With all the different types of brushes out there. It can be a little confusing as to what to buy. So here,’s a little run down of the various types of hair, brush manufactures use, in their manufacturing process.

Synthetics are man-made of either nylon or polyester. They may come tipped, tapered, flagged, abraded or even etched to increase the brushes' ability to carry color.
The man-made filaments may be dyed and baked to make them soft and absorbent. The advantages of a synthetic brush are as follows:

They are very durable
They are less likely to be damaged by moths, paints or mild solvents.
They are easier to clean.
If you are using an acrylic paint, use a synthetic brush.
Natural animal hair can be used in its pure form or mixed with other types of hair to accomplish a particular mixture for price, and or, performance,
Natural hair will hold a tremendous amount of paint, because it has microscopic pores along the follicle of the hair.
The price of natural hair is just supply and demand. Longer hair is harder to find and more expensive.

Blue squirrel is the most readily available and comes in long lengths, as well as short lengths. It is generally used for striping brushes and lettering brushes.
Brown, or Kazan, is no longer as plentiful as it was several years ago. It is generally found in the shorter lengths and used for stripers, quills, and outliners.
Both blue and Kazan are very soft and fine. They point as well as kolinsky, but have very little snap, since the hair is not very resilient.
Grey squirrel is the hardest to find and the most expensive. It is more durable, has more snap and makes a great quill or lettering brush.

Camel Hair

There are no camel hair brushes. Camel hair brushes received their name from "Mr. Camel", who invented them. Camel hair could be squirrel, ox, pony, goat, or a blend.

Pony Hair

It comes from an animal that is at least two years old. It is very strong, but also soft. The very finest pony hair comes from the belly of the animal.
It is often blended with other hairs for less expensive watercolor and touch-up brushes.

Ox Hair

Ox hair comes from the ears of cattle or oxen. It is very soft to the touch. It is also very strong, resilient and has good snap.
However, it lacks a fine tip, so it is usually mixed with other natural hairs. The blending makes a brush more resilient and has more body.

Red Sable

This hair comes from any member of the weasel family that has red hair. It does not come from the "sable" animal.
It is used to make many different brushes, and there is a difference in quality. A quality red sable can be used as a less expensive alternative to kolinsky.
Usually, red sable is mixed with ox hair to make a more affordable but unfortunately, the fine pointed tip is sacrificed.

Sableline

A light color ox hair that is usually dyed to look like red sable. Some lettering and watercolor brushes are made with sableline, and sometimes mixed with sable.

Kolinsky Sable

From the tail of a mink, best for watercolor and oil brushes due to its strength, spring and snap. With proper care, it will last for years.

Bristle

This hair comes from hogs. The best comes from China.
Hog bristle is different from any other natural fiber, since it forms a V-shaped split or what’s known as flag at the tip..
This will prevent it from fraying, spreads paint smoothly and evenly.