Detangling brush for curly hair

We counted just shoppers with curly, coily or wavy hair, their own or someone's in their home, and Tangle Teezer Ultimate Detangler has the best record among them: 33 of 34 said it detangled gently. Unbrush Detangler Brush follows at 28 of 30 and Wet Brush Original Detangler at 14 of 15, though a smaller group weighed in on the Wet Brush (15). Cantu Basic Detangler Brush has the weakest record here at 12 of 26.

  • 175 store reviews counted
  • Target shoppers
  • Nov 2020 to Oct 2026

Updated . How we count

Did it detangle curls gently? What shoppers with curls said
  1. Tangle Teezer Ultimate Detangler 34 said either way
  2. Unbrush Detangler Brush 30 said either way
  3. Wet Brush Original Detangler 15 said either way
  4. Tangle Teezer Naturally Curly Detangling Brush 29 said either way
  5. Cantu Basic Detangler Brush 26 said either way

Share of reviewers who stated an outcome for detangling. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Best record Tangle Teezer Ultimate Detangler 33 of 34 say it detangled their curls gently See price & reviews on Amazon
What stands out

A brush that breaks is the repeat complaint: 25% of reviews of Unbrush Detangler Brush and 25% of reviews of Cantu Basic Detangler Brush say the brush broke. For Tangle Teezer Naturally Curly Detangling Brush it is the scalp, with 10% saying it scratched.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points reviewers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1

Tangle Teezer

Ultimate Detangler

Best for wet or thick curls

33/34 say it detangled their curls gently

Shoppers with curls praise how it feels: 30% call it gentle on the scalp, 22% say it works on wet hair and 22% say it handles thick hair. Complaints are small, with 8% saying bristles bend or fall out and 8% calling it expensive.

What buyers praise

  • Gentle on scalp 30%
  • Works on wet hair 23%
  • Works on thick hair 23%
  • Good value 8%
  • Holds up 8%

What buyers complain about

  • Bristles bend or fall out 8%
  • Too expensive 8%
  • Brush broke 5%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 33 of 34
  • Brand site 8 of 8 shown, not counted
2 Unbrush Detangler Brush

Unbrush

Detangler Brush

28/30 say it detangled their curls gently

Detangling works for nearly everyone who counted: 28 of 30 said it did, with 15% saying it doesn't pull and 18% saying it handles thick hair. The brush itself is the weak spot, with 25% of reviews saying it broke.

What buyers praise

  • Works on thick hair 18%
  • Gentle on scalp 13%
  • Good value 8%
  • Works on wet hair 8%
  • Detangles fast 5%

What buyers complain about

  • Brush broke 25%
  • Scratches scalp 5%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 28 of 30
  • Brand site 8 of 9 shown, not counted
3 Wet Brush Original Detangler

Wet Brush

Original Detangler

14/15 say it detangled their curls gently

A smaller group weighed in on this one (15), so its record is thinner, but 14 of 15 said it detangled gently. 40% say it handles thick hair, 33% say it works on wet hair and 13% say it holds up.

What buyers praise

  • Works on thick hair 40%
  • Works on wet hair 33%
  • Gentle on scalp 27%
  • Holds up 13%

What buyers complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where buyers said it
  • Target 14 of 15
  • Brand site 1 of 1 shown, not counted
4

Tangle Teezer

Naturally Curly Detangling Brush

24/29 say it detangled their curls gently

Made for curls by name, and 24 of 29 said it detangled gently. Comfort is mixed, with 25% calling it gentle on the scalp and 10% saying it scratched.

What buyers praise

  • Gentle on scalp 25%
  • Works on wet hair 13%
  • Works on thick hair 8%
  • Detangles fast 8%

What buyers complain about

  • Scratches scalp 10%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 24 of 29
  • Brand site 7 of 8 shown, not counted
5

Cantu

Basic Detangler Brush

12/26 say it detangled their curls gently

25% of reviews say the brush broke and 5% say bristles bend or fall out, which drags its record down to 12 of 26. Some shoppers with curls still like it, with 32% saying it works on curls.

What buyers praise

  • Works on thick hair 13%
  • Holds up 8%
  • Good value 5%

What buyers complain about

  • Brush broke 25%
  • Scratches scalp 5%
  • Bristles bend or fall out 5%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 12 of 26
  • Brand site 5 of 5 shown, not counted

Share of 40 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

Where these numbers come from

The 5 products ranked here carry 4,323 reviews at Target. We read the newest reviews of each product (up to a thousand per listing), kept the ones that talk about detangling, and counted up to 40 per product, posted between Nov 2020 and Oct 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Target also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. We show them on product cards but never count them, because brand-site reviews run more positive than store reviews of the same products.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

Skin type, skin tone and age splits use what reviewers chose on Sephora's review form (and age on Ulta's when given). We only show a split when enough reviewers fall on each side.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most reviewers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. Tangle Teezer Ultimate Detangler Target (40 reviews counted)
  2. Unbrush Detangler Brush Target (40 reviews counted)
  3. Wet Brush Original Detangler Target (15 reviews counted)
  4. Tangle Teezer Naturally Curly Detangling Brush Target (40 reviews counted)
  5. Cantu Basic Detangler Brush Target (40 reviews counted)

Questions buyers ask

Which detangling brush works on curly hair?

Tangle Teezer Ultimate Detangler has the best record (33 of 34), followed by Unbrush Detangler Brush (28 of 30) and Wet Brush Original Detangler (14 of 15). We count just shoppers who said they have curly, coily or wavy hair, or who brush someone at home who does.

Is the Tangle Teezer Naturally Curly brush better than the Ultimate Detangler?

Not in these reviews. Tangle Teezer Ultimate Detangler sits at 33 of 34 and Tangle Teezer Naturally Curly Detangling Brush at 24 of 29. 10% of its reviews also say it scratched the scalp.

Do detangling brushes work on wet curly hair?

Some do, according to shoppers. 22% of reviews of Tangle Teezer Ultimate Detangler and 33% of reviews of Wet Brush Original Detangler say it works on wet hair. Check the package for wet or dry use.

Do detangling brushes break?

It is a repeat complaint on two of them: 25% of reviews of Unbrush Detangler Brush and 25% of reviews of Cantu Basic Detangler Brush say the brush broke. The leader, Tangle Teezer Ultimate Detangler, has 5% of reviews saying so.

Related problems

Detangling brush Detangling brush that doesn't pull Top pick: Wet Brush Original Detangler 301 buyer reports Detangling spray Detangler that gets knots out Top pick: Not Your Mother's All Eyes On Me 10-in-1 Hair Perfector 360 buyer reports Curl cream Curl cream that defines curls without crunch Top pick: Fenty Beauty Homecurl Curl-Defining Cream 146 buyer reports Conditioner Conditioner for curly hair Top pick: Aussie Miracle Curls 3 Minute Miracle Conditioner 348 buyer reports

HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.