What makes the best hair brush for men worthy of the status? (It's just a brush, right?) Well, that depends on a few factors. What type of brush is it? (A beard brush can differ substantially from one you'd use on your head.) What are its bristles made out of? (Boar bristles are the premium option, but nylon bristles are more than up to the task.) It's all to say, there's a surprising amount of information to bear in mind when brush-shopping, especially if your hairstyle is the type that demands constant attention, or at least, like, some effort each morning. We'll save you the work: Since there's so many hair brushes on the market right now, we took the liberty of sorting through them all to find the very best hair brush for men, regardless of how you intend to use it.
One final caveat here: It really doesn't matter how expensive your styling brush is if you're not using the right hair products—styler, shampoo, conditioner, etc.—in tandem with it. So while you're scooping a new brush, make sure the rest of your grooming situation is up to par, too.
The Palmable Pick
Amazon
Kent has been selling its German-made brushes since the 18th century—the brand's pedigree is very real. Its military style brush is its most popular, and it's easy to see why: the MS23D offers a handsome polished olivewood body with genuine boar bristles specially designed to tidy up your mane, all wrapped in a compact design you can easily toss in a Dopp.
Available at a Drugstore Near You
Amazon
Tangle Teezer's brush has been a drugstore mainstay (and an Amazon best-seller) for years because it's so damn reliable. Sure, it's cheap (right now, it's single-digit cheap!) but it also provides results, detangling your hair—wet or dry—with the formidable styling power of brushes that cost ten times its price. This one is the original, the product that launched the Tangle Teezer brand, and after all these decades it's still the one to turn to if you're in dire need of smooth, tangle-free hair.
The Biggest Flex in Brushes
Amazon
On the opposite end of the price spectrum is Mason Pearson's best-selling hair brush. Let's be blunt here: This guy ain't cheap. But spend a second thinking about what you're getting: Each of Mason Pearson's brushes are painstakingly assembled and finished by hand outside London, a labor of love that yields a product engineered to separate and smooth your tresses with as little breakage as possible. This one is made with both boar bristles and nylon tufts, an atypical—and highly effective—combination designed to strengthen and protect your hair with each effortless brush.
The Stylist's Pick
SSENSE
You know Christophe Robin's hair products. You like Christophe Robin's hair products. (Or, you would—trust us.) So it should come as little surprise that the brand also makes a killer hair brush, handcrafted in France from oak that wouldn't look out of place lining the interior of a library some big-hearted robber baron donated to the public after his death. Take that quality design and add premium boar bristles into the equation, and you've got a brush that'll help detangle—without pulling at your scalp—as effectively as any of the brand's best styling products.
The 5-Row Pick
Amazon
Relative newcomer Fendrihan has been crafting its brushes in Germany for over a decade now, and the brand's dedication to detail shows. Its signature 5-row brush is made out of a comfortingly hefty, sustainably-sourced olivewood and decked out with stiff boar britles ready to handle even the coarsest hair. Five rows of dense, longer bristles means this is a brush that'll leave your hair looking spick and span from roots to tips, no matter what type of mop you're working with.
Read MoreHere's the Right Way to Grow Your Hair OutCommit to long hair—and get strategic haircuts along the way.
By Adam Hurly