This Detangling Brush Made Brushing My Fine Hair Tolerable

Before I tell you about the brush, let me tell you about my sister.

She has Pantene-commercial hair. The thick, shiny 3B curls tumbling down her back make strangers on the street stop to ask what products she uses. She could likely brush her hair with a fork and get away with it.

I, on the other hand, have fine, wavy 2C/3A-curious hair that I recently had relaxed into a flatter 2A with a keratin-adjacent smoothing treatment. And about eight years ago, while I was in graduate school, I began experiencing significant hair loss. It happened suddenly: One day I woke up to chunks of hair coming out of the back of my head, toward the nape of my neck.

After a myriad of tests, my doctor told me that my hair loss was caused by stress. With patience and care, I was able to revive my hair and grow back the large chunks I had lost, but I’ve continued to experience thinning and hair loss in the time since.

For years, brushing my hair has been emotionally charged. I avoided it whenever possible, spending half a decade relying on running my fingers through wet hair because the sight of hair left in the bristles stressed me out.

Any sign of breakage sent me spiraling. And while I know now that not all shedding is bad — according to trichologist Kerry E. Yates, people naturally lose between 100 and 150 strands of hair a day — I was concerned that brushing my hair was causing my already fine hair to thin even further.

So when my sister, with her gorgeous voluminous mane, recommended the Tangle Teezer Ultimate Detangler Extra Gentle hairbrush to me, claiming it had reduced her shedding, my ears perked with the healthy skepticism of someone who got the other half of our family’s hair-gene split.

With nothing to lose, I gave my sister’s brush a try — and to my surprise, I noticed a difference the first time I used it. It glided through my damp hair with way less tension than any other brush I had ever used, and more importantly, there was less hair left behind afterward. Was it a fluke?

I got one for myself and tried it again. Then I used an old comb for comparison and immediately felt the tugging once more. The Tangle Teezer brush wasn’t stopping my hair from falling, but it wasn’t ripping out any excess, either. It quickly became a post-shower essential, leaving my hair smooth and my scalp pain-free.

To use the brush, I start by parting my hair at the center and then dividing it into two sections, pulling my hair in front of me. I start brushing on one side, just at the ends, until they feel smooth and tangle-free. Then I inch upward to tackle more of my hair shaft, until I am brushing from my scalp to the ends without any tangles. It sounds arduous, but brushing through my whole head of hair takes only about 30 seconds.

Once I started using the brush regularly, I called my hairstylist, Rogerio Cavalcante, for his opinion on my hair routine’s newest addition. It turned out that he had been using a Tangle Teezer brush for four years — including on me — though the exact type he uses has been discontinued. “I use it every day. I just got done using it on a client before getting on the phone with you,” he said.

What makes the Ultimate Detangler Extra Gentle brush stand out is its thoughtful design. According to Tangle Teezer’s site, the original Ultimate Detangler brush, which we feature in our guide to the best drugstore products, has up to 433 flexible plastic bristles in two lengths, and while the Extra Gentle brush’s description doesn’t share such information, I counted 108 on mine.

For context, both brushes have far fewer bristles than many other brushes, which can have upwards of 2,000. Fewer bristles means less resistance and pulling, according to Cavalcante. Even though he doesn’t currently use the Extra Gentle version, he said it was the best option for my fine, thinning hair. “More room between the bristles creates more space to detangle knots gently, though it may take more time,” he added.

Beyond the number of bristles, the material is also of great importance, explained trichologist Shab Caspara. “Those with fragile and thinning hair should use brushes with flexible bristles and avoid silicone or anything with grip that causes breakage and pulling,” she said. The plastic, flexible bristles on the Ultimate Detangler Extra Gentle brush bend as you brush, to further minimize pulling. This is especially important because the brush is specifically made for use on wet hair — when strands are most prone to breakage.

And every inch of the Ultimate Detangler Extra Gentle brush is considerately designed, from top to bottom. The handle is curved and ergonomic, making it easier to grip with wet or product-covered hands. Every detail seems crafted to induce a sense of relief. I mean, even the sage green and butter yellow color options are calming.

I love this hairbrush, but it’s not perfect. The bristles, while gentle, are annoying to clean, especially because they’re set at alternating lengths. You need a thin brush-cleaning tool or some nimble fingers and a lot of patience to clear hair out. And if your hair is thick, or you prefer to detangle when it’s dry, this version of the brush may not be the best fit. (Tangle Teezer makes a specific version for curly and coily hair, too.)

And while this brush has definitely reduced my shedding, it has not stopped my hair from falling out. That’s not really something a brush can do; all the experts I spoke to agreed on that point. Cavalcante explained that as much as a hairbrush can cut down on shedding, excessive shedding should be addressed by a trichologist or a doctor who can help to find the source of your specific issue.

When I brush my hair, I sometimes still get nervous — especially during seasonal shedding spikes. But using the Tangle Teezer Extra Gentle brush has made the experience feel less personal and a lot more manageable. There’s a huge emotional difference between seeing a brush full of hair and one where barely a whisper of a strand remains behind.

This brush didn’t change my hair overnight. But it did help change my relationship to it. What was once a fear-inducing task that I used to avoid is now exactly what it should be: mundane and unremarkable. It’s a small victory for me, my hair, and my mental health.

This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder.