View Full Version : Humane boar bristle Europe questions questions questions! (older thread with updates)

September 16th, 2012, 02:21 AM
Hi everyone

I'm new to the LHC so I apologize if I've posted to the wrong forum.

I'm a vegetarian and have been trying to find a boar bristle brush that sheers the boar humanely, after hours of research I've found 2 brands that claim to do this. Fuchs Ambassador outwardly make this claim and Morrocco Method mention sheering in a video but mention it nowhere on their website.

I've seen a few people say Mason Pearson (which is out of my price range anyway) and Morrocco Method both sheer humanely but have not been able to find the evidence to back that up, the old links people posted as their source do not work anymore.

I can't find any suppliers in Europe which means I'd be paying extortionate delivery fees to buy from the US, which is annoying given the Fuchs brushes are supposedly made in Germany (something I very much question) And Morrocco Method supposedly made in Spain, yet I can't get a humane bbb in Europe?

:confused: So does anyone know any humane bbb brands?
:confused: And does anyone know anywhere to get these brushes in Europe!?
:confused: Has anyone used the Fuchs Ambassador or Morrocco Method brushes? I have seen a couple of people say the Fuchs brushes they bought online were fake and made of plastic not bb!

Also I have long med-thick hair that tends to frizz(not so much since using ayurvedic hair treatments) I also got a wooden comb so wondering do I need a pure bbb to use after the comb or a bbb with nylon so it will penetrate my hair? I've also seen women with long hair recommend the mens bbbs that are smaller and square....?

Thanks so much, I hope someone can answer my questions with up to date information!! :D (I also have family in the states so if there is a brand sold in stores only I could get someone to get it for me!!)

September 16th, 2012, 03:51 AM
vegetarian is cruel. drinking a glass of milk is even more cruel than eating a steak. the only way to stop animal cruelty is to stop exploiting them period. I cant think of a business that would just keep boars for cutting their hair and not kill them afterwards for more profit.

September 16th, 2012, 04:11 AM
I'm not here to debate vegetarian v vegan v omnivore v carnivore, so if anyone has any relevant info or answers to my questions that'd be great, thanks :)

September 16th, 2012, 12:57 PM
Hi there. :) I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to answer any of your questions. I am vegan myself, so I've always thought the BBBs sounded neat, but just not for me. I did however want to commend you on taking the time to research and find BBBs that are made in the most humane way possible. I'm guessing it doesn't even cross most people's minds that this is a product made from part of an animal, and that it matters how those animals are being treated. On the other hand, I'm sure there are also plenty of people who do think of it, and would like to choose the most humane option, but who do not have the time or energy to really do their homework on the subject that you have.

Anyway, I hope that if you find out any other information on the subject that you will post it here. Also, if you get either of these brushes, please tell us how you like it. Even if it is not a subject that many people have looked into, I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be interested in choosing the most humane option if they had the information close at hand.

ETA: Welcome to the LHC! :flower:

September 16th, 2012, 08:48 PM
Mason Pearson is a British brand, so there pretty well have to be British shops that stock them. I'm really bad at finding stuff from British sources usually, but I'm sure some of our UK members can do it. You don't mention which country you're based in, and that probably will affect how you ought to search... I know if you're looking for Canadian products, it tends to be better to use google.ca rather than google.com.

As far as finding no-kill products... I'd probably write to the company and ask.

As far as whether you should use a boar bristle brush... IMO, they work best for straight or wavy hair where the preferred look is quite smooth and sleek. They tend to be better if you're shooting for a minimal washing care method. They also tend to work better for sturdier hair types. Since curly and fine hair can be quite fragile, I'd tend to avoid a boar bristle brush if that fits you. Since you mention frizz, that suggests you're at least a wavy, and that says to me it's probably better to figure out your hair type before springing for a potentially incredibly expensive hair care tool.

September 16th, 2012, 11:49 PM
Thanks for posting this. A BBB wouldn't work for me, but I'm sure other people are interested. You're doing them and the animals a service. :flowers:

September 16th, 2012, 11:54 PM
Hi! There's one eco company on ebay that sells sesal brushes that are quite similar to boar bristle brushes, at least so they claim. Could that be an option for you instead of boar bristle brush.

Unfortunately I can't say how those sesal brushes are with hair since I haven't yet ordered my own.

September 17th, 2012, 12:28 AM
I've also heard about the brushes made out of shed boar bristles. I can imagine they are quite expensive, though

September 17th, 2012, 01:04 AM
Toffemonster have you thought about a wood pin bristle brush. They are good for all hair types. Here is a link to one. As far as cruelty free you really can't trust what the company says. They might not even know how the farmers treat the animals. Unless you actually go to the farm and check out how the animals are being treated. You have no idea what is really going on, sorry to say. HTH:D

September 17th, 2012, 01:51 AM

The ship worldwide and their prices are fairly decent.

They stock Fuchs.

September 17th, 2012, 01:56 AM
^ hrm... no edit button...

Anyway, as a further note, I just ordered a Fuchs brush from there yesterday, I should have it in a week or two. I'll let you know how it is if you can wait that long!

