Is WetBrush suitable for detangling tight curls?
WetBrush is a hair detangling brush which is branded towards gently detangling thick, wet hair. “Hair is weakest when wet and pulling at it can snap it like a rubber band. This is why you should brush with a tool that gently loosens knots without pulling or breaking hair.” (source: www.wetbrush.com). As a mother of two curly-haired beauties, I wanted to test the product myself, and WetBrush gifted me their custom care detangling brush to do just that. Natural, black hair care is a special realm within the hair industry, and not every product or method will be suitable for our range of hair textures. I wanted to determine whether or not my daughter’s hair would detangle as promised on their website and product label. WetBrush claims to be “the detangling brush made for thick, curly or coarse hair leaving your strands looking salon-worthy” (source: product box description). The product also claims “45% less damage, 55% less effort, and 100% happier hair”, and says that it “works wonders on all hair types”. Notably, there are only photos of a Caucasian woman detangling her hair on their website. As for their social media, I was hard-pressed to find a demo of someone detangling thick hair, tight curls, or kinky texture using the product. Mostly women with near-straight or loosely wavy hair were featured.
WetBrush worked best in sections that were already finger-detangled. In these sections, there was less pulling although unfortunately, WetBrush left the natural curl pattern disrupted.
My typical method of detangling my daughter’s hair is by moisturizing, and then detangling using my fingers only. To perform this demo, I shampooed my daughter’s hair, then worked in conditioner on 3/4 of her head. I then finger-detangled by running my fingers through her hair until any kinks are worked through. This as a known gentle detangling method to work through knots while respecting the natural curl pattern. The fourth section remained for the WetBrush demo. I applied conditioner to the wet hair and began to brush. I could feel the brush tugging at the curls, and the process left me understanding why there was not adequate representation of black hair on their website - the product was not geared towards tight curl patterns. Committed to the process, I continued to detangle with the WetBrush and compared the results to the finger-detangled sections. I was much more satisfied with the finger-detangled sections because the WetBrush disrupted her curl pattern whereas finger detangling left her curls in tact. I also was concerned about the damage that the tugging I felt and heard as I brushed with WetBrush may have caused. There was only a small amount of hair lost in the brush, which I believe can be attributed to the strength of her hair as opposed to the gentle nature of the brush.
Not all hair products are made equally! I would not recommend this product for those with tighter curl patterns, or coarser hair texture. Black hair deserves gentler treatment and products tailored to our tresses.
Love,