It’s a brave new beard-friendly world that we live in, but even with the best hair products there’s no guarantee your lush face carpet will make it through the day before becoming a harried, tumbleweed-like mess. What you need is a comb to keep it all straight, groomed, and looking good. A good mustache.
You shouldn’t just grab any old comb from the bottom of your drawer though. When you whip out something to tame your beard in public, surely it should look good, work well, and be very portable?
Those were the sorts of attributes I was looking for in a comb when I pulled together these products from the most popular mustache and beard combs on the web. They come in all shapes, sizes, and styles, so there’s certain to be one that fits your taste and your budget.
I’ve put the ones I like the most at the top of the list, but the rest are in no particular order. So let’s get to combing through what’s on offer, shall we?
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Man Comb. Ladies need not apply, bearded manly men should line up and put down their money. At least, that’s what DAFT would like you to believe. I suspect the truth is probably much more mundane.
This is a folding beard comb that the company also says works well as a hair comb. Although, if you plan on using it on both types of hair you should consider if you really want to transfer hair products such as beard oil to your scalp hair.
The comb handle is made from stainless steel with laser-etched graphics. While I don’t really care for the graphics myself, the comb should look new for years thanks to the material choices DAFT has made here. The comb itself is made from a composite material. They won’t say exactly which composite, only that it is similar to airplane windows. So I guess it is some derivative of Lexan.
I like the blueish color and I think there are some really clever features on this comb. Rather than relying on a screw to adjust the tightness of the hold the handle has on the comb, it uses a magnet to hold the comb in the closed and open positions. There’s also a built-in bottle opener, which really does add to the “man” part of the equation. You can also apparently attach it to your keychain without difficulty.
The comb is 4.4 inches long, which really isn’t much, but is still too big for a keychain, in my opinion.
Looking at the impressions people who have lived with those comb have given, it all looks very positive. This is a very strong comb made from tough materials. This has two advantages – obviously it is more robust, but it also handles combing a really thick beard well, since the resistance from the beard won’t break or bend this comb. If you apply enough force you can pull it through your beard hair without issue.
Does DAFT oversell this comb a little bit? Yes, there’s some puffery going on there for sure. However, this is an excellent, well-priced, and convenient product that any man would be pleased to use. This gets my top pick nod and with a smile too!
Ah yes, Smooth Viking is a brand that I now immediately recognize and which has also impressed me a lot with their range of shaving and general grooming products. They aren’t always at the top, but for the price they almost always give you something right up there, without requiring you to sell your actual children.
Unlike some of the other brushes I’ve looked at, this one does not have an extended handle. Instead, it only has the wooden part of the brush that holds the actual bristles, which makes it look essentially like a shoe brush. While that looks a little funny, it does make the brush nice and compact.
As with other high-quality brushes this one has bristles made from boar hair. Smooth Viking says it works great for styling and grooming both the mustache and beard. Going for the shoe brush style should also make it easier to control what you are doing when combing your mustache, since there is no lever in the form of a handle exaggerating the brush movements.
The bristles have been set in such a way that they stand up to tangles better than usual. In most cases a strong comb is the way to deal with tangles, but it looks like Smooth Viking is trying to give us the best of both worlds. The density of the bristles also means that the brush can get rid of dandruff and other debris, making your beard one clean and fuzzy success.
This brush is versatile and can help style any type of beard, according to the manufacturer.
Type de moustache
Reactions from customers are excellent. People love this brush. People with beards love it. People who know people with beards love it, so this is another great success for Smooth Viking. The build quality in particular gets a lot of mentions and at this low price I am frankly astounded at the value on offer. I can honestly say that I prefer this to the Kent brush that costs almost four times as much. This is my top choice for facial hair brushes.
This is a nice little combo set that includes both a brush and a comb. Both of these objects are wooden and, according to the manufacturer, they are handmade. This sounds cool, but in my experience simply means that your mileage may vary when it comes to quality consistency. Which is to say that you may get one that sucks.
