The right hair brush can mean the difference between every day being a good hair day and wanting to hide your hair.
Our collection of the best hair brushes in South Africa, from some of the world’s best international brands, can tackle any hair type and style head on. These brushes incorporate the latest technologies, innovative features and ergonomic designs. Among these are ceramic-coated barrels, ionic and boar bristles, vented brush heads and ball-point tips.
Different brushes create different looks. That’s why the average stylist has a selection of multiple brushes. A paddle brush, for example, is ideal for detangling and smoothing. A vented brush is great for drying. A round brush adds volume and curl.
Along with brush types, consider your hair type. If you’re trying to add bounce and body to long, thick hair, a large, densely-packed round brush will work. However, if your hair is fine or damaged, the best round brush will have a smaller barrel and fewer bristles to pull or break delicate strands.
Look at Olivia Garden’s Hair Brush Selection Chart to find out which brushes are best for your hair type, length and desired style.
See our favourite hair brush picks below.
Best hair brush overall
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Olivia Garden Private Brush CollectionR364.00 – R488.62
Do your hair a favour and treat it to some brushes in this collection. It’s the ultimate set from Olivia Garden, a favourite brand of professionals the world over.
The Private Collection is the culmination of decades of research and development into brush technology from this industry leader. It includes three round brushes, an ionic paddle and a boar combo paddle.
All the brushes are made from the very best materials, are ergonomically designed for easy use and look stunning with an elegant rose gold and black finish.
Features of the Private Collection include:
Best round brush for fine hair
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Olivia Garden Ceramic & Ion Thermal Brush CollectionR237.00 – R315.00
Round brushes help boost the volume of hair, but not all are suitable for fine hair. Avoid massive, dense brushes that pull and tug.
Super-fine ionic bristles on the Olivia Garden Ceramic + Ion Thermal Brush give soft tension – so no pulling – and the ceramic-coated barrel helps distribute heat for faster styling. Choose one of the three smaller sizes to style your fine hair quickly, easily and without breakage.
Features include:
Best anti-static hair brush
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Spornette Vented BrushR70.00
This anti-static brush is specifically designed to prevent both static and frizz. It has different style and sized ball-tipped tipped bristles for fast drying and heat-resistant brushing.
Usually, air is sent back to your hair. This is what causes static and frizz. The vented design allows air to pass through.
The brush is excellent value and is best used to brush out and style wet hair of all types.
Features include:
Best brush for bonded hair extensions
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WetBrush Pro Epic Hair ExtensionR233.20
This is a next-generation brush that’s uniquely designed for hair with extensions. It’s made with exclusive IntelliLoop bristles that ease through tangles without snagging or catching on extensions, wefts or weaves.
It’s not just the performance that’s innovative. Its appearance is too. A unique tapered head allows work in-between the layers, and to get closer to the roots. No pulling or breakage. What’s more, it doesn’t cause static.
Features include:
Best hair brush to prevent breakage
Using the wrong brush can cause preventable breakage and damage to your hair. The innovative Shower Detangler from WetBrush is designed specifically to avoid this.
The brush tackles tangles with ease and eliminates tugging, tearing, pulling and ripping of hair to ensure no split ends or hair loss. It’s regularly chosen in editorial reviews as the best detangler on the market.
The brush uses ultra-soft IntelliFlex bristles that are thin, strong and very flexible on one stroke and firm on the next. The bristles have SofTips – twice-dipped, ultra-soft ends – that are firm enough to comb through knots, yet flexible enough to be gentle on the scalp.
This brush is designed to be used in the shower. It has a useful design for hanging over a hook or shower rail.
The brush can also be used on dry hair and is gentle enough for extensions and wigs.
Features include:
Best paddle hair brush
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WetBrush Pro Paddle Detangler Core LineR179.00 – R216.00
The WetBrush Pro Paddle Detangler has a paddle design with a wide surface area. This makes it ideal for detangling and styling thick or long hair, and for distributing treatments and oils.
The brush has a good, sturdy handle with grooved lines and finger cut-outs. This offers excellent grip, even when hands are wet.
Like all WetBrushes, the paddle brush has unique, flexible bristles, which minimise pain, split ends and hair breakage. It works equally well on long, thick, coarse hair or fine, straight hair. It’s a great option if you’re looking for the best hair brush for long hair.
Another feature we love? A vented cushion allows water to run away easily. This makes the brush easier to wash, and ideal for use just after a shower.
