The Best Brush for Kids Who Still Hate Getting Their Hair Done (But at Least It’s Faster)

About the Denman D95 Wet Detangler Brush

Unlike a lot of wet brushes, the Denman D95 Wet Detangler has stiff bristles, which is really important when you’re trying to detangle matted hair. A problem I’ve had with a lot of the wet brushes is that they’re just not sturdy enough to really get in there and do their magic. The brush works with shampoo or conditioner in the hair, and it works whether hair is wet or dry. The detangling brush comes in two colors – purple and pink. It retails for just under $17.

Our Experience Using the Brush

My first result with using the brush involved attempting to coax V. into letting me brush her hair. I never did get a photo of the brush in action because it was still a wrestling match. (She won). In this case, it wasn’t so much the brush that was the problem; instead, it’s her anxiety about having her hair brushed. So, I figured I would try to de-escalate things by showing her that I was brushing her sisters’ hair without incident.

In principle, that was a great idea. In reality? The 8-year-old yelped once when I hit a tangle in her super-curly hair. We were using the brush with dry hair, and her hair is super curly. It actually doesn’t tangle a lot, so I was not expecting there to be one. Murphy’s law, right? The good news is it only took two swipes for it to get the tangle out. The bad news is that the 8-year-old also didn’t like the sensation of the brush’s bristles against her scalp. So much for convincing the 4-year-old that way.

Next up was the 12-year-old. I figured that at least she might be able to keep it together. She has hair like mine and the 4-year-old’s that tangles pretty easily in one particular spot. I figured if anything, I could get a feel of whether it would get the tangles out well. She’s not a big fan of having her hair brushed, but she’ll put up with it. We decided it would be best to try it on wet hair with a leave-in conditioner. The Denman D95 Wet Detangler worked really well – much better than standard wet brushes – and much faster. M’s hair is down past her waist, so it can take some serious effort if she’s missed a spot and a pretty bad tangle forms. There was very little effort needed.

V. finally acquiesced and allowed me near her hair. We tried it in the tub, with conditioner saturating her hair. She had plenty of toys to play with – in my… soon to be diminished hopes of making the hair brushing experience more pleasant for her.

The Brush Can’t Fix a Four-Year-Old’s Feelings

It breaks my heart when I brush V’s hair. She cries, she screams, she shakes, she pulls away. I leave the encounter exhausted and guilty. She leaves the encounter no more likely to allow me (or anyone) to brush her hair. It’s upsetting for both of us. I was a tender-headed kid, and I remember very clearly how completely awful it was to have my hair brushed when it was full of tangles.

I’d been hoping that the Denman D95 Wet Detangler brush was the magic key to ending this struggle – but it wasn’t. I’m honestly not sure any brush would – Miss 4 has a lot of anxiety surrounding having her hair brushed and cared for. That said, the brush did its job well, and it shortened the time I spent detangling her hair by a lot. On a good day, it can take an hour or so to get most of the tangles out. This brush let me get the job done in about 15 minutes. That’s a lot less time for the neighbors to sit there and wonder what I’m doing to my poor child. Trust me, I’m just brushing her hair!

In the end, there were still lots of tears, and there was still a lot of squirming around – but her hair did get detangled. She decided that while she wasn’t good with me brushing her hair, she was fine with M., the 12-year-old, doing it for her. I’ll take that as a win.

But… Is the Brush Recommended?

Finally, I tried the brush on my own prone-to-tangling hair. My 8-year-old was right, it is kind of pokey on the scalp – but I liked it. I felt like it was not only detangling my hair, but also doing the things brushes are intended to do by going through all the strands. I am not generally a fan of most wet brushes for my own hair because it is so thick, and it doesn’t feel like the wet brushes get through all the layers of strands. The Denman D95 Wet Detangler made it through, and it detangled my hair without breaking strands.

I definitely recommend the brush to those who are looking for a wet brush that will get the job of detangling done. The website notes that it’s for use on all hair types, but mentions thick, curly, wavy, and fragile hair specifically. As I’m (cough) getting into that whole perimenopause era, my hair is super fragile. I’m happy to say that fewer strands came loose using it than did when using my standard flat brush. If you’d like to check out the Denman D95 Wet Detangler, you can find it on Amazon as well as on the Denman website.

Do you have a kid with a super-sensitive scalp & anxiety when it comes to having their hair brushed? What are your tips for getting the job done?

*Images courtesy of Denman