The Importance of the Hairbrush Through Time

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The Importance of the Hairbrush Through Time
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The hairbrush is an essential grooming tool that
everyone owns. We probably dont realize how
important it is to our daily lives or the history
behind it that has made it so. This is a brief
history of hairbrushes and how they are still
relevant today
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Ancient Times
The hairbrush appears to have evolved from paint
brushes made from animal quills used up to 2.5
million years ago. Leaf.tv has found that ancient
Egyptian tombs have been found with combs,
brushes, and mirrors, meaning the ancient
Egyptians and Romans used them to style their
hair. Viking men also used combs to care for
their long hair. This is perhaps what set the way
for our current culture of taking good care of
our hair and using products to style it.
Spaweek says that many early brushes were made
from animal hair and materials such as bone or
ivory. Even today, boar bristles are amongst the
best brushes on the market and remain popular.
To many at these times, brushes were still a
luxury item only possessed by the very rich. They
would often be given as wedding presents or gifts
from a husband to a wife. This may seem a little
strange to us today when we can buy a hairbrush
from a local store, but even now there are still
those who appreciate luxury hair care products as
gifts.
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18th to 20th Century
Some of the first mass produced hairbrushes that
are similar to the modern versions were
introduced in 1777 by William Kent. They were
based upon the concept used since ancient times
and had bristles hand stitched onto the handle,
which took as many as 12 people to complete one
brush. Kent Brushes are still a popular name
brand selling brushes today. Other brands such as
Mason Pearson also made developments throughout
the 19th and 20th centuries and are also still
around today.
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Modern Day
While some of these early concepts still exist in
our brushes today, modern enhancements have
shaped and improved them. Many contain nylon
bristles, for instance, a substance that wasnt
invented until 1935 and wasnt sold until 1940
according to Mentalfloss. In the 21st century,
modern innovations such as ionic brushes have
been improving hair care further. These
Hairbrushes are heated electronically to make
hair softer and prevent frizz, which has been a
lifesaver for many people who have difficulty
managing their frizzy hair. It is now also
common for us to dry out hair with hair dryers,
use unnatural chemicals and products in our hair,
and wash our hair more often. These do work to
some degree, but many argue that they actually
damage our hair by removing essential oils. This
is why we have ionic brushes and similar
inventions to make our hair easier to manage and
looking good.
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Conclusion, Sort Of
There are some ancient customs that are still
useful in hair care and some modern inventions
that have solved ages old problems. They have all
gone into keeping our hair healthy and looking
good.
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The End