Still, because of the handmade wooden aspect, these items look quite attractive. At least, they would if the ugly lettering and graphic of a bearded guy were not plastered on them. If that doesn’t bother you then this is a good value for money deal.
It comes with its own little bag in which to store the two pieces. Since the items are made of wood they have a different feel to them and they’ll tend to absorb the oils and other scented products you use on your beard and mustache.
People who have used this set are positive with it and happy with the purchase. Although it doesn’t look or feel like the best-quality product in the world, it is more than adequate. It will certainly make a significant difference to anyone who has never used a comb or brush before. At just a handful of dollars there is no excuse to have a hobo beard, so this gets my value for money pick.
Just look at this beautiful thing. Most combs generally look the same, since their function is the same and, of course, to a certain extent form will follow function.
I think the shape of this brush is just so cool and it really fits the rough-hewn wilderness theme that forms part of the Rocky Mountain brands. This comb is made in what’s referred to as the “hatchet” style.
It comes in a very nice box and includes a carrying pouch. Generally people find the smell of sandalwood pleasant and so this should be the case here as well.
Apart from the hair side and the beard side, there are also precision shapers. These are on the end of the comb and can be used to shape sideburns and mustaches.
The best part of this comb is therefore that it is the only one you need. The craftmanship is amazing, the looks are great, and the price is very reasonable. The only real downside is that this is not very travel size or portable. Other than that it is a versatile and wonderful product.
If the texture and grooming style you want is not of the comb-variety then surely you will like a brush. Brushes give a nice texture to a beard, especially one that has not been overwhelmed with hair products.
This brush from Kent is “limited edition”, whatever that means. I can see no indication that there is only a limited amount of stock available, but this is one of the most expensive brushes that I’ve seen so far, so perhaps it is just a marketing codeword to tell us this is supposed to be a premium brush.
The box it comes in is certainly lovely; it’s all rough cardboard that gives you that rustic vibe. Apart from the brush itself we see the inclusion of a drawstring bag that can be used to protect and transport the brush, perhaps in a toiletry bag while traveling. At six inches in length the brush is certainly not very pocketable.
The brush is made from unvarnished European Beech and uses boar hair for the bristles. The design is apparently from the 1700s – which is good, I guess?
The brush has been designed to deal with beards that are particularly coarse. That makes sense, since in general if the beard was soft, thanks to either genetics or treatment with hair products, you could just use a comb anyway. If you have that thick, coarse pirate beard thing going on though, this may be a great choice for you, Matey.
One sticking point, of course, is the price, At nearly fifty bucks it’s not a lot of money in general terms, but most other products are half this price or less. The beautiful construction and high-quality materials make the price more palatable, but there are cheaper alternatives that will do the job just as well. Still, I can’t fault the brush in terms of what it is meant to achieve; if money were no object I would buy it in a heartbeat.
The price tag on this set is quite staggering. It isn’t completely unjustified, though, since you get quite a bit in the box, but I still expect that at this price we will get some true quality here.
Included in the package you’ll find a comb, a brush, a bag with drawstrings, and a bottle of beard oil – basically, everything you need to get started. Of course, you could buy all of these products separately for much less money, so this is definitely not a value-for-money bundle.
Rather, I think what Beard Legacy is trying to do is to bring together several products that they think represents a certain level of quality and together do more than the sum of their parts.
I’m not too interested in the beard oil in this section; I have a separate set of reviews for that product category here. (LINK)
The brush is the typical boar hair and the comb is a nice wood number. The oil is unscented and made with jojoba and argan. That’s pretty run of the mill, but users say it really does have little if any smell, which is hard to do.
Overall people seem happy with this kit, although there are some complaints that the bristles on the brush are a little bit too soft for coarser beards. The comb, on the other hand, performs well and is widely liked.
The main downside is the price. There is just no way the products in this kit are worth the asking price. If it were four times cheaper it would have been a good deal, but as it is we must look elsewhere.