September 17th, 2012, 04:07 AM
Thanks so much for the warm welcome and all the kind replies,

Torrilin, I did end up figuring out the right search term("no animals harmed") to find that Mason Pearson are supposed to be humane, and boar are sheered for the bristles, however they are out of my price range unfortunately. I do have some wave to my hair, it was curly as a child and grew straight as it got longer. It is almost completely straight now with the odd wave and I would love it to have a more sleek shiney look as my hair has been noticeably dull for a while now. Oh and I am based in Ireland!

Pullanmuru, I have researched the sisal brushes and all I found is that although they look similar to a BBB no one(with experience of them) seems to think they function in the same way, I would have loved a completely vegan alternative but I researched for hours and hours and couldn't find anything compareable.

Catladyintown, I have used a wooden pin brush before and it didn't agree with my hair at all, I lost alot of hair on the brush, but thank you for the suggestion.

Monsoonstorm, that is brilliant thank you. I had considered buying from iherb, please do let me know what you think of the Ambassador brush and the service from iherb!

Oh and I can't remember who asked, but yes I have emailed several companies regarding this with no replies so far :(

I will keep this thread updated so others can use this information when buying their BBB, thanks everyone!

September 18th, 2012, 01:47 AM
Quick Update, I received a response from Morrocco Method, so they are humanely harvested bristles in their boar bristle brushes. This is the email:

"All of our products are cruelty-free we are even certified by The Leaping Bunny and international organization that promotes Cruelty-Free businesses. These bristles are harvested humanely. Thank you for your interest in Morrocco Method products."


September 19th, 2012, 04:17 AM
I'd like to chime in that the UK has very strict welfare laws regarding the farming of swine. That's why you always see large fields with dog house like huts and he pigs running around. Like a pig village. Nice houses, nice land and sunshine and they get to visit their neighbours. Just like us.
Other EU countries don't do this and of course the US is the mother of factory farming. Personally I don't object to people eating animals, God gave each his own food in turn, but I fiercely denounce factory farming, or any practice that reduces a living being to an object.
I say this because I suggest that if MP brushes use boar bristles originating in the UK, shearing or not, the animals had a better life than even most people in the world...

September 19th, 2012, 06:10 AM



WOw! That's great news! Thank you for contacting them and letting us know :)

March 8th, 2014, 04:25 AM
Very late response, sorry! But incase anyone stumbles on this thread, I bought the fuchs ambassador brush and a wooden comb from the body shop. To be honest they are not used very much anymore, the quality of the fuchs brush was fantastic for the price but I just didn't have the time to use it enough to spread the oil through the hair. It instantly tames frizz but usually the frizz comes back a while later, still it's probably good for particularly bad hair days. I did find far less hairfall but it takes longer to brush if you want less hair fall, if you brushed at the same speed as normal I think you'd probably have as much.(but if you brushed with regular brush slowly you'd still have lots of hair fall, well I did)

Someone recommended the tangle teezer for my daughter and I'm using that now, it is far superior to the boar bristle brush in my opinion for anyone with a busy schedule because you can brush quickly. I'd recommend it in a heart beat, well worth the money.

March 13th, 2014, 05:51 AM
And another update! I've switched to putting my hair in updos with chopsticks the last few days and have started using the boar bristle most of the time! Given my hair is no longer knotty, all I really need is something to slick back the morning frizz, and the boar bristle does it perfectly. I've had nearly no hair fall or breakage with this new routine so I'm really happy :)

March 13th, 2014, 01:02 PM
I've ordered my Mason Pearson BBB from Escentual.co.uk several years ago but I agree, MP prices are ridiculous.

BTW, I read the title "Human boar bristle..." :redgrin:

heidi w.
March 13th, 2014, 01:13 PM
I suspect you're a bit confused on how to use a BBB. Never detangle with it or brush wet hair. It is a brush made for polishing the hair and spreading the sebum a bit. First, detangle with a comb. Then BBB. Take your time and brush from top to bottom, easily. Allow the BBB to glide along the hair. Brush the topside and underside separately. If you go too fast, your hair will tangle. I did a video on how to oil and BBB and do an updo in your hair; it's on youtube, but find it on google.com searching for heidi w. oil hair video.
heidi w.

March 29th, 2014, 09:13 AM
Hi Heidi

No I wasn't confused on how to use a BBB :) I bought a wood comb for detangling at the same time as the BBB and used them together. My reasons for buying them was 1. to do my regular brushing, in a more gentle hair friendly way. and 2. to spread sebum. I realized I didn't have time for no. 2, so I was only using them for my regular brushing, and it was very time consuming compared to a normal hair brush, so I abandoned the bbb and comb altogether, switching back to a normal hair brush.

That is why I mentioned the tangle teezer, I meant it is better in terms of .2(gentle hair friendly hair brushing), obviously it won't spread sebum :) That's also why I said specifically for those who have a busy schedule, ie. those who have no intention of doing 100 strokes a day to spread sebum. Hope that's clarified what I said earlier, obviously if you are planning to use the bbb to spread sebum and have the time to enjoy that process every day, it will be superior to the tangle teezer in that regard :)