Do you have a brushing routine?

[ickle_cat]

Hi,

I feel like I've got my washing routine, colouring routine and various treatments down to something that works really well with my climate, but I realised that I don't have anything specific worked out for brushing my hair. I'm fairly certain conventional wisdom is once a day but I would really like to know what other people do so I can try out some different things and see what works best for me.

My current washing plan is CO washing once a week followed by a vinegar rinse (just mention it because I think there is a difference about brushing based on how often you wash your hair)

[endlessly]

My brushing routine honestly depends on my washing routine. If my hair is really in need of a deep clarifying, I will have to finger-comb and then use a wide-toothed comb and my tangle teezer to get through the knots. Whereas, if my hair needs more moisture, I can get away with just using a wide-toothed comb since the tangles tend to work themselves loose.

I use my wide-toothed comb every day regardless of whether or not I wash my hair just because it does help with tangles and knots caused from different hairstyles, but I don't necessarily brush it unless it really needs it.

[brickworld13]

Oh I really like this thread idea. :applause:

Any brushing routine is going to fall short if you have poor brushing technique, so I will start with that. Now by brushing do you mean detangling or something else?

[Hairkay]

Super curly here. I ditched my brush a few years ago so no brushing routine for me.

[cat11]

I only actually use my wooden brush very rarely... when I am actually wearing my hair down or half down and want it to look very smooth. And then, I finger comb and wide tooth comb it first with some light oil. My ends have been dyed and are very prone to snapping if i don't get them ready.

[Nadine <3]

I use a wide tooth comb once every 5 days when I do a full wash. Besides that I just finger comb, unless I run into some massive tangles that need a comb, but normally I just put a little bit of oil on the knot and pull it apart with my fingers.

[Madora]

My brushing routine is pretty simple: detangle my hair first with a wide tooth comb (takes all of 3 minutes), then brush in the head down position for 50 strokes. (Used to do 100 strokes for years but recently cut down to 50 because of arthritis). I only use a pure boar bristle brush.

[ChloeDharma]

I brush morning and evening. If my hair is not heavily oiled then I detangle with a wooden wide tooth comb then further detangle with my wooden paddle brush then I thoroughly brush my scalp all over with a BBB while bent over. If my hair is heavily oiled then I use a horn comb to scrape over my scalp gently after detangling with the wide tooth comb and wooden brush. I usually massage too.

[lapushka]

My hair gets washed once a week with a sulfate shampoo (the WCC method). Before that it gets combed with a wide tooth comb (from bottom to top) then it gets brushed with a Tangle Teezer. Then washed and after it gets out of the turbie towel (15-20 min.) it gets detangled with a wide tooth comb before all the styling products go in. That's all. The rest of the week my hair is left to its own devices (no comb, no brush). I like to preserve my wave pattern and this is key for it (that it only gets detangled once a week pre- and post wash).

[MINAKO]

Yes, same thing once a day. I used to comb my hair twice a day but sinceits so tangle free i really just switch to a bed toy in case im wearing anything fragile and cover my bun fron the day in silk.
In the morning i take my bun down, split hair in two sections, rough detangle with the wide tooth comb, spritz with a little bit of destilled water, apply my leave ins and then gently detangle with a smaller spaced tooth comb. Then put it back up. Takes about five to ten minutes in total, depending on what products i use, how tangly my hair is and which bun im doing.

[Seventy7]

As I haven't found (I have not really looked for it either) a good brush or comb, I've only finger detangled for about two months now. Mostly I do this mornings before bunning and in the evening before bedtime bunning.
In the shower I also detangle while soaked in conditioner, I love the smooth feeling of my hair filled with conditioner. My hair is still reasonably short, but the ends can tangle quite a bit some times.

I would love a good comb and brush to help make updo's more smooth when I want it. It might also help in finding all the tangles. One day I'll start my search.

[Anje]

I normally run a tangle teezer or comb through my hair in the morning and evening to declump and detangle it a bit. Since I normally keep it up or braided, I don't normally have much in the order of serious tangles unless I've had some epic lint incident. ;) Lint and cat fuzz getting caught in my hair is about the only thing I find a BBB to be really useful for, but nothing removes that stuff as well.

