Brushing your hair used to be a thing of ritual—100 strokes a night for long and luscious princess hair. But not everyone has “princess hair” per se, and everyone still needs to groom their hair one way or another. Rather than rip your hair out (figuratively and literally) over the wrong brush that may not even be detangling and styling your hair the best way it could be, here’s a brief guide to de-bunking which brush could benefit your hair the best.

A boar bristle brush is a great staple for almost any kind of hair. The natural boar bristles are excellent at distributing your scalp’s natural oils down the hair shaft, which may save you a day or two of washing. The bristles are flexible, so it won’t snag and break hair as it pulls through. Sometimes these can be densely packed though, so a thorough brushing takes several passes. These are also great for styling if you’re looking for smooth, frizz-free hair. Some of them have a mix of stiffer nylon bristles within the boar so it’s got a bit more grip for detangling and grooming.

Your basic weapon of choice, the classic hair styling brush has a rubber base and nylon bristles and can come in several sizes from small, medium, to large. The best thing about this brush is that it tackles detangling, blow-drying, and styling. This is an especially good pick for detangling curly hair since hair can move pretty easily through nylon bristles, and it can shape and smooth at the same time. If you’re after smooth styles, this is a good tool for blow-drying to get volume at your roots, before using round brush if you’re looking to style curled/waved ends.

If you have long and straight hair for the most part, a paddle brush covers a lot of ground for detangling purposes. Straight thick hair will benefit the most from this type of brush, which can come with nylon, boar, or a mixture of both bristles. Sometimes they’re vented for blow-drying purposes. The flat surface makes this a great tool for smoothing, frizz, and static-fighting. Plus, with its wide flat shape, it can fit more bristles on it and detangle your hair quicker and with less passes—so less shedding for you.

The wide-tooth comb is a must for detangling wet hair. Since lots of hair can slip through the teeth, that means less breakage for you. Wide-tooth combs are also one of the best tools for thick curly hair, since it can detangle your curls without messing with their shape, and it’s the best weapon against hair poof-age.

The round boar bristle brush is your go-to for blow-drying. By being able to wrap the hair around the barrel and brush it through and you heat style, you can create smooth curls, waves, and bends. It’s not the easiest tool for detangling, but if you’re trying to maintain a blow-out a couple days afterwards, smoothing and brushing in the direction of your hairstyle with this brush would be best to refresh the shape. Just don’t wrap hair TOO much around this or you may find yourself with a new attachment to your hair. These brushes come in all sizes, and to some degree, size does matter. The bigger the barrel, the straighter your blowout will be. Those are great for high volume styles  and for creating a relatively smooth and straight style, with flipped-out or curved-under ends. The smaller barrel, where you can wrap a section of hair around at least twice, is the one to give you waves and curls. Round brushes comes in a variation of nylon, boar, or both bristles, and the inner barrel sometimes can be ceramic or heat-conducting to help speed up your blow-out.

Most of us dream of having long, full, thick lashes. And while the majority of us weren’t blessed with them naturally, we can still fake it with a little help from some friends called false lashes. But with new lash companies cropping up left and right, finding the perfect lash seems almost impossible. On top of that, there are so many different kinds to choose from–mink, synthetic, natural. So, how do you know which one is the best pick for you? While the choices may seem overwhelming, choosing t
he right false lash is easier than you think. The main thing you need to know is what look you’re going for and how comfortable you are with applying them. We’ve put together a small guide going through all the different types of false lashes you can choose from, so you’ll know exactly what to get next time you’re shopping for a pair.

Human hair
Many affordable, good quality lashes that you find at your local drugstore or beauty supply store are made with human hair. These lashes tend to have thin bands and are extremely easy to apply and comfortable to wear. Since they are made from human hair, they look very natural, but can still create a super dramatic effect. With these types of lashes, you can usually only get 3 or 4 wears out of them before they start to look wonky. But at such an affordable price, these are the perfect types of lashes to buy in bulk if you’re a lash-a-holic, or to just try out if you’re a newbie.

Synthetic hair
Many affordable lashes are also made from synthetic hair. Sometimes you’ll find human hair lashes mixed with synthetic fibers, often on more dramatic styles to create a more sturdy shape. Other times, you’ll find a complete strip of synthetic hair lashes. These lashes tend to be a bit harder to work with–the lash band is usually thick and not as flexible as a standard, human hair lash band. Synthetic hair lashes tend to look less natural, but are still great for adding some drama to your look. Similar to natural hair lashes, they can be reused up to 5 times.

Mink hair

Mink hair lashes are definitely the most luxurious lashes on the market. They create the most soft, fluffy, yet dramatic effect to the eyes. Mink lashes come in an array of styles, from light and natural to full on glam. While they usually start at around $25 a pair, they can be reused 25 to 30 times! If you can’t leave the house without your lashes on, minks are definitely worth the buy.

Individual lashes
If you want the most natural look possible, or if maybe you just hate fighting with strip lashes, individual lashes are the way to go. Individual lashes usually come in a variety of lengths as single lashes or tiny clusters of 3. They can be placed anywhere you want on the lash line–so you’re basically creating your own custom false lash shape. How cool is that? Applying them takes a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it, you can’t even tell they’re there!

Bottom lashes
Unfortunately, some of us were cursed with non-existent lower lashes. And that’s okay! Because now false bottom lashes exist and our lives are changed forever. False bottom lashes come on a clear band and are applied underneath your lower lashes to give them a longer, fuller, yet still natural, appearance. So you can forget clumping on mascara.

Not to put Pharrell on blast, but the guy is 42. FORTY-TWO. Wrinkles clearly do not exist in his life (or he’s got the best derm in town on speed dial). Since he hasn’t copped to that, we’re left with these little gems he told us back in 2013:

“You have to clean your face. You can’t sit around and assume it’s going to be OK.” Basically, don’t sleep in your makeup. Pretty standard. There has to be more. In the absence of anything else straight from the source, we’ve resorted to second-hand advice:

“I only wash my face with cold water, but I got that from Pharrell, who got that from Naomi Campbell. I heard it on a radio show—it keeps things tight,” Yashua Simmons said in his Top Shelf.

Then there’s the reliable Google, which will provide searches with the irresistible SEO headline “Pharrell Williams denies being a vampire.” Riley Montana asked Google and Google answered for Pharrell. “I’ve been trying Cetaphil, and it actually helps a lot. I got that from Pharrell. He looks so young—I had to know what he did, so I Googled it. And I drink a lot of water—that came from Pharrell, too.”

Simple—no grandiose blood-of-virgins here (disappointingly enough)—but while not exciting, effective it is. And if that’s enough for Pharrell, no one’s complaining about going to CVS and buying a bottle of $5 cleanser.