Buying guide Home & Garden

Deshedding brushes, five different tools under one word, and the coat decides

By Khizar Published 27 Sept 2026

The short answer

Prices in GBPeach row carries the day it was read

For mats, the two sided rake Pet Deshedding Brush Double Sided Grooming The plastic handled two sided rake that seven listings on this page sell: two rows of curved steel blades on a head about 9cm wide, on a rubber handle about 17.5cm long, in blue or pink. Like every rake of this design the blades are sharp on the inside curve and rounded on the outside, and they cut through a knot rather than pulling it. It is not the cheapest listing of this rake; the cheapest labels its two sides the wrong way round. It does not count its teeth, so tell the sides apart by the gap £4.44checked 18 Oct 2026 Check price opens in a new tab

The only one that counts its teeth the conventional way ELEG-2X Pet Grooming Brush The same two sided idea with a wooden handle and a stainless head about 8cm wide, and the only listing that states what each side is for in the order groomers use: 9 teeth for stubborn mats and tangles, 17 for thinning and deshedding. It says it is for medium and long coats, which is right for a dematting tool. It costs more than most of this page, and its before and after photograph is the seller's £8.34checked 18 Oct 2026 Check price opens in a new tab

For a thick double coat, a rake that does not cut Undercoat Brush Dog Dematting Rake for Long A metal T head about 11cm wide with two staggered rows of pointed steel pins, on a red and black handle about 15.5cm long. Pins reach through the top coat and pull out the loose undercoat underneath without cutting anything, which is the tool for a husky, collie or German shepherd in spring. Its photographs are real rooms, a long haired cat and a dog in its bed rather than panels £6.03checked 18 Oct 2026 Check price opens in a new tab

For a short double coat, the fine edge Pet Deshedding Brush for Dogs and Cats A row of very fine stainless steel teeth along one edge of a palm sized black shell, held in the hand rather than by a handle, with a switch on the side that its own panel calls a quick release. This is the kind of tool that strips loose undercoat from a short or medium double coat such as a Labrador's. It is not for a single coated breed, where there is no undercoat to take and the edge thins the coat that is there. It makes no shedding percentage claim, and one photograph is a groomer using it on a small white dog. Its title says double sided and every photograph shows one toothed edge. Another listing here sells the same tool in the same photographs £7.40checked 18 Oct 2026 Check price opens in a new tab

A plain slicker, for every day and for single coats Pet Grooming Slicker Brush for Cats and Dogs A rectangular pad of fine bent wire pins, angled at 135 degrees by its own photograph, on a blue plastic handle. A slicker is the everyday brush for tangles and loose hair on most coats, including the single coated breeds that should not meet a blade. Nothing clever about it. The characters on the handle are the seller's own mark £5.68checked 18 Oct 2026 Check price opens in a new tab

For a cat, the paw shaped comb Pet Comb for Cats Dogs Shell Brush Grooming A palm sized comb about 9.5 by 9cm with a row of curved grey teeth under a paw shaped grip, in blue or white. Held in the hand rather than by a handle, which many cats tolerate better. Every photograph shows it in use on a long haired cat on a carpet, and it is among the cheapest tools on the page £3.87checked 18 Oct 2026 Check price opens in a new tab

Twenty two pet deshedding brushes from one search, none of them handled here. The tool you buy in spring when the dog starts leaving itself on the sofa.

Twenty titles say undercoat. Underneath that one word are five different tools, and the right one depends on a question no title asks: what kind of coat is it?

Five tools, one word

Open the photographs and the shelf sorts itself by what touches the fur.

Tool	What it does	Listings
Two sided rake, or a comb, of curved blades	Cuts through mats and thins	10
Rake or comb of pins, no cutting edge	Pulls loose undercoat, cuts nothing	4
Fine toothed steel edge	Strips loose undercoat from a shorter coat	4
Slicker brush of bent wire pins	Everyday tangles and loose hair	2
Three heads on one handle	All of the above, in theory	1
A lint roller with a comb on it	Hair on your clothes	1

The titles do not follow the tools. Twelve say rake, nine say dematting and three say slicker; one of the three slickers is the paw shaped comb. Twenty say undercoat, including the slickers.

The coat decides

A double coated dog has two layers: guard hairs on top and a dense, soft undercoat beneath that it sheds, heavily, once or twice a year. Huskies, collies, German shepherds and Labradors are double coated. A single coated dog, a poodle, Maltese or Yorkshire terrier, has no undercoat to shed.

Coat	The tool from this page
Long and double, a husky or collie	Pin rake, then a slicker
Short or medium and double, a Labrador	Fine steel edge, in short sessions
Anything with mats	Two sided blade rake, sparse side first
Single coated	Slicker and comb; no blade and no edge
A cat	Paw comb or slicker; a blade only for a mat

The pin rake and the fine edge are the tools called deshedding. The blades are for mats. Using the wrong one is not a disaster, but a blade used on a coat with no mats simply thins it, and a fine edge on a single coat cuts the coat that is there.

