot of hair left on the brush,” Tasha says. The Crave Naturals Glide Thru Detangling Brush was not a fan favorite; in fact, it was our least favorite detangling brush.
Expert Tips for Detangling, Hair Brush Hygiene, and Daily Brushing
Alesha Wells owns Genesis Beauty Salon and Suites in Southeast Texas and has been a hairstylist for 41 years. Wells says the detangling process is vital to hair health and to avoid unnecessary breakage.
"You should brush through the hair to take out any kinks before you shampoo it,” Wells says. She adds that the proper method to detangle your hair is starting from the bottom and working your way to the top of your head. Wells says this process will eliminate hair matting and breaking. Wells also cautions that brushes should be cleaned after every use due to germs and particles that build up in your hair.
Michelle Henry, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and founder and CEO of Skin & Aesthetic Surgery of Manhattan in New York City, says there is no defined period recommended for cleaning a brush, but it’s important to clean regularly by removing hair once you’ve finished brushing.
“I recommend implementing a deep-clean routine every couple of weeks or so if you never use anything aside from shampoo and conditioner, and a more frequent cleaning, every week or so, if you use styling products regularly,” Henry says.
“Certainly, when you shampoo your hair, you want to clean your comb and brushes. Doing so prevents a lot of scalp and skin issues. We have dead skin cells that are trapped in our combs and brushes. When you don’t clean [your brushes], you are adding oil, dirt, and debris back into your hair,” Wells says.
“The biggest risk you face by reusing contaminated brushes or combs is contracting a hair or scalp-related condition from the remnants of dead skin cells, oils, products, sebum, and bacteria that are harbored in uncleaned, unsanitized tools,” Henry says.
She recommends using sanitizing products that adhere to barber shop and salon standards, including Barbicide (diluted with water in accordance with instructions before use) to soak and disinfect most hair care tools. For brush or comb cleaners, Henry prefers a multipurpose tool like the Olivia Garden Brush and Comb Cleaner or the singular, eco-friendly Kitsch Hair Brush Cleaner—both readily accessible and cost-effective, according to Henry.
Board-certified dermatologist Sarah Churton, MD, at the Woodruff Institute in Bonita Springs, Fla., says the frequency of cleaning your combs and brushes depends on several factors, including how much product is used in the hair, hair length, how often a person brushes, brushing wet or dry hair, and the brush itself.
“In common practice, it is a good idea to remove hair regularly and clean brushes and combs if there is a visible buildup, or, on average, around once a month,” Churton says.
Wells advises daily hair brushing, which she says stimulates blood flow in the scalp and promotes hair growth. “Brushing is essential, and detangling is a process. Be gentle with your hair. One strand of hair is delicate. If you don’t treat it with care, you will lose it.”
@consumerreports Apologies if we’re late to this trend—we were busy testing products! 😅 Meet Jodhaira, an all-star CR staffer who helps you get the best for your buck. What should Jodhaira test next? Tap the link in our bio to unlock thousands of product ratings and reviews. #productreviews #touchmeagain #fyp
♬ original sound - Consumer Reports