This is a beard brush, by Zeus! Yes, I will never get tired of the fact that those words sound like an oath to the Old Gods of Greek mythology. This is a simple package – you get your brush and you get your bag. This is one of the few brushes that has branding on it which does not offend me in any way. That seems to be a surprisingly hard thing to do given how ugly and amateurish so many of these small brands make their logos and lettering.
This is a boar bristle brush and there are three rows of these guys. Zeus describes the bristles as “firm”, which means that it can sort out tangles or other unruliness.
This is not a regular-size brush, rather it is made to be travel-size and gives a convenient way to brush your beard when on the road.
While Zeus says the bristles are “firm”, customers describe it as “hard”. Now, that’s not a problem in and of itself; it simply means that you have to be aware of your beard’s needs. If you are making extensive use of products to soften your beard or you just have a naturally soft rather than coarse beard, perhaps this brush is too hard for you. Zeus recommends that you make gentle, slow strokes with the brush. One of the reasons for that is the bristles are so hard they tend to scratch the skin.
While this brush is a good product, you have to be someone who falls into two distinct categories in order to appreciate it. First you need to be someone who travels and therefore needs the travel- size brush. Secondly, you need to be someone with a very coarse beard who intends to keep it that way.
There aren’t many people who fall into that category. Personally I can think of a few: bikers, mountaineers, and sea captains. If you are one of these I guess this is the perfect brush for you.
If you want to signal to your customers that your shaving product is a little better than the rest, all you have to do, it seems, is to throw in the word “sandalwood”. Whether it’s creams or combs, the relatively rare and somewhat pricey wood is a staple of shaving stuff.
2016 moustache styles
In this case we have a handmade, double-sided comb made from green sandalwood. The various kinds of sandalwood have been traditionally used in Indian culture for the construction of objects like combs, and it really is a beautiful material. One interesting attribute of this wood is that the comb can actually change color in reaction to the environment. So depending on the light and humidity it could look green, yellow, or even just dark.
The claim that this comb will improve your metabolism and blood circulation, however, is one I would take with a huge pinch of salt. Honestly, that’s almost 100% not true, but good try Dream Bear. Additionally, the manufacturer also says it will reduce hair loss, which is quite frankly ridiculous.
OK, maybe if you combed your beard so much that it turned into cardio exercise then both of those things would be true, but then it would not be a special attribute of this particular comb. So it’s more likely a claim stemming from some sort of superstition around sandalwood.
Each side of the comb is meant for a different purpose. One for your beard and the other for your hair. In practice which you use will depend on the texture and density if the hair, but it is nice to have the option. This is a rather small comb, so you could easily keep it on you and touch up your appearance over the course of the day.
One thing that you have to keep in mind is that sandalwood has a unique smell all of its own. I can’t really describe it and it varies a bit from one wood to the next, but the comb will have a bit of an aroma.
People really like this comb, which I think is a combination of the fact that it comes in a very nice gift box, which makes it highly giftable, of course. It’s also priced well – not cheap and not expensive; sort of just right.
The comb itself feels very well-made and the finish is smooth and solid. The wide teeth are reportedly very good at clearing out beard tangles, and because the wood is nice and smooth there is little if any snagging.
One common complaint however, is that the beard-side teeth are a bit too pointed and can scratch the skin if you aren’t careful.
Overall this is a nice little comb and I think it will work for a lot of people a lot of the time. It ticks all the main boxes I personally care about, but isn’t super special either. It’s a middle-of-the-road deal, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
Another comb that touts itself as “limited edition” and also happens to be a folding design. Coincidence? Probably.
As with other folding combs the idea behind this is to make it pocketable and easy to carry around with you.
I have never been a fan of this weird plastic woodish eggshell finish. It looks cheap and gross, in my opinion. You may disagree and that’s fine – everyone has the right to be wrong.
It’s saw-cut plastic, which just seems like it’s not a great thing. There isn’t really much about this comb that stands out. It is more severely curved than most comparable products, which a few people complain make it awkward to use. Honestly, I don’t understand why this particular comb is popular and it certainly seems like one of the weakest choices here.
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