If you’ve ever shopped for beard products, you’ve probably noticed something about beard brushes. Many of them are made of boar bristles. Are boar bristles just a style choice, or are they actually good for beards? 

What Are Boar Bristles?

In case you were wondering, boar bristle is not some kind of euphemism. Boar is a general term for wild pigs, and the bristles of the brush are pig hair. The bristles are shaved off a pig, usually on the softer side of its underbelly. After being cleaned, cut, and bundled together, the hairs of the pig make for great grooming tools. 

Boars have a unique type of hair. It is hard enough to have the kind of durability needed for a brush, but it is soft enough that they won’t rip out your hair. Boar bristles have been used for years. In the not-so-distant past, boar bristle toothbrushes were very common. 

Benefits of Boar Bristle Beard Brushes

Conditioning Power

When it comes to hair, humans and pigs have a lot in common. Pig hairs have natural sebum, the same kind of sebum the oil glands in your skin produce for your beard, and so do boar bristle brushes. The brushes are not exactly dripping in oil, but they do have some residual sebum. This can be an added boost to other moisturizing and conditioning products you use in your beard. This little bit of sebum can also help the brush to glide through your beard rather than getting caught up in every tangle. 

Detangling Power

Unless they have been intentionally cut that way, the bristles on a natural boar bristle brush are not even. Rather, they are usually jagged and tapered. These differences in the height of each bristle create a structure that detangles your beard without a lot of extra work. This structure also reaches down deep to your shortest hairs and gently drags them in the direction you want them to go. Other styling tools can leave rebellious short hairs laying every which way. 

Skin Soothing

You’ve probably heard us say before that skincare is beard care. A good boar bristle brush does wonders for your skin. As you brush your beard, you can’t help but scrape those bristles across the surface of your skin. This helps to work any products you’ve already put into your beard down to your skin, giving your skin the vital moisture and nutrients it needs to stay healthy and itch-free. This is a great method of gently exfoliating your all-important chin skin. Especially if you have an itchy beard, a boar bristle brush can feel like nothing short of a spa treatment.