Sales of hairbrushes are soaring. What’s at the root of it?

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The night our first child was born, I gave my husband a teeny hairbrush, picturing years of brushing little locks by a crackling fire. Fast forward and our reality became two daughters with two very different hair types: tangles, tears and running away at bathtime. Brushing lost its romance – less pleasure, more tough love.

Meanwhile, my own hair became dull and started thinning. When blood tests came back as normal, my hairdresser noticed it had started matting in the underlayers, and then came the question: “Do you actually, you know, brush it?” As a chronic messy-bun wearer, the truth was: a very brisk wide-tooth comb when wet; air-drying some days, a heated rotating-barrel brush on others. I left with a prescription for a proper old-school hairbrush, twice daily. It was the push I needed to return to a ritual that felt like going back in time.

Crown Affair The Brush No 001, $98

Philip Kingsley Vented Paddle Brush, £27

The humble (usually boar) bristle brush is turning heads again. Brushes have been a major growth category globally since 2020 and the market is expected to almost double to $8.3bn by 2033. As self-care sales morphed into the “skinification” of hair, with interest in everything from scalp health to next-level conditioning (see the recent glass-hair obsession), consumers have more choice and, thanks to social media, more knowledge than before.

But counter to all the complex regimens, red-light TheraBrushes and aloe-infused detanglers, there’s enormous appeal in investing in one perfect, simple brush and doing things the good old-fashioned way. Find the one and embark on a love affair.

Mason Pearson, with its iconic “pneumatic cushion pad” – the bristles flex in a contour over the scalp – and vintage pharmacy box, has worn the natural-brush crown for more than a century. (My grandmother was so wedded to hers she kept a back-up in every bag.) But it now sits among a cache of elevated takes. Liberty has seen a 200 per cent growth in its hairbrush business from 2023 to 2024, “with brands like La Bonne Brosse at the forefront of this shift”, says head of beauty Natalie Guselli. “These brushes are more than tools, they’re investments in craftsmanship and longevity.” Those in the know (Gwyneth Paltrow is an investor) love Crown Affair’s graphic handcrafted natural-plus-nylon brushes ($98) in beechwood. Also popular are the marbleised ivory resin brushes (from $70) by the Carlyle hotel-based legend Yves Durif. To maximise the outcome, most brands recommend two-minute sessions, twice a day.

Some prestige brands offer an online hair diagnosis before recommending different propositions according to hair type, length and factors such as scalp sensitivity and styling preference. A good brush, used correctly, should detangle, help to shift debris and evenly distribute natural oil from the roots through the hair to the dryer ends, adding shine. La Bonne Brosse, which has sold 150,000 units since launching in 2021, developed its range by studying 150 hair “profiles” – its latest launch, the “N 07” (£138), is for textured or curly hair. Fans of the brand include Emma Stone’s hairstylist Mara Roszak, who used The Massaging Detangling Hair Brush N 04 (£138) at this year’s Oscars. La Bonne Brosse’s survey feedback reports that its brushes can extend the time between washes by an extra day.

While I prefer Mason Pearson’s and Crown Affair’s sleeker profile for handling, I did find myself wearing my hair down more often within days of using La Bonne Brosse, enjoying the manageability and lustre. My thick-haired friends are converted to the latter’s dense bristles and deeper cushion. Japanese superstylist YS Park’s carved wooden Ergonomic brush (€105) – stocked at Officine Universelle Buly – is light, lovely to handle and gives beautiful control.

Officine Universelle Buly YS Park Ergonomic hairbrush, £108

But “even the gentlest brush will cause damage if you overuse it”, cautions New York-based trichologist Anabel Kingsley. “Hair doesn’t regenerate itself once grown.” Don’t go wild with the pure boar bristles: “they can tear at the cuticle, weakening strands”. Kingsley prefers rounded prongs, and uses her family brand’s version: the Philip Kingsley Vented Paddle Brush (£27). “Run your brush over the back of your hand – if it leaves marks or feels abrasive, it will be doing the same to your strands.” And while brushing hair can make it “appear” fuller, that’s just aeration: brushes won’t make hair grow, she says. “Don’t add more strokes for the sake of it.”

For Flore des Robert, co-founder of La Bonne Brosse, reviving the classic brush is more about the gesture – a tradition “preserved by word-of-mouth, a comforting ritual passed from generation to generation”.

She may get her wish. With Disney-esque swish and shine developing in her wavy, frizz-prone hair, my older daughter is taking pride in her big-girl brush, La Bonne Brosse’s gentle N 03 (£138). And every morning, sitting on the stairs, the little one asks to brush my hair, stroking and smoothing it with her tiny hand. It’s a gift I didn’t know I needed.