Mason Pearson Chart

The general rules are:

- For very fine or thinning hair or a sensitive scalp a soft bristle is recommended.

- For normal to fine hair pure bristle is recommended.

- For normal to thick hair a mixed bristle brush is recommended.

- For extremely thick hair and detangling after shampooing all nylon is recommended.

Hair Length

Hair Type
Very Fine/Thin Fine to Normal Normal to Thick Extremely Thick/ Detangling
Soft Boar Bristle Boar Bristle Boar/Nylon Mix Nylon
Very Short Children's (cd4)
 
Sensitive Military (sb2m)		 Pocket Bristle (b4)
 
Small Extra Military (b2m) 		Pocket Bristle (b4)
 
Popular Military (bn1m) 		Pocket Nylon (n4)
Short to Medium Children's (cd4)
 
Sensitive (sb3)		 Pocket Bristle (b4)
 
Handy Bristle (b3) 		Pocket Bristle (b4)
 
Handy Mix (bn3) 		Pocket Nylon (n4)
 
Detangler (n3)
Medium to Long Sensitive (sb3) Handy Bristle (b3)
 
Small Extra Bristle (b2)		 Handy Mix (bn3)
 
Junior Mix (bn2)		 Pocket Nylon (n4)
 
Detangler (n3)
Very Long Sensitive (sb3) Large Extra Bristle (b1) Popular Mix (bn1) Detangler (n3)

Brush Sizes:

The Popular BN1 is the largest size brush with 8 rings of boar bristle & nylon tufts. The brush is 9 inches long (head length is 5 inches) and 3 1/4 inches wide. The size is the largest of the Mixture brushes.

The Junior (B2, BN2) is a medium size brush with 7 rings of boar bristle or boar & nylon tufts. The brush is 9 inches long (head length is 4 3/4 inches) and 2 3/4 inches wide. The size is the next size down from the popular size brush and is larger than the handy size brush.

The Handy (B3, BN3) is a "handy" size brush with 6 rings of boar bristle or boar & nylon tufts. The brush is 8 1/2 inches long (head length is 4 3/8 inches) and 2 1/2 inches wide. The size is between the junior size brush and the pocket size brush.

The Pocket (B4, BN4, N4) is a smaller "pocket" size brush with 5 rings of either pure boar bristle, boar bristle & nylon tufts or pure nylon. The brush is 6 3/4 inches long (head length is 3 1/2 inches) and 2 inches wide. The size is the next size down from the handy size brush and is the smallest of the handled brushes.