My daughter has long, thick, wavy hair that tangles easily. She is also a swimmer, which means her hair has a lot of opportunities to get tangled. When I first heard of detangling brushes, I was skeptical. They don’t look any different from conventional brushes, after all, so it sounded like a big marketing ploy. But after too many rounds of tugging through my daughter’s knots and tangles, I decided to try out the Wet Brush.
When I first got the Wet Brush I examined it closely and tried to identify what could possibly make it unique. Again, it looks like any old brush you might find in Target. But once you start using it you realize it is no ordinary brush, at least not when it comes to detangling.
The design of the Wet Brush is counterintuitive. Its bristles are softer and more flexible than bristles on standard brushes. This doesn’t make sense to me – you would think the bristles should be firm to power through the tangles. But somehow, magically, they work. The Wet Brush makes quick work of even the biggest knots and really does detangle my daughter’s hair – wet or dry – quickly and painlessly (relatively speaking, of course).
But there’s a flip side: after several months of use, those magical bristles began to fall out, one by one, until the brush simply wasn’t effective anymore.
I decided to give the Wet Brush Paddle brush a shot. My daughter’s hair is so thick that I reasoned a brush with a bigger surface area might prove more durable. The good news: the paddle brush is 
even more effective at detangling than the original Wet Brush. The bad news: the bristles are starting to fall out again.
So I decided to try the Tangle Teezer, which seems to be the Wet Brush’s main competitor. Since we were using the Wet Brush Paddle brush, I bought the Tangle Teezer Elite, which is the larger version of the Tangle Teezer. I figured that would make for a more direct comparison.
As you can see from the photos, the Tangle Teezer is a completely different shape than the Wet Brush. It has no handle but is formed to fit comfortably in your hand. The bristles are stiffer than the Wet Brush bristles, and they don’t have the same ball tip (although I don’t think those affect the detangling properties of the brush). They also alternate between long and short bristles.
The brushes are similar in price: as of this writing the Wet Brush Paddle runs from $7.82 to $10.04 on Amazon, depending on color, and the Tangle Teezer Elite goes for about $11.
So how do the brushes compare in performance? To be honest, I am a little shocked by all the good reviews of the Tangle Teezer. To start, neither my daughter nor I liked the way the brush felt in our hand. We both much prefer having a handle. But that is something we could probably get used to.
What we can’t get used to is how ineffective the Tangle Teezer is. It simply does not get through the knots and tangles, certainly not any better than a regular brush. With the Wet Brush, I can isolate a knot and smooth it out in just a minute or so. The Tangle Teezer felt like I was brushing on top of the tangle, snagging hairs and making my daughter yelp in pain. It took forever to get through and truly detangle her hair. At one point my daughter cried out that the brush should be renamed the “Tangle Tears-er.” We tried it on wet and dry hair and found it to be equally ineffective on both.
So in terms of detangling ability, the Wet Brush wins, hands down. But durability is an issue. It’s certainly possible that my daughter is harder on her brushes than the average kid, but if you plan to buy a Wet Brush, know that you may need to replace it sooner than you would like. Also, no brush is perfect for everyone, so keep in mind that the Tangle Teezer might be ideal for other kinds of hair. For us, the Wet Brush is still the best option, but I will be keeping my eyes open for an equally effective but longer-lasting substitute.
Do you have any favorite detangling products or tricks? Let us know in the comments!
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Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
I’ve always been curious how these two compare. We absolutely love the Tangle Teaser for my curly headed girls, but their hair would become snarls so easily and those fine little combs were perfect for gently pulling them loose with no breakage. It’s like we needed the little tines of the brush to give easily so they didn’t tear out their hair. For my hair, which is just wavy, I do like a stiffer brush to de-tangle so I might get the Wet Brush!
It’s actually the Wet Brush that has the more flexible bristles. But it does seem to work great on wavy hair so I recommend giving it a try!
Hi there, Tangle Teezer has a few newer brushes. 1 The Ultimate, it has a handle and hairstylists are loving it.
2 there is a Thick and Curly model which the bristles are longer for thicker hair.
I hope this helps.
Thanks
My daughter’s hair is really fine and is constantly tangled. We got the wet brush, and it is a miracle! I think it is the flexibility of the bristles. I still feel like I am pulling her hair but she doesn’t seem to mind it at all, unlike a regular brush. We haven’t had any bristles fall out, but like I said my daughter’s hair is really fine. We probably aren’t as tough on it as a thicker mane would be. Thanks for comparing the two brushes!
Glad the Wet Brush is working (and lasting) for you! Thanks for your comment!
I had high hope for the wet brush, but although my daughter likes it, it does not help get thru her tangles at all ?
That’s disappointing! What is your daughter’s hair type? Maybe the Tangle Teezer would actually be better for her.
Well, My hair is thick and wavy, and I’ve tried the tangle teezer, but I also felt like it just kind of smoothed the top layer of my hair. The rest of my hair was still tangled. But on my sisters hair ( everyone else in my family has really thin hair) it worked really nicely! It may have something to do with the stort bristles? Anyways, I ordered the Wet Brush yesterday, I’ll see how it sorks on my hair…
Please report back on the Wet Brush! I hope it works as well for you as it does for us. Thanks for commenting!
Hi there, Tangle Teezer has a few newer brushes. 1 The Ultimate, it has a handle and hairstylists are loving it.
2 there is a Thick and Curly model which the bristles are longer for thicker hair.
I hope this helps.
Thanks
This is the first comparison I’ve found for thick hair. I have thick hair myself which tends to frizz if I don’t lather up with products and use the correct brush. I was wondering is there is any difference between the elite TT you used and the one they have called “thick and curly” which apparently has the longer bristles that everyone says the original lacks
Great question! I’ve actually never heard of the “thick and curly” TT. My curiosity is piqued. If you try it please report back!
Dry or wet hair, we use a detangling spray. Most recently, The Monat Junior Detangler is our fav! Al in all, the WHOLE Monat system has made tangles a problem of the past!!!
I’m considering getting a tangle teezer and was looking through articles when this popped up. I’ve had a wet brush for a few years now and it always worked terribly for me. I have long curly hair on the thicker slide and it it would rip out a ton of my hair and only get the top portion of it detangled but to each it’s own.
Yes, it does seem to be highly individual. Hope the Tangle Teezer works for you!
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