The Quintessential Hairbrush

I’ve wanted a Mason Pearson for years yet being a sometimes cost conscious Classic, I still haven’t justified the purchase. I guess I’ve put it off because I know the brush isn’t going anywhere — having been around since 1885 in essentially the exact same form. It’s a comforting institution that remains the same even as the scenery changes. Not unlike the British Monarchy. But, no. Both have changed a bit over the years — the Queen has a Facebook page and Mason Pearson even has new versions for kids.

I picture Kate Middleton — I mean Catherine Middleton as she is rumored to prefer — sitting in her current bedroom at Clarence House in London brushing her long luxurious mane to calm her nerves ahead of the big day. The Mason Pearson is for brushing your hair. Not for styling with myriad products, just good old fashioned brushing to put your natural oils to good use. They advise proper cleaning and maintenance to ensure a long life. So, right there I’m thinking Classics and Funs are the best owners of the product in terms of maintenance but then also the ones who’ll be squeamish at the price tag $150-200. $85 for the kids version. Neiman Marcus sells them. Smarts will get the craftsmanship aspect. Organics will like that it reminds them of a bygone era. Or wait, is that just me the nostalgic Classic British history major. Miss Catherine Middleton

How the brush came to past is actually rather interesting. In their words: Mason Pearson invented an automatic brush-boring machine to speed up the whole process of brushmaking in 1885, for which he won a Silver Medal at the International Inventions Exhibition in London in that year. In the same year he invented the “pneumatic” rubber-cushion hairbrush. It took until 1905 to improve his technique, much of which was still required to be done by hand…. The product design used nowadays is similar to the original 1885 model with the improvements of the fully developed models of the early 1920s.

I think what I might love most about the brush is one of their mottos: “Original 1885 design. Never bettered.” Well said.