Dust in my hair - keeping your hairbrushes clean

[Morgan]

Hi all!

A longtime lurker here that now want's to share a hair problem.

So, I've been wondering for years why my brushes get all dusty even if I try to clean them regularly. I think I've got the reason now. Yesterday I bought a brand new boar bristle brush but didn't try it until this morning because it was washday yesterday. After a few strokes I noticed there were dust particles all over the bristles and the only place they could have come from is my hair. Also, now that I started to think about it, I've noticed dust in my hair when S&Ding.

I don't really mind the dust itself, although it makes me think if i should clean my room more often... What bothers me is the difficulty of keeping my hairbrushes clean. Even my Tangle Teezer has recently started to gather dust. That one is easy to wash with soap and water but I really don't like to spend an hour picking dust from "inside" the boar bristles with a needle.

Has anyone else noticed this and how do you deal with it? Do you have a super convenient way to clean your brushes or a solution to keep the dust from getting into your hair in the first place?

[spirals]

Occasionally when washing my hair I'll run my brush through it while all soapy, and then rinse the brush. It helps somewhat. But usually I just live with the lint/dust. It doesn't bother me.

[auburntressed]

The only way I know to get dust out of boar bristles quickly is to brush the hair brush with some kind of cleaning brush in a quick motion. Then, too, using a bit of water and soap with a cleaning brush every week or so is helpful to stave off too much build up.

[Carolyn]

I do the best I can by using the little cleaning tool thing that came with my MP brush or a fine toothed comb. I don't worry about it otherwise. I am the only one who uses my brushes and I never use anyone elses brushes. So I don't really have a reason to care about the dust and lint.

[jacqueline101]

I have dust in my boar bristle brush I use soapy water to clean and tool to pick out the hairs.

[Morgan]

Thank you for all the replies! I think a cleaning tool will be my next purchase as soon as I can find one. Also, I will try to keep the brush in a drawer where the dust in the air won't fall on it.

I have yet to figure out how to reduce the amount of dust in the hair. I'm wondering whether oiled or static hair attracts it more...

[lydiajo]

OMG, I thought my dd was the only one who got dust in her hair. I've noticed it since she started using a tangle teezer.

[DarleneH]

I use a pick to rake the majority of hair and stuff out, then wash it in shampoo. I haven't found a better way yet.

[spidermom]

Yes - oiled hair attracts dust, also lint and pet hair.

One method I've used to keep my BBB clean is to press cheesecloth through the bristles to the base of the brush. After I brush my hair or once per week or so, I pull out the cheesecloth and everything else comes out with it.

I also comb through my BBB with a fine tooth comb. And every once in awhile, I wash it with shampoo, water, and a nail brush or the fine tooth comb, then lay it on a clean dry washcloth, bristles down, to thoroughly dry.

[Naiadryade]

Yup, I have this experience. Soap and water helps some, but I recently started using a toothbrush to clean my BBB, which isn't perfect but works better than anything else I've tried... though I've never tried this tool people speak of.


One method I've used to keep my BBB clean is to press cheesecloth through the bristles to the base of the brush. After I brush my hair or once per week or so, I pull out the cheesecloth and everything else comes out with it.

:bigeyes: This is brilliant! I think I'll have to do this in the future. Thanks, Spidermom! You are so smart. :flowers:

[Carolyn]

Yes - oiled hair attracts dust, also lint and pet hair.

One method I've used to keep my BBB clean is to press cheesecloth through the bristles to the base of the brush. After I brush my hair or once per week or so, I pull out the cheesecloth and everything else comes out with it.

I remember reading that in Seventeen magazine about a million years ago (when I was 17 :) ) It works if you aren't look lazy, like me, to go get some cheesecloth. Cheesecloth was also said to help take the greasies out of hair. You smushed your bristles through the cheesecloth and it was supposed to wipe off or soak up some of the sebum/oil on the hair.

[Sharysa]

I don't have a brush, but I find my hair and comb have never had enough lint or dust to be a problem because I keep my comb in the cute little bag that it came with. I only need to clean it around every two weeks, or even a month, and that's due to sebum and oil buildup. When I do, I use a toothbrush and my shampoo to clean it off.

Are you guys leaving your stuff out in the open? Even if it's in a drawer, your combs/brushes are going to collect more dust than if you keep them in a bag.

[missfaroe]

I do also get dust in my brushes, especially my BBB collects a lot of dust!! :( so i stopped using it a few months ago. But i just tried to brush the dust out with a tooth comb.

[eros]

I always have loads of dust on my tangle teezer. I doubt the dust is coming FROM my hair, but I think the tangle teezer is what puts the dust in my hair. I think it's because when I brush my hair with the tangle teezer, it brushes against my clothes. The part of the brush that touches my clothes is dusty,the other half isn't!

[charalito]

My BBBs don't get dust when left by themselves, but since I use them to clean my hair (only wash my hair once a week), they catch all the dust/lint/sebum from my hair. I don't use them again until they are washed because the purpose of my brushing is to clean and I don't want all that stuff back. So my solution is to have 3 cheap BBBs and rotate them. When it's time to clean them, dilute some shampoo in the sink and soak the brushes for a couple of minutes, getting the soap all around them by rubbing one against the other and also using my combs (so they get clean too). Then I dry them bristles down on a towel.

My brushes are wood/bristles only, no fabric cushion. They at least 5 years old and haven't been damaged by this routine.

[aet2009]

Ha! I get dust in my hair too. Especially noticeable since it is dark. I just leave it. Can't advise you on brush cleaning because I don't brush my hair :)

[spidermom]

I remember reading that in Seventeen magazine about a million years ago (when I was 17 :) ) It works if you aren't look lazy, like me, to go get some cheesecloth. Cheesecloth was also said to help take the greasies out of hair. You smushed your bristles through the cheesecloth and it was supposed to wipe off or soak up some of the sebum/oil on the hair.

I probably got it from Seventeen magazine, too. I was a fan.

[Latte Lady]

Once, when stationed in Germany, we lived next door to farmland. Stank terribly during fertilizer season. They didn't have A.C. there so you have to open your windows for a few minutes, twice a day to remove stale air. This let all the huge horse flies and horrible dust in. Brushes are dust magnets because your hair's natural oils stick to the stuff. I found a pretty box a stored all my brushes and combs in it. They still got dirty from use but it wasn't the dust from being left out. You could try that. Such a simple thing. I also liked the ritual of opening a carved wooden box and removing a beautiful comb or brush. Greatly appealed to my girly, princess side.

[spirals]

I am the only one who uses my brushes and I never use anyone elses brushes. So I don't really have a reason to care about the dust and lint.
This is pretty much how I feel.