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The clean, silky results you’d expect from a shower don’t just happen—they’re made possible by the best scalp massagers for your hair type. Extra? Maybe. But consider this: While your shampoo and conditioner play a role in achieving that salon-like-fresh feeling, you may need a little more scrubbing action to get a deep clean. These unsung hair heroes massage and (gently) scratch your head to make sure there are no dead skin cells or product residue left behind. They can even boost circulation, which some experts say can help encourage healthy hair growth.
Haven’t found the best scalp massager for your hair yet? Consider opting for one of the top-rated options below, and pair it with your favorite hair products—like scalp treatments or scrubs—for healthier hair and a soothing shower routine.
Our Top Picks
Frequently Asked Questions
Best Overall: Virtue Flourish and Manta Brush
Why it’s worth it: The Virtue Flourish and Manta Brush is designed to minimize breakage on fine, fragile, or thinning hair, but we’d argue it’s great for any hair type, since gentler is always better. Instead of nubby, thick bristles, this Best of Beauty winner has long and thin ones that are flexible, so you can work the brush through your hair without it tugging and taking strands out along the way. Because it’s gentle, you can feel better using it on wet hair that you’re massaging shampoo through. But really, you can pick it up any time you want a satisfying, tingly scalp treatment—not just in the shower.
Tester feedback from commerce editor Sarah Han
“What I like about this brush is how slim and flexible the bristles are, which I find exerts less pressure than your run-of-the-mill scalp massager. I recently bleached and colored my hair neon pink, so my hair is particularly fragile at the moment, so the gentler the action, the better. I’ll either use this on dry hair with a pre-shampoo hair oil or take it into the shower to really work my shampoo in. Bonus points to the curved, ergonomic design of the brush! All around, a very thoughtfully-designed tool that beats most of the freebies I’ve gotten from other brand that all look alike.”
Best for Dry Scalp and Hair: Guerlain Scalp & Hair Care Brush
Why we love it: A collaboration between Japanese brand S.Heart.S and Guerlain, the Guerlain Scalp & Hair Care Brush is inspired by Japanese shiatsu massage techniques that involve playing with pressure to stimulate the skin. It has 376 nylon fibers at two different lengths and a variety of thicknesses to give your scalp a satisfying, tingly massage. You can bring it in the shower with you—it’s made of waterproof resin—to detangle as you wash your hair.
Tester feedback from contributing editor Deanna Pai
“I’ve had this brush for ages—it’s a slightly fancier version of one that hairstylist Chris McMillan uses, who once told Allure that he uses it to create every kind of style. (See, I do my homework.),” says contributing editor Deanna Pai. “I personally use it for a head massage or when my very dry scalp needs a little exfoliation. Its extra-long bristles get through my dense hair, and I can focus the pressure at my roots without messing with my waves.”
Best for Thinning Hair: La Bonne Brosse N.03 The Essential Soft Hair Brush
Why we love it: Gentle enough for even very fine or thinning hair, the flexible nylon bristles in La Bonne Brosse N.03 The Essential Soft Hair Brush massage your scalp (hello, boosted circulation) while the shorter boar bristles work to distribute your hair’s natural oils to make sure your strands are moisturized from root to end. The result? Healthier, shinier hair that’s more likely to keep its length. You can use this day and night on wet or dry hair to detangle and style. To make the most of its massage benefits, rest the ball-tipped nylon bristles against your scalp and work the brush in small circular motions.
Allure shopping director Shanna Shipin started scalp massaging when she lost a suspected 30% of her hair postpartum. “I knew it would grow back, but I incorporated techniques—like scalp massaging—to help (hopefully) speed up the process. The No.2 hair brush from La Bonne Brosse is great for detangling, but was a little too prickly on my sensitive scalp, so I turned to the No. 3 which has soft-ended bristles that are great for daily massaging without irritating an inflamed scalp.” Shipin says she brushed her hair morning and night, and whenever she added a scalp serum. “I get more out of this type of hair brush than the scalp-specific massagers since it also distributes my serums, hair oils, and leave-in conditioners. Because of hormonal changes, my hair was super dry and easily prone to breakage, so with this brush I was able to do a two-in-one kind of treatment every time I brushed my hair!” The best part? “I can use it outside of the shower! Which is great for curly girls who don’t wet their hair too often.”
Best In-Shower: Maria Nila Scalp Brush
Why it’s worth it: This budget-friendly Maria Nila Scalp Brush is ready to gently exfoliate your scalp to kick product residue to the curb. It has a classic design that’s foolproof to use and will look cute sitting in your shower, and the silicone teeth are easy on fine hair types—they do the trick to dislodge grime, but they don’t yank or snap strands. Use it to help you work shampoo through your strands for a cleaner feel.
Pai has a dry, flaky scalp, which is why she likes to pair her shampoo with this massager. “When my scalp is especially itchy, I pair my shampoo with this little tool, which works out flakes but doesn’t irritate my scalp,” she says. “It’s easy to rinse off and store in my shower, and I like that it gives a really thorough clean to the harder-to-reach areas on the back of my head.”