Features include:
Best thermal hair brush
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Olivia Garden NanoThermic Ceramic & Ion Beyond Pink BCA Brush CollectionR252.45 – R314.40
Thermal brushes are perfect for blow-outs because they’re made from materials that retain heat in the core, making hair easy to style with a dryer. They produce big, bouncy curls that are less set than curls produced by curling tongs.
The round brushes in this collection have ceramic-thermal barrels with ionised bristles that are ideal for all hair types. Choose a small to medium barrel for volume, waves and curls. Opt for a medium to large barrel for volume, soft curls and flips.
This special-edition Beyond Pink Breast Cancer Awareness brush collection from Olivia Garden is finished in a stunning gradient blue and pink.
Features include:
Best hair brush for short hair
This excellent little brush is great value and ideal for styling short hair because of its small 20 mm barrel. A small barrel makes it much easier to wrap short hair around the brush to create the tension required to smooth, straighten and style a cropped cut.
The brush is lightweight – it has a foam handle – and ceramic-aerated ion technology. The bristles and barrel emit ions that reduce dryness, leaving soft, flexible tresses.
Features include:
Best detangling brush for natural hair
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WetBrush Pro Epic Deluxe DetanglerR249.00 – R295.00
This brush is an elevated version of WetBrush’s revolutionary detangler. It’s perfect for anyone with natural hair since it contains widely spaced, flexible bristles that glide through the tightest curls and toughest tangles, reducing pain and breakage. It’s also the best hair detangler brush for any hair type.
WetBrush’s specially formulated IntelliFlex bristles are thin, strong and very flexible. They’re flexible on one stroke and firm on the next, which eliminates tugging, tearing, pulling and ripping of hair. This reduces split ends and damage.
The bristles have twice-dipped, ultra-gentle SofTips that are guaranteed not to fall off. They’re firm enough to comb through knots, yet flexible enough to be gentle on the scalp. They massage the scalp to stimulate circulation at the follicle.
The brush can be used on wet or dry hair and works on extensions and wigs.
Features include:
Best vented hair brush
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Olivia Garden XL Pro Paddle Ceramic & Ion Brush CollectionR189.90 – R209.95
A vented hair brush is the best choice if you want to quickly blow dry wet hair. The vents allow hot air to flow through, reaching all layers of hair.
Most vented brushes tend not to give a super straight or smooth look after blow drying, so narrower brushes are ideal when you want a quick, tousled style. Thanks to the ceramic and tourmaline ion technology, the Ceramic & Ion XL Pro Vent Paddle brush does add lustre and shine to your finished style. It’s lightweight, has comfortable ball-point tips and the ion-charged bristles help reduce static.
Features include:
Best detangler brush for kids
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WetBrush Original Detangler Disney PrincessR160.00 – R168.80
This is the original WetBrush detangler shape and design, so you know it works, but the brushes are printed with an exclusive collection of some of the most recognisable and loved Disney princesses.
Even children with the knottiest, most tangled hair will enjoy having their hair brushed. There are other designs that will appeal to all youngsters, including WetBrush Animals, Disney Villains and Gem Stone.
WetBrush is specially formulated with IntelliFlex bristles that are thin, strong and very flexible on one stroke and firm on the next. This eliminates tugging, tearing, pulling and ripping of the hair while providing easy brushing and detangling.
The IntelliFlex bristles have SofTips, which are twice-dipped, ultra-soft ends that are extremely gentle. They’re ideal for sensitive scalps but are firm enough to comb through knots.
This brush glides through any hair type, combing out tangles effortlessly. It’s stress-free brushing with no tears.
Features include:
Best hair brush for men
Boar bristles distribute your hair’s natural scalp oils more evenly from the roots to the ends. Also, they strip the hair of dead strands, leaving only shiny, healthy hair.
This is one of our favourite boar brushes for men. It’s filled with good quality soft boar bristles and has a comfortable ergonomic handle. Use it on your beard, too.
Features include:
Best brush for shine
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WetBrush Go Green Treatment & Shine BrushR174.58 – R275.00
If you’re looking for an eco-friendly brush that also treats your hair, leaving it shiny and lush, this is it. The brush is made from 100% polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable and sustainable plant-based bioplastic derived from corn starch. It definitely figures among the best hair brushes in South Africa.
The brush design is inspired by the shape of the Monstera leaf. It comes in four pretty pastel colours.
The shine-boosting brush has built-in natural oils infused into the cushion. They transfer to the ultra-soft IntelliFlex bristles as you brush and are distributed throughout the hair.
Impurities and build-up are removed and hair is left shiny, revitalised and smooth. Choose from three treatment oils – coconut, tea tree or watermelon oil.
Features include: