The History of Hair Brushes

When I was young, my grandmother always told me I needed to do two things in order to have nice hair.  First, I needed to use 100 strokes to brush my hair every night and second, I needed to use a natural bristle brush.

I tried using the natural bristle brush but I could never seem to get all the knots out and it didn't seem to do much else than slide along the outside .  I think those might have been the only type of hair brushes available when my grandmother was growing up.

Hair brushes have been around for a while but originally, only the wealthy could afford them because they were handcrafted.  In addition, they were used as styling tools, not grooming during the early years.  Most of the early brushes had hand carved handles with each bristle hand sewn to the backing.  Consequently, brushes were often given for special occasions and cherished for life.

The first hairbrush company was founded in 1777 by William Kent in Hertfordshire, England.  The Kent Brush company is thought to be the first hair brush manufacturing company.  They made their brushes out of wood with bristles made out of animal hair or feathers.  It took up to 12 people to create each brush and the company is still in operation.

At this time in history, women did not shampoo their hair.  Instead, they'd rub a fat based substance into their hair, then they'd dust a powder made of ground up bone to absorb the oil much like today's dry shampoos, before vigorously brushing the fat and dust out of their hair while ensuring the oil reached the ends of their hair.

At this time in history, women did not shampoo their hair.  Instead, they'd rub a fat based substance into their hair, then they'd dust a powder made of ground up bone to absorb the oil much like today's dry shampoos, before vigorously brushing the fat and dust out of their hair while ensuring the oil reached the ends of their hair.

At least two people in the United States patented hairbrushes.  The first in 1854 is the earliest patent found for a metal handle with scalloped edges.  This type of hairbrush was popular in sets with combs, brushes, and mirrors for newly married females or babies.  The next was approved in 1870.  This brush had both metal bristles combined with natural bristles.

It wasn't until 1885 that someone invented and patented an automatic boring brush machine.  This machine produced hairbrushes much faster than before making them more affordable..  At about the same time, Mason Pearson created the "rubber cushioned" brush.  He was able to perfect his brush in the 1920's and it is still in use today.

The hairbrush as we know it today, came about when Lyda Newman, an African American, developed a brush with synthetic bristles, a ventilation chamber, and a place to collect debris from the hair.  At about the same time, Alfred Fuller helped spread it by founding the Fuller Brush company, improving on the basic brush, and selling the product door to door.

The circular hair brush most often used with blow driers came about in 1965 by a Frenchman who wanted to move away from rollers to a more windblown look.  Now, most brushes are made out of plastic with synthetic bristles and can be found in all sizes and shapes.  You can find a hairbrush for every type of hair and every length.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.