Press the button and the hair lets go of the brush.
The problem with a slicker brush is not the brushing. It is what comes next — pulling a compacted felt of hair out of fine bent bristles, usually with your fingers, usually while the animal walks off.
Press the button on the back and the bristles retract through a plate, releasing everything at once into your hand or the bin. It takes a second, which means you actually do it between passes instead of letting the brush clog and stop working halfway through.
The bristles
Fine and bent, for reaching loose undercoat rather than just combing the topcoat, with rounded tips so they do not drag on skin. A silicone grip, and a hole in the handle if you hang your grooming things.
About 7.5 inches long and just under 4 inches across the head. Works on cats and dogs, short coats and long.
What it will not do
A slicker is for loose hair and light tangles. It will not break a solid mat — that needs a rake, or scissors, or a groomer — and forcing one through a mat hurts, which is how an animal learns to leave the room when the brush comes out.
