Nothing wrong with the VDH brushes. I have one that's my main 'use' brush right now. It's lost some hairs, but not enough to notice, and that's in over a year of use.
A good choice for testing the waters. One of my first brushes was a VDH boar. Depending on how you feel about that one, recommendations could be made. I found I like the scritchy scrubby exfoliation from a boar brush. Semogue brand will initially start soft and have pretty handles. I prefer Omega boar brushes for the stiffer bristles though they have more utilitarian handles. Another option is synthetic bristles. Yaqi brushes are making a big splash lately. Inexpensive, lots of options, and some very cool looking materials and style choices.