But no, I don't brush to stimulate the scalp or spread oils or anything. It just seems like too much wear and tear on my hair.

ETA: Obviously, the choice of how much to brush or comb should take hair type into consideration! My hair never seems willing to give me proper waves, so I generally treat it like straight hair. If you've got wavy or curly hair that floofs up into a frizzy cloud, you probably want to comb/brush considerably less often (and probably lubricated with conditioner) than some with straightish hair.

[Nique1202]

Wash day: finger comb, then use my Body Shop wooden comb to further detangle (picking out any stubborn tangles with my fingers, on wash day my ends are usually pretty tanglesome because my hair gets dried out at the ends and is prone to buildup all over), and then I use a paddle brush on my scalp to massage loose all the dead skin cells, catch as many shed hairs as possible before they clog my drain filter, and try to soften and spread out my thick sebum a little to make stripping it all out easier. Then I wash, condition, and finger comb with the conditioner in. As long as all I do is squeeze it a little bit dry with the towel and I don't play with it too much, my hair doesn't need any further detangling until it's dry. Then I oil it, finger detangle, and bun it up.

After wash day, if I start getting either itchy scalp or a lot of flakes in my hair (not dandruff, just dead skin, my hair is so thick it doesn't go anywhere) I detangle (finger comb, then wood comb) and then brush my scalp as if I were about to wash, or I massage with my fingertips and gently scratch the itches. Otherwise, it pretty much stays styled all the time. It doesn't need more than a finger detangling at the nape and the ends when I take it down to switch styles, and that's more down to dryness than anything else because a couple of drops of oil on my fingertips fix the problem right up.

[momschicklets]

Well I wash my hair once a week, and use a wide-tooth comb 2 or 3 times a day. That was a hard transition for me as I really loved brushing my hair, but I ditched it when I joined LHC. Like Lapushka, I have a wave pattern that I like to preserve throughout the week and brushing turns it into a frizzy mess.

[ickle_cat]

Thanks for all the responses!

One of the reasons I asked was to find out about distributing oils from the scalp for overall hair health. Generally do you guys find the benefits of the oils being distributed from the scalp is enough of a benefit to outweigh damage from brushing?

I guess I do have a bit of a routine with my brushing (not that I knew it until I thought about it reading your responses!) I do section my hair to brush it and start from the ends, so I guess I have a technique? I also don't brush it when it's wet (sometimes finger-comb). I guess it's the frequency of brushing that I'm not sure about, at the moment it's just kinda when the mood takes me, which works out as no more than twice a day and can be as infrequent as once every two or three days.

I might be being too simplistic about this, all of my other knowledge of hair stuff tends to be obviously good/bad stuff. Like using straighteners is always bad and conditioner is always good. I guess with brushing it may well be more subjective.

My hair is fairly straight, so I would treat it as straight hair, but not fine hair.

[Deborah]

I brush my hair morning and night with a wooden pin WIDU brush, just enough to detangle and smooth it all.

I wash once a week with Indian herbs followed by a citric acid in cold water rinse which I leave in. After leaving my hair up in a turbie type towel for a few minutes, I let it hang down to dry completely, uncombed or brushed. Once dry, I finger detangle and follow with my brush. This works very well for me, and I have very little breakage or hair in my brush since I stopped detangling while the hair was wet.

[Arctic]

Hmm, I don't have a routine. I sometimes only use fingers, sometimes various combs, sometimes various brushes. Most commonly I reach for a wide toothed comb. How often? That depends a lot. Probably at least twice on an avarage day. If I wear my hair down, then more. If I change my hair style, them also more. Depends a lot. Sometimes I brush just because it feels nice.

Now that my waves have relaxed a bit compared to few years ago, and I'm not usually trying to coax my hair to curl/wave more, I find myself fingercombing only less and less.

[kendraf]

I run through it with a wide-tooth comb in the morning, after work and before bed usually. On wash days, I run it through under the water and part my hair, then wait for it to be completely air dried before I comb it once to soften up the waves.

