How to Use the Denman Brush on Curly Hair

The lack of effort I put into my hair has always been an odd point of pride for me. When I began seeing curly hair "routines" on TikTok, I scoffed at the teens discovering the magic of diffusers, scrunching wet curls with a T-shirt, and the occasional finger coil — all techniques I've been using for years.

Then, along came the Denman brush.

Brushes, in general, are a tool that I considered blasphemous, a rebuke of all that is curly. Back in my day (circa 2010), we curly-haired people rolled our eyes at those who would tell us with straight faces and even straighter hair, "Why don't you just brush it?" when we complained about unruly frizz or tangles.

Meet the expert

"Oh, you mean like this?" we would sarcastically reply, showing off brushed, fuzzy lions' manes that so defied gravity we might call ourselves Elphaba. A brush was not part of my curly hair vocabulary. I haven't owned a brush since the '90s. So, who the hell did these Gen Z tweens think they were, showing off their routines that involved a thick-handled brush with rows of white teeth?

However, when I kept seeing video after video of girls — their curl patterns ranging from wavy 2b to coily 4a — using the brush with enviably spiraled, frizz-free results, I conceded that maybe I wasn't the all-knowing curl guru I thought I was. Maybe I had yet to learn.

Below, we get into a brief history of the product as well as a tutorial on how to use the Denman brush.

A Brief History of the Denman Brush

Past

"Believe it or not, it's actually an 80-year-old brand," Frances Courtney, head of marketing for Denman, told InStyle, correctly assuming I would not believe this wasn't some new-fangled invention discovered by the teens. "And the brush hasn't changed that much from the original design."

According to Courtney, the first brush was created in the 1930s by an entrepreneur from Northern Ireland named John Denman Dean, who was inspired by his sister's unruly hair.

"He came up with this idea to use nylon [pins] in her hairbrush," she said. 

Because nylon doesn't melt under heat, it was the perfect tool for hot styling.

Courtney noted that since the 1950s, the brush has been used primarily by professionals — and not always for the sole purpose of creating the perfect curl. 

"[The Denman brush] was made famous by the Mary Quant bob," she added, referring to the short, asymmetrical style with ends turned inward that was popular in the '60s.

Present

These days, though, it's become a curl-routine staple. There are hundreds of results for Denman brush styling tutorials on YouTube, though I don't have the patience for a 20-minute video that can be summed up in a 60-second TikTok.

Courtney added that, perhaps due to TikTok and other social media, a younger audience has been finding the brush more recently. As they did with the Mary Quant bob, some are using the brush as a tool to help straighten their hair with the help of a hair dryer.

How It Works

The best description I've found of how the brush works for curly hair is the ribbon-on-scissors metaphor. Running a piece of ribbon between your thumb and a scissor blade results in an exciting little ribbon curl. Similarly, the brush pulls the hair taught, allowing the section of hair to snap back into itself.

"It's all about tension," explained Courtney. 

The original Denman of the mid-20th century relied on a rubber base to create that resistance against the hair. The modern brushes have replaced the rubber with TPE materials, a common dupe with thermoplastic and elastomeric properties, so the brush is safe for those with rubber allergies.

The brush is also compatible with different curl types and will create a different effect based on the number of rows of teeth. The "original" Denman, called the D3, features seven rows of pins, though you can remove rows for a looser curl. For tighter curls, you may find the D4, which has nine rows, more effective.

How to Use the Denman Brush

After seeing the endless scroll of perfect spirals on Curl TikTok, I finally bit the bullet and purchased the D3 styler. I lined up my tried and true products and readied my diffuser.

Whaddya know, it worked. Like, really, really well.

My curls, while a bit flat at the roots (from what I can tell, a common issue that can be remedied with a new diffusing method), fell in perfect spirals with nary a frizz halo in sight. I've since tried a few different techniques with the brush, including spiraling it like a finger coil and brushing both smaller and larger sections at one time.

For my 2c/3a hair specifically, I've found that running the hair through the brush from my roots and then tucking the brush under as I approach my ends works best with my natural pattern and the slightly chaotic, Grace Slick look that I prefer.

This step adds roughly 10 minutes to my wash-day hair routine, which was only about 10 minutes to begin with. Overall, though, using the brush is a net gain in time. The curls last for days (or more if you happen to use a sleep mask). They only need a light refresh rather than a full wash day after day.

Before discovering the Denman brush on TikTok, I was a sour curmudgeon set in her ways. Now, I'm proud to say I'm a sour curmudgeon who knows how to brush her hair.

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