Brush Styling & Curly Hair

Curly girls are often told that they shouldn’t brush their curls, but it turns out that advice is wrong. Brush styling curly hair is a fabulous way to create gorgeous, defined clumps and cascades of spiraling ringlets.

Of course, you can’t just take any old brush and start brushing your curls. Choosing the right brush and carefully preparing your tresses is essential, and there are several different techniques to try.

In this guide, we’ll talk you through the best brushes, help you prepare your hair for styling, and share our top techniques for brush styling curly hair.

What Is Brush Styling?

Brush styling is a fantastic way to create gorgeous ribbon curls on natural hair types without using heated curlers or hot styling tools. 

Simply pulling the brush through your hair using one of the techniques in this guide will create tension, causing your hair to snap back on itself in cascading spirals. 

It’s similar to pulling a ribbon between a scissor blade and your thumb to create a ribbon curl for gift wrapping. 

Who Should Use Brush Styling?

Brush styling works well on every hair type apart from straight hair.

If you have wavy hair or looser curls like Type 3A, you’ll love the way brush styling helps you create a consistent curl pattern. 

If you have one of the tighter curl types or coily hair, brush styling will help keep your curls under control and give you the beautifully-defined curls of your dreams. 

Whatever your hair texture, brush styling helps you lock moisture into your waves or curls and extend the life of your wash day results. 

However, if you’re experiencing hair loss, it’s best to avoid this styling technique until your hair is stronger.

The Best Brushes For Brush Styling Curly Hair

To achieve the best results, you need to pick the right tool. Here are our recommendations for six popular brushes that are great for styling curly hair.

Denman D3

Many curly girls love using the Denman D3 for brush styling. It’s a versatile brush with a rounded cushion pad and seven rows of pins that are ideal for sweeping through curly hair. The unique shape of the handle also makes the Denman brush perfect for brush styling.

You can even tailor the brush to suit your hair by removing pins to make bigger gaps between rows.

Denman D31

If you have thicker hair or type 4 coily hair, you might prefer the Denman D31 styling brush. The rows of flexible bristles are spaced further apart so they will flow easily through your hair without damaging it.

Behairful Professional Detangler Brush

Many curly girls are trying out brushes that combine nylon pins and rows of boar bristles, like the Behairful Professional Detangler Brush.

The nylon pins help detangle your strands easily, while the boar bristles add shine, smooth frizz, and create more tension in your strands. This results in gorgeous ribbon curls. 

BUT as much as I love the results this brush gives me, I cannot recommend buying anything from this company!

I used to be an affiliate for them but I quickly learned that they didn’t always fulfill all their orders and many readers complained they never received what they paid for. When I reached out to them for more information, they ignored me and stopped paying out commissions. I shared more details about their shady practices in this video.

Do I’m including this brush because it is popular and really works, but with a strong CAUTION if you want to take a bet on them.

Similar paddle brushes, like the BESTOOL Hair Brush, are also available on Amazon.

Scrunch It Brush

The Scrunch It Brush is specially made for curly hair. Everything from the barrel’s shape and bristles’ length to the design of the handle has been chosen to make detangling, sectioning, and styling hair easy. 

There are two versions of the Scrunch It Brush for different textures. If you have Type 2A-3B hair, opt for the Large Clumps Brush, or choose the Small Clumps Brush if you have 3C-4C curl patterns. 

Not sure which hair type you have? Try our easy Curly Hair Type Quiz to find out!

Bounce Curl EdgeLift Brush

This is another popular option for brush styling with nylon pins for detangling and vegan boar bristles for smoothing curls. It also has a specially designed handle for sectioning hair and curling tresses.

Opt for the Define EdgeLift Brush with larger spaces along the edge to create well-defined clumps, or choose the Volume EdgeLift Brush to create smaller curl clumps and add more volume.

Tangle Teezer

Brushes like the Denman D3 or Behairful Brush are great for creating tension in thick or coarse texture hair. However, if you have fine hair or high porosity hair that is easily damaged, you need a gentler option.

The Tangle Teezer detangling brush is a great option for styling delicate strands, and there’s even a specific Tangle Teezer for fragile hair. 

How To Prepare Your Hair For Brush Styling

Your hair should be clean and well-moisturized before styling, so start by using a sulfate-free shampoo and follow with a good conditioner. If you want to remove some of the excess water from your tresses, use a cotton T-shirt or microfiber towel to avoid causing friction between the strands.

Next, apply generous amounts of leave-in conditioner, avoiding the inch closest to your roots to get good root volume. The idea is to create plenty of hair slip so the brush moves easily through it. 

If you have fine texture hair, pick a lightweight conditioner to avoid weighing your strands down. 

Apply a small amount of gel, ensuring it’s well-distributed throughout your hair. Some good styling products for curly hair include: 

• LUS Irish Sea Moss Styling Gel
• OUIDAD Advanced Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel
• TreLuxe Hi! Definition Curl Enhancer Styling Gel

If you have coarse or thick hair, you might also want to add a curl cream at this stage. 

Next, detangle your curls thoroughly with your fingers, detangling brush, or wide tooth comb. Any tangles you leave in will look frizzy on dry hair.

Divide your hair into small sections and work through section by section using one of the techniques below. The size of the sections will determine the size of your curls. 

You can use pins or clamps to keep the rest of your hair out of the way and avoid creating new tangles. 

Brush Styling Techniques

Once you’re used to brush styling, it should only add 10-15 minutes to your styling routine, and the curls should last a few days. You’ll only need to refresh them quickly in between wash days. 

Be sure to form curls in their natural direction rather than working against your natural curl pattern.

Your hair needs plenty of slip for brush styling, so keep a spray bottle handy to spritz your locks with more water if they start to dry. Wet curls are more fragile, so avoid putting too much tension on your hair, especially if it’s fine or prone to damage. 

Brush And Shake

The Brush and Shake technique is like the Rake and Shake method, but you use a brush instead of your fingers. It takes minimal effort and creates gorgeous bouncy curls. 

This brush styling technique works best if you style your hair upside down. You’ll get more defined curls on wet hair, but you can also use this method on damp hair. 

Simply tip your hair forward and brush through it gently without scrunching. 

When you’ve brushed all your hair, pick up sections of hair and gently shake them until the clumps form. 

Then, scrunch them gently up towards the roots to avoid separating them.

If you find your clumps don’t form easily, spritz your hair with more water and try again. 

Ribbon Styling

This is the best way to create beautifully defined curls with brush styling. It uses the edge of the brush to create tension in your hair, similar to when you curl ribbons for a gift. 

Your hair should be wet or very wet before you start, and you can either flip your hair over or keep your head upright. 

Brush gently through a section so it’s perfectly smooth, then place the brush as close as possible to the roots, holding the brush upside down.

Pull the brush down through your hair, pulling the brush out and away from your scalp, and using the upper edge of the brush to create extra tension and definition. 

Finally, hold the section at the top, near the roots, and shake gently to form clumps.

You can see me do this with the Bounce Curl brush in the video below.

Handle Styling

Also known as brush coiling, this technique is a little trickier than the ones above and might take a little practice. However, the effort is worthwhile because handle styling creates gorgeous ringlets and perfectly smooth barrel curls, with results that tend to last longer than the other methods.  

Your hair must be wet or very wet with plenty of slip for handle styling. Take care when wrapping your hair around the brush to avoid getting it caught, especially if you have one of the tighter curl patterns.

After you’ve prepared your hair, take a section and brush through so that the hair is smooth. Then brush through again from roots to end, twisting and pulling the hair away from your scalp and adding a little tension to define your curls. 

Eventually, the curl will pass through the teeth of the brush and spiral around the handle, which gives a beautifully defined ringlet. 

For extra definition, you can stop just before the end of your strands while there’s still a little hair left in the bristles. Then, carefully roll the hair around the brush handle until you reach the root, hold it for a moment, and carefully unwind it again. 

For flawless results, handle your wet ringlets carefully to avoid breaking them up.

I show how to do this method in the video above with the Denman brush.

Drying Your Hair After Brush Styling

Once you’ve completed all the sections, lock in your style with one of the gels listed earlier in this post.

Gently smooth the gel over your clumps using the praying hands method, and then scrunch your hair up towards the roots. If you need to separate your curls, splitting them when they’re wet will help avoid frizz.

Diffuse dry your hair, cupping your ringlets in the bowl of the diffuser and flipping your hair from side to side or upside down to get maximum root volume. You can also use root clips to add a little extra lift at the roots. 

When your hair is 80-90% dry, let it air dry until it’s completely finished drying. Try not to touch your hair too much until it’s completely dry, then scrunch out the crunch.

If you prefer to avoid using heat on your curls, you could let them air dry most of the way and then finish off with the diffuser. However, the weight of the water on your strands might stretch out your curls.

FAQs

Still need more answers about brush styling? You’ll find them in these frequently asked questions!

How Do You Avoid Tangles When Brush Styling Curly Hair?

Always detangle your hair before you start brush styling. Apply generous amounts of detangler or leave-in conditioner first to avoid damaging your hair, and work backward up the hair shaft from the ends to the roots.

Sectioning your hair with pins or clamps will help avoid new tangles forming while you’re styling your curls. 

How Do You Deal With Flat Roots?

Handle styling can flatten your roots to your scalp as your curls are pulled down the brush. Flipping your head upside down means that you’ll be pulling your curls away from your scalp, helping to avoid flattened roots. 

Alternatively, you can use root clips to section your hair so it’s lifted off your scalp during styling. 

Is It Okay To Use A Brush On Curly Hair?

You should always use a brush with care on curly hair, especially if you have thick curly hair.

Only use a brush on wet hair that you’ve prepared with hair products that give plenty of hair slip. Brush gently and work carefully through any tangles with your fingers, a detangling brush, or a wide tooth comb.

Can You Brush Style Dry Hair?

Depending on your chosen technique, your hair must be damp, wet, or very wet to have the slip you need for styling. 

The Bottom Line

If you want super-defined curls without reaching for the hot styling tools, you should definitely consider brush styling curly hair. 

Brush styling is suitable for any type of wavy or curly hair and will add only a few minutes to your styling routine. 

It’s essential to prepare your hair before you start styling and choosing the right brush is vital. The techniques take a little practice, and you shouldn’t use them on weak or damaged hair. 

But by following the tips in this guide, you’ll soon have gorgeous ribbon curls that last two or even three full days.