Best LED Tool: Mount Lai The Vitality Qi LED Advanced Scalp Massager
Why it’s worth it: The Mount Lai The Vitality Qi LED Advanced Scalp Massager is a five-star spa treatment in small gadget form. What sets it apart from the rest is the red light therapy, which can quell inflammation in your hair follicles that might otherwise be stunting your hair growth, Dhaval Bhanusali, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City who specializes in hair loss, previously told Allure. The tool also incorporates vibration and heat to provide a soothing experience—and those features help with product absorption and promote better circulation, which might lead to hair growth.
“The gentle vibrations and heat are so soothing, so I like to use this tool exclusively at night to unwind after a long day. While it’s listed as water-resistant, I don’t like to take my chances with using it in the shower, and instead, I use it on dry hair (or half-damp hair, depending on how lazy I am) after I’ve applied a scalp serum. I don’t expect to see much visible results but the circulation-boosting (which I need for particularly sparse areas of my scalp/hairline) and product-absorption benefits are more than good enough for me. Did I mention the heated massage makes me feel so relaxed?? Just making sure.”
Best Drugstore: Tangle Teezer The Scalp Exfoliator & Massager Brush
Why it’s worth it: Scalp massagers may all look similar at first glance, but Tangle Teezer’s The Scalp Exfoliator & Massager proves that some are bound to stand out from the crowd. This design features densely-packed long and short bristles that exfoliate the scalp and promote circulation—but without pulling hair. (That makes it a great option for regular dry-shampoo users, FYI.) You can also use it to help build your shampoo to a satisfying lather.
Best Pulsating: Manta Pulse Hair Brush
Why it’s worth it: It looks a lot like our best overall pick with its ergonomic design and slim bristles, but the Manta Pulse Hair Brush has a pulsating feature for when you want to kick things up a notch. The pulsing has two modes—a slower one designed to help you relax and a faster one that provides tension relief. Its 90-minute battery life means you can use this whenever you need a spa moment (or hour), but it’s also waterproof if you want to keep it in your shower as part of your wash routine. Bonus: It gives your hand a nice massage too.
Best Detangling: Fable & Mane Scalp Massager Comb
Why it’s worth it: Prefer a more old-school approach? The Fable & Mane Scalp Massager Comb is designed to massage the scalp and detangle strands while your hair is still damp—not to mention the ebony-wood design looks like a work of art. And it’s a wide-tooth comb, so if you have thick strands or dense curls (or both), it’ll glide more easily and cause less damage—than a tightly packed bristled brush.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are scalp massagers good for your hair?
Scalp massagers are great at removing sebum and product buildup that might otherwise clog your hair follicles, weigh your strands down, or contribute to flakiness. But the benefits go beyond just your scalp: “Some may work to increase blood flow to the scalp, which also stimulates hair growth, Brooke Jeffy, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Scottsdale, Arizona, previously told Allure. Remember this: What’s good for your scalp’s health is great for your hair.
How often should you use a scalp massager?
You can use a gentle, physical massager like the ones above every day, as long as you’re not experiencing any skin irritation (think: redness, itching, or burning). But if your scalp is sensitive, or you have a condition like eczema or psoriasis, using your scrubber once or twice a week is a safer bet, at least to start.
Meet the experts:
- Brooke Jeffy, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Scottsdale, Arizona
How we test and review products:
We always enlist a range of testers for our makeup vertical, but hair-care products and tools are another story. While there are certainly products that can be used across different hair textures, lengths, curl patterns, thicknesses, colors (natural and unnatural), and needs, hair products are often created with specific consumers in mind. Many are created in order to address a concern (dandruff, breakage, brittleness) or to work most effectively for a specific hair type (4C curls, wavy hair, gray hair). You wouldn’t want to pick up a purple shampoo that’s only been reviewed by someone with, say, auburn hair, or a diffuser that’s never been tested by anyone with curls—right?
For our review of the best scalp massagers, we enlisted the help of multiple editors, writers, contributors, and hair stylists who are experts in healthy scalps. Testers considered performance across four primary categories: efficacy, texture and experience, fragrance, and packaging. For more on what’s involved in our reporting, check out our complete reviews process and methodology page.
Our staff and testers
A beauty product is a personal purchase. You might be searching for a face cream to address persistent dryness or a new nail product to add to your Sunday self-care routine; you may simply be browsing around for the latest launches to hit the hair market. No matter what you seek or your individual needs and concerns, Allure wants to ensure that you love anything we recommend in our stories. We believe that having a diverse team of writers and editors—in addition to the wide range of outside testers and industry experts we regularly call upon—is essential to reaching that goal.
After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the “best” for people over 50 if the only testers we’ve solicited opinions from folks who have yet to hit 30? Can we honestly deem a high-end diffuser worthy of your hard-earned cash if it’s never been tested on curls? We’re proud that our staff spans a wide range of ages, skin tones, hair textures, genders, and backgrounds, which means that we are able to fairly assess any beauty product that comes into the beauty closet.
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