The teeth, counted twice and the wrong way round once

Eight listings sell a two sided blade rake, seven of them the same plastic handled design, and a further two sell combs of the same curved blades. Each rake has a dense side and a sparse side. Two listings count them:

Listing	Fewer teeth	More teeth
Wooden handle, 8cm head	9, for stubborn mats and tangles	17, for thinning and deshedding
Blue and black, 9cm head	11, for tough mats and tangles	6, for thinning and deshedding

The first follows the convention: fewer, wider spaced blades take the mat, more closely spaced ones finish and thin. The second labels its sides the other way round. It is the cheapest listing of the rake. Whichever you buy, go by the gap.

What the photographs admit

Every listing says gentle, safe or skin friendly, and the blades are genuinely shaped for it: sharp on the inside curve, rounded where they touch the skin. One gallery shows exactly that, then captions its close up of the blades pressed against a person’s arm “hair removal with damaging the skin”. It means without. It is not picked.

One gallery claims up to 90% less shedding in one photograph and up to 95% in another. One title says prevent overheating. Neither is a measurement, and neither listing is picked.

What was left out, and why

Three pairs of listings share a gallery each, so only one of each could be a pick. The three in one, three heads on a rotating mount, says it suits all coat types, which is the one thing this page argues no single tool does. One listing shows a curved blade comb in some photographs and a straight pin comb in others, under one title. The lint roller with a comb attached is for your clothes. And the tool whose shape follows a well known branded deshedder most closely is the one with the two shedding percentages.

Side by side

Prices in GBP. Each row carries the date its price was read.

Product	Price	Why it is here	Where to buyLink
For mats, the two sided rake Pet Deshedding Brush Double Sided Grooming Tool	£4.44checked 18 Oct 2026	The plastic handled two sided rake that seven listings on this page sell: two rows of curved steel blades on a head about 9cm wide, on a rubber handle about 17.5cm long, in blue or pink. Like every rake of this design the blades are sharp on the inside curve and rounded on the outside, and they cut through a knot rather than pulling it. It is not the cheapest listing of this rake; the cheapest labels its two sides the wrong way round. It does not count its teeth, so tell the sides apart by the gap	Check opens in a new tab
The only one that counts its teeth the conventional way ELEG-2X Pet Grooming Brush	£8.34checked 18 Oct 2026	The same two sided idea with a wooden handle and a stainless head about 8cm wide, and the only listing that states what each side is for in the order groomers use: 9 teeth for stubborn mats and tangles, 17 for thinning and deshedding. It says it is for medium and long coats, which is right for a dematting tool. It costs more than most of this page, and its before and after photograph is the seller's	Check opens in a new tab
For a thick double coat, a rake that does not cut Undercoat Brush Dog Dematting Rake for Long Haired	£6.03checked 18 Oct 2026	A metal T head about 11cm wide with two staggered rows of pointed steel pins, on a red and black handle about 15.5cm long. Pins reach through the top coat and pull out the loose undercoat underneath without cutting anything, which is the tool for a husky, collie or German shepherd in spring. Its photographs are real rooms, a long haired cat and a dog in its bed rather than panels	Check opens in a new tab

What is good

What you can settle before you buy

Know which coat you are grooming. A double coated dog, a husky, collie, German shepherd or Labrador, has a soft undercoat that sheds in handfuls. A single coated one, a poodle, Maltese or Yorkshire terrier, does not. The pin rakes and fine edges on this page are for the first kind.
Mats need blades. Loose undercoat needs pins or an edge. The two sided rakes, ten listings counting two combs built the same way, have curved blades sharp on the inside that cut through a knot. A pin rake pulls loose undercoat without cutting anything, and a fine edge does the same job on a shorter coat.
On a two sided rake, go by the gap between the blades. The side with fewer, wider spaced blades is for mats and tangles; the side with more, closer blades is for thinning and finishing. The one listing here that counts them the conventional way gives 9 and 17.
Several listings are the same tool. Three pairs share one gallery each, and seven listings sell the same plastic handled two sided rake. Pick the tool first, then the cheapest listing of it that describes itself sensibly.

What is not great

What to read twice

Undercoat is on twenty titles and means five things. Twelve say rake, nine say dematting and three say slicker, often several at once. The word tells you nothing about which tool arrives.
Two listings count the teeth, and they disagree. One gives 9 teeth for mats and 17 for thinning. The other gives 11 for mats and 6 for thinning, which is the other way round. A cheap mislabelled panel is the likelier explanation, and it is why the gap between the blades is the better guide.
A blade that cuts mats also cuts the coat. Every listing says gentle or safe, and the blades are rounded on the outside for that reason. On a coat with no mats, a dematting rake is a thinning tool. Short strokes with the growth, and stop at the skin.
Shedding percentages are the seller's arithmetic. One gallery says up to 90% less shedding in one photograph and up to 95% in another. Nobody measured either, and the listing is not picked.
One sells thinning as cooling. Its title says reduce shedding and prevent overheating. A double coat also insulates against heat, and a comb is not a way to cool an animal down. That listing is not picked either.