Makeup Brushes Types of Bristles
Badger: One of the most popular and easiest to find. Badger hair quality depends on an array of factors. The highest quality is the neck hair, which is the softest and most expensive of all badger hair.
Boar: Stronger and thicker than badger hair.
Goat: Strong and soft. It’s used alone or mixed with other hairs in makeup brushes. Goat hair can be found in white, brown, or red.
Pony: Also known as camel hair. This is a term for brushes made from a variety of hair such as squirrel, goat, ox, or pony. Usually
Fan Brush: Shaped like a fan and come in a variety of sizes. Fan brushes disperse powdered makeup and add color with a sheer application. They can be used for applying mascara, as a powder or blush brush, a stipple brush, or as a blending brush.
Kabuki Brushes: Brushes that are often used with mineral-type powder makeup. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes. The most common shape is a fan or dome.
Lash Combs: Lash combs lash are made to separate the lashes after applying mascara.
Lip Brush: There are many choices of lip brushes, from shapes of the bristles to what the bristles are made of. Lip brushes are used to apply lip treatments and lip colors.
Paddle Brushes: These brushes are shaped like a small paddle with a lamb’s wool covering on one side. They are used for blending blush or makeup colors.
Powder Brush: Larger brushes with rounded, softer bristles, often made with goat, sable, or badger hair. They are good for dusting large areas of the face with loose color, or with powder makeup to dust off any excess powder.
Puffs: These are found in so many different brands, shapes, and materials, but all used in basically the same way for makeup and powder application, setting the makeup, and touch-ups on-set.
Pump Brush: Brushes made with the product inside the stem of the handle.
When the brush is pumped, the product disperses into the bristles.
Retractable: Brushes that can retract back into the handle of the brush. Some lip brushes and blush brushes are made retractable.
Smudger: Any brush that is used to blend and smudge the makeup.
Sponges: Are used for just about anything you can think of. They come uncut in squares or precut and as a brush form.
Good sponges are gentle on the face, do not soak up your liquid or cream makeup, and aid in blending. Different brands of sponges are made from different materials.
Stipple: Several blends of bristles in the brush, plus the shape of the brush works to create textures or as a blender.
Wet and Dry Brush: Brushes that are made with several different kinds of bristles that can be used effectively wet or dry.