Why the Oribe Large Round Hair Brush Costs $185

Just a guess: Your hair brush isn't the most expensive item in your beauty armamentarium. But that's probably because you're yet to own an Oribe Large Round Hair Brush, which launched this month for—wait for it—$185. It's fair to say that here at Allure, we are are equal opportunity critics. We don't bat an eye at the $2,060, 16.5 ounce tub of La Mer Crème de la Mer because we've done the testing and the research and believe it's worth every droplet (and dollar). But at the same time, each season we eagerly await the Best New Drugstore Beauty Launches. The key thing for us is understanding where the price comes from—and perhaps more importantly, does the product live up to its claims.

As a bit of background, it's not like Miami-native hairstylist Oribe is exactly know for his bargain basement finds. In fact, quite the opposite. When his products launched in 2008, he made his name with the , which at $22 a can, was hardly the most budget-friendly option on the market. It was so good nobody cared, rising from little-known cult favorite to beauty staple at a record clip. When the hairstylist launched skin care and makeup earlier this year, we gave you all the details on every gilded treasure, from the $32 nail polishes to the $348 blow-dryer. This fall, he launched a $44 can of dry shampoo and again, we were sold. So when we saw the price of the Oribe Large Round Hair Brush, we dug in, tracking down every little bit of information we could to give you a 360 look at every dollar you might spend. As far as we could see, here are a few good reasons this brush costs so damn much.

The handle is made of wood, but not just any wood. The beechwood handle is locally sourced in Europe, and each one is finished, honed, and varnished by hand, not mass-produced on a conveyer belt, factory line.

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It's an artisanal object. Instead of being mass produced in a giant factory, each and every Oribe Large Round Hair Brush is made in Italy by a family-owned company founded in 1869. That means that each one represents four generations of hair tool expertise and know-how.

It's all boar-bristles, no plastic or nylon. Unlike the original bespoke brush that we love, the , the Oribe Large Round Hair Brush is all boar-bristle all the time. What's also notable is the length of those bristles, which at their longest are a whopping 24mm, or nearly a full inch. The varying height and extended length allows a markedly firm grip and major maneuverability for both styling and drying.

You might know the designer. The man who designed the brush is Alex Wiederin, the creative director of Buero New York, a design studio in New York City. He also created the packaging for all of the other Oribe products, as well as the statuette for the Fragrance Foundation Awards.

And last but not least...there's a secret compartment. Remember when we told you about that secret compartment in E.L.F. lipsticks? Same kind of idea here. Opposite to the bristled end—a.k.a. the party side—a slim, three-inch sectioning pin is hidden in the handle of the brush. Slide it out to precisely part hair for easier, more organized drying.