The Denman Straightening Brush

As you know, the Denman brand is well-known for quality brushes.  Well, this Denman model is the D79.  It is called their thermoceramic straightening brush.

 It closes similar to a flat iron. The short boar bristles inside the brush aid in gliding hair straight.  This brush is now a  God send for me.  80% of the online reviews were very favorable for this brush.

Occasionally, I get clients who have resistant, long, thick natural hair.  I tried the paddle brush, the traditional Denman brush, round brushes, vented brushes, and comb attachments.  None of these worked without maximum effort.  Most of the time, there was too much hair to control at one time even after dividing the hair up into many sections.

So finally, I gave the Denman straighening brush a try.  I was able to control my sections as I blow dried on medium heat. I only closed the brush partially and kept working it like I was flat ironing with a handheld blow dryer in the opposite hand.  Once the section was about 80% dry, I used the comb attachment to finish out the straightness.This has been the best combination of tools thus far for long, thick, resistant, natural hair.

Actually, this Denman straightening brush is probably good for short, resistant, natural hair as well.  Any hair that springs back really quickly when stretched out can be controlled with this straightening brush.

The uans crema conditioner also provided great moisturizing in a short amount of time.

Curl Patterns: Type 2, Type 3, and Type 4

Type 2 Curl patterns are considered "long" in Sisterlocks world.  Type 3 Curl pattern is considered "medium" in Sisterlocks world. Type 4 curl pattern is considered "short" in Sisterlocks world.

In my opinion, type 4 curl patterns are more prone to dryness and breakage, but many people view it as "strong" and "resistant."  When type 4 curl patterns are placed next to looser curl patterns, it is much more clear how vulnerable  type 4 hair can be.  Don't you agree?

Denman brushes are best for blow drying Type 4 curl patterns. Paddle brushes are  best for blow drying type 3 hair.  Round brushes are best for blow drying type 2 curl patterns.

I am always amazed at the variety of curl patterns out there.

  

Mixed Bristle Brush Review: The Bulb

Examine these two brushes in the picture. Notice the vinyl bristles? The brush on the left has clear vinyl brushes with a "blunt cut" on the end. The brush on the right has white vinyl bristles with a "bulb" on its ends. Both brushes look similar at a quick glance, right? However, at a closer look from another angle, these two brushes are extremely different.

The Pureology brand mixed bristle flat brush on the right had me spoiled! It smoothed out hair effortlessly. Notice the "bulb" on the vinyl bristles? Well, that "bulb" is important for use on relaxed hair.

The "Cricket" brand mixed bristle smoothing brush on the left has soft vinyl bristles that hold heat similar to the Pureology smoothing brush, but the blunt end of the vinyl bristles on the Cricket brush prevents the hair from gliding through the brush. (i.e. It pulls the hair and holds it in place when trying to straighten out hair roots.) However, if you need to dry the rest of the relaxed strands, it may be too much tension. If you need a lot of tension on the hair, then choose the Cricket brush on the left, but also remember that damp, relaxed hair does not need a lot of tension neither does kinky curly hair because of the small diameter of the hair coils. The Denman brushes as discussed in a previous article have built-in round tips versus blunt tips. That is another reason that Denman brushes work well for smoothing hair. Please see my separate article on Denman brushes.

In addition, remember if your brush with the "bulb caps" starts to loose their "bulb ends," then it is time to throw the brush away. Notice that the Pureology white vinyl bristles have the bulbs pre-manufactured into the bristles so you do not have to worry about losing "bulb caps."

So it's best to spend extra money and buy brushes - vent brushes, paddle brushes, or smoothing brushes with the built-in bulb ends to save money and your hair in the long run! Here's to healthy, smooth hair!

DVD Review: Fire and Ice Volume 3 by Stars Weaving and Replacements

First of all, the model in this dvd has type 3c to type 4a hair. The model is overcurly, but her curl pattern reminds me of a texturized 4c curl pattern. So the model is kinky, but not overly kinky.

Now, that we have this information out of the way, "Fire and Ice: The Transformation of Natural Tresses Volume 3 featuring Tajuana A. Hughes" dvd was overall a good investment. However, it is not the answer for those trying to straighten virgin type 4c curl patterns.

It was a good refresh on using the hair steamer as well as pressing/silkening of the hair as a separate step from curling/styling of the hair.

I am no longer a fan of the flat irons so the use of the flat irons through the silkening phase as well as the styling phase was overkill for me.

As for as the blow-dry phase, it was a good instructional video on using the Denman brush.

So overall, "Fire and Ice Vol. 3" was a great video and worth my investment.

Flat Brushes: Blow-drying and Final Finishes

So you have extremely overcurly hair? Using a flat brush is probably safer to blow-dry with than a round brush. Actually, flat brushes seem to detangle "weave hair" better than a wide-tooth comb! Pictured are the four most popular forms of flat brushes: (from left to right) Boar bristle, Ventilated, Paddle, and Denman. I have found that using UV Sanitizers are the best way to disinfect most brushes. Of course, manually cleaning shedded hair out of the brush is the first step.
The Denman brush is actually the "brand" of the brush as well. This type of brush is their trademark. There are some "knock-off" versions of the Denman brushes, but if you can spend the extra money for the original then I recommend it. They can be multi-colored. Pictured is an all black Denman brush by the Kim Kimble collection. Some denman brushes can be disassembled for thorough disinfecting or if one desires to remove a row of teeth. The teeth are vinyl and work well on extremely overcurly hair if as long as your hair has already been well conditioned and detangled properly with the wide tooth comb. Original Denman brushes have either their name and/or logo raised in the handle and bed of the teeth area.
Pictured are small and large paddle brushes. The paddle brushes work similar to the Denman brush for blow drying purposes. Make sure that your teeth are rounded or have quality bulb caps on the teeth as to not rip the hair. These brushes are also used to wrap a finished hairstyle into a circle to remove parts from a roller set service. Sometimes they are great to use if wrapping for the hair for sleeping at night.
Boar Bristle brushes are great for smoothing hairlines. Just make sure you get first cut boar bristles that feel soft enough to brush across your arm.
Ventilated brushes work similar to the paddle brushes. The blow-dryer heat can go through the brush for better tension and drying at the roots. Also, ventilated brushes detangle commercial extension hair very well. Similar to the paddle brush, the tips of the brush should be rounded or have the bulb caps on them. If you start losing the bulb caps, then the brush can rip the hair. Higher quality brushes last longer.