A self cleaning hair brush includes a handle (12), a bristle-holding head (14) having a plurality of spaced-apart bristles (16) projecting laterally therefrom, and a combing plate (18) having a plurality of bristle-receiving apertures (46). When the combing plate (18) is in a first position, the combing plate (18) closely overlies the side of the bristle-holding head (14) from which the bristles (16) project allowing the bristles (16) to project through the apertures (46). The bristle-holding head (14) further includes a rectangular tube (22) disposed on a central portion of the bristle-holding head (14). A reciprocally movable plunger (20) is mounted in the rectangular tube (22). The plunger (20) is used to displace the combing plate (18) to a second position where the combing plate (18) is disposed at a free end of the bristles (16). The reciprocally movable plunger (20) includes a pivotable latching pin (78) for automatically locking the plunger (20) into an intermediate position between the first and second positions.