[gwenalyn]

I fingercomb in the shower and in the morning when I'm changing styles. My hair is straight and slippery, so I could get away with only fingercombing if I wanted to. Occasionally I don't even bother with the fingercombing and just put up a messy bun (pins, tangles, and all--it all comes out easily later).

I do use a brush when I want retro brushed out curls like this: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ovsvNKTS_bw/Ta37hWyLKWI/AAAAAAAAASI/YBcMkPHKh8o/s1600/91305662217553635311_610w.jpeg, but that's only for styling, not detangling.

[Nique1202]

Thanks for all the responses!

One of the reasons I asked was to find out about distributing oils from the scalp for overall hair health. Generally do you guys find the benefits of the oils being distributed from the scalp is enough of a benefit to outweigh damage from brushing?

(snip)

I might be being too simplistic about this, all of my other knowledge of hair stuff tends to be obviously good/bad stuff. Like using straighteners is always bad and conditioner is always good. I guess with brushing it may well be more subjective.

I don't think there's any black and white with hair care, because every scalp and every mane is different. Conditioner can be too heavy for some fine haired folks, so they use vinegar rinses instead. Using low-heat and no-heat methods, straightening can be done pretty safely for a lot of folks.

As for brushing, some people (like Madora) find that daily post-detangle brushing with a certain kind of brush (usually a bristle brush) improves the condition of the length by spreading the sebum and natural oils and means they can stretch washes further, while others (like myself) can't get their sebum to move more than an inch or two down the length or can't find an affordable brush that can get through their hair without dividing it into a million sections. We all have to keep trying different things until we find what we like best and what works best in our daily routines.

[divinedobbie]

I wash my hair every day so I brush it once in the morning after washing and then after I come home. Usually I don't comb again before bed.

[Ilenora]

How do you all manage to go days without brushing? I can't even undo a braid without brushing it out as I go, and by the end of the day I have tangles mostly around the nape area. My routine is as follows, with twice a day brushing:

Undo braid from the bottom up while brushing with a nylon brush, then split hair into two sections and brush each section - starting at the bottom and going up - with the hair over the shoulder. I brush the inside and outside of the hair since it's so thick. I hold the hair just above the section I'm brushing to avoid pulling it too much. If I come across a knot that the brush doesn't untangle, I gently untangle it with my fingers. Once the hair is tangle free and the brush goes through the entire length smoothly, I finish with a boar bristle brush to make it softer and to massage the scalp. Soon I'll be switching to a comb for the detangling stage (just waiting for them to arrive!)

[Nique1202]

How do you all manage to go days without brushing? I can't even undo a braid without brushing it out as I go, and by the end of the day I have tangles mostly around the nape area.

It depends on the hair texture and how happy it is. When my hair is the least bit dry, it gets thick tangles and it can take 2-3 minutes to take apart each one hair by hair, but if I oil my fingers lightly before I start fingercombing it lubricates the strands and stops them from getting snarled up so much. I also found that a protein shampoo and a coney conditioner for slip helped reduce my tangles significantly. With the right products for my hair, I no longer need the brush except for my scalp crud, my fingers and my wood comb are enough to keep my hair smooth.

Each head of hair has different needs, though, so maybe your hair has a need that you aren't meeting yet. Basic tangle causes are generally a need to clarify or chelate, not enough moisture/oil, not enough protein, or not enough slip from conditioner. Nape hair often does tangle more easily and needs more conditioner/moisture to stay smooth, though some of us just trim out the whole section so it's short enough to not tangle but long enough to blend in instead.

[Lolino]

I mostly just comb mine with my body shop comb, because I'm a bit lazy. Usually once-twice a day, but sometimes during the day if I'm trying out hairstyles. I never comb it wet. If I'm braiding I usually don't even bother combing more than the scalp and just smoosh it all together, tangles and all.

