SLIPPY vs GRIPPY
ADJUSTABLE TENSIONS™
TOO much or NOT enough?
What makes a styling brush superior, is its ability to either SLIDE through without tugging or pulling fine fragile hair and having the ability to GRIP creating TENSION when needed for that unruly frizzy hair.
A styling brush with only one bristle type limits your ability for all styling possibilities. The types of bristles dictate the performance as well as the spacing and density of these bristles.
The term SLIP refers to the movement of the brush through a section of hair with little TENSION. A brush with this type of bristle pattern is less dense allowing the hair to SLIDE easily through and are usually made with short nylon bristles.
A brush which is all SLIP, and NO GRIP means that you will have to work harder to wrap or twist the hair around the brush to create a degree of tension to achieve GRIP. This will take more effort on your part, twisting your arm, hand and wrist with each section being a repetitive movement which may lead to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Also, some people may like to use extreme heat, but this approach just burns the hair dry both externally and internally.
The term GRIP refers to the bristles ability to grasp or GRIP the hair with very little effort. This bristle pattern has longer higher density bristles and could be a single or combination of bristle types, designed to create extreme grip or as some people say grippy on the hair. The problem with this type of bristling usually a longer length, the hair can be easily tangled and stick in the hair.
You often see this with high density bristle tufts that have a FLAT profile much like a shoe polishing brush. Bristles need to have a tapered and or staggered ends to each TUFT to allow the hair to settle into the bristles, creating GRIP and Tension were required. Starting with grip, it is then easier to get the slip by adjusting the angle and tension.
The angle at which you hold the brush will determine the tension. Dropping the section of hair on a brush at a 90 degree will engage a firmer grip, to reduce the tension angle the brush to 15 degrees from the head. So, lighten up. RELAX let the BRUSH do the WORK.
Now looking at the HOTHEADS® styling brushes, which features our 3D BRISTLE PATTERN™ having ADJUSTABLE TENSIONS™ which can be adjusted to any degree of GRIP that one desires and is designed into the bristle pattern. Generally, the more the bristles the better the grip BUT, if the density and profile are flat tipped bristles then the hair is unable to settle into the bristles, and therefore slide over the bristles not into them.
Professionals know that hair sets stronger when wet or damp, noting that hair stretches 50% when wet and 20% when dry. The more stretch the stronger the set, less stretch softer the set. Note curly unruly hair is best dried from wet to smooth but fine fragile is best when 70 to 80% dry, before blow-drying with a styling brush.
When choosing a styling brush don’t forget to consider both SLIP and GRIP. A HOTHEADS® Hairbrush offers you a better approach addressing all the qualities in one brush to improve your experience when blow-drying.
Aerated brush style 
Short nylon Bristles
Nylon long bristle
Flat high density bristles
3D BRISTLE PATTERN™
