Brush head manufacturing method

A brush head comprising:

• a neck having a platen;
• a plurality of bristle tufts, each having a free end and a proximal end;
• a tuft carrier having a plurality of retention elements, each retention element having an opening therethrough configured to receive the proximal end of a corresponding one of the bristle tufts, wherein the plurality of retention elements in the tuft carrier are interconnected by a plurality of webbing links;
• a plurality of merged proximal end head portions formed from the proximal end of each bristle tuft and at least a portion of a proximal side of each corresponding retention element melted together by laser welding to form a continuous seal, the merged proximal end head portions being substantially flush with the proximal side of the corresponding retention element, wherein the retention elements and the bristle tufts are made of materials having a same or similar melting temperature, and the proximal end of each of the bristle tufts does not extend past its respective retention element;
• and
• a matrix bonded to and at least partially encapsulating at least a portion of the platen, the plurality of retention elements of the tuft carrier, and the merged proximal end head portions;
• wherein the continuous seal of each merged proximal end head portion comprises three or more weld zones including:
• (1) a first weld zone adjacent the proximal side of each corresponding retention element in which only material from the retention element is melted and reformed without integrating any of the bristle strands;
• (2) a second zone formed laterally or radially inward of the first zone in which both a portion of the retention element and the bristle strands are melted and integrated together;
• and (3) a third zone where only the bristle strands are melted and integrated together without integrating any material from the retention element.