When I remember, or can be bothered, I brush using my nylon/boar bristle combo brush with my head upside down after detangling. However, my brush (and hair) is like a magnet for dust and lint, so no matter where or how carefully I store the brush, I have to wash it after using it twice, which is why I usually skip.
Also I almost always wear braids of some sort, so then I brush the waves out and my hair gets all floofy and static (super dry air indoors) :D But it's very relaxing!
I do notice that when I do brush regularly I can wait a day or more longer before I wash, which is usually twice a week, depending on how much I have to leave the house.

Sometimes my fiancé helps me brush it, which is just heavenly and sleep-inducing. :crush:

[gwenalyn]

This is the ultimate YMMV thread! I don't think anybody's routine so far has exactly matched anyone else's yet :)

[pixiepaws]

Before I trimmed my hair if I left it all day I would end up with baby dreadlocks at the bottom. Oiling my hair helped a bit but nothing would get rid of the tangles they were painful and I wanted to chop all my hair off. I had been using a tangle teaser only as a brush or comb got eaten in my hair. After the chop (3.5 inches to get rid of bleach damage) my hair does not take ages to brush anymore . I am hoping to maintain a good hairline and starting to be more strict with oiling and brushing. Now that I have trimmed I can use a wide tooth comb again! I have a Sibel brush and I think it is better than the tangle teaser. The Sibel brush has is a lot like a tangle teaser but with a handle. I find that the Sibel does not fly out my hands like the tangle teaser did.

[yahirwaO.o]

If Im wearing it down and straight I use my wooden wide tooth comb and-or my bamboo brush 2 or 3 times per day, (usually one in the morning, a quick fix one in the evening, and before I go to bed with a delicate meditation) Not really tangle issues, more like a styling tool to keep it neat and clump free.

If its down braid waves, any type of braid, buns or ponytails I dont even bother, finger combing makes its thing and I like messy and carefree styles when I have texture... maybe the typical brushing at night again just to relax.

[Teazel]

I detangle my hair once a day if it's lucky. I'll often do nothing at all to it for two or three days, other than whirl it up into a bun and jab a hairstick in it. :silly:

When I detangle I divide it in two and use a wide-toothed horn comb from the bottom up, stopping and undoing snarls with my fingers if the comb can't deal with them gently. After that I may or may not brush with a soft BBB.

I don't see much point in brushing to distribute sebum since I wash my head every second or third day (seborrhoeic dermatitis demands that I keep my scalp clean); how much oil could there be? However, I do brush a few drops of jojoba oil in occasionally when my hair feels like it needs a bit more slip.

[Wahinee]

I just bought my first (!) brush and I'm trying to figure it out. I've been following the curly hair "rules" and detangling with only my fingers or a wide toothed comb, but I detangle pretty infrequently and I shed a lot, so the shed hair gets all tangled in the ends and I'm seeing lots of breakage. The brush does a good job of removing all the shed hairs.

[ExpectoPatronum]

As a wavy/curly girl, I only brush brush on wash day. In between, I might finger detangle.

Basically, I'll put a little oil in my hair and then detangle with a comb before running a brush through it a few times. I'll braid it for the day and there it will stay until I wash my hair that day (I tend to wash in the afternoons/evenings). Brushes I like to use are either the tangle teezer or the wet brush. The one I use honestly depends on whichever I find first.

[meteor]

I detangle my hair once a day if it's lucky. I'll often do nothing at all to it for two or three days, other than whirl it up into a bun and jab a hairstick in it. :silly:

When I detangle I divide it in two and use a wide-toothed horn comb from the bottom up, stopping and undoing snarls with my fingers if the comb can't deal with them gently.

That's what I do, too. I comb just enough to detangle hair and then I stop (and braid and bun).
I try to keep mechanical damage from manipulation to a minimum. This works well with my hairtype.

[lapushka]

As a wavy/curly girl, I only brush brush on wash day. In between, I might finger detangle.

Basically, I'll put a little oil in my hair and then detangle with a comb before running a brush through it a few times. I'll braid it for the day and there it will stay until I wash my hair that day (I tend to wash in the afternoons/evenings). Brushes I like to use are either the tangle teezer or the wet brush. The one I use honestly depends on whichever I find first.

That is such a pretty avatar picture, EP! You look amazing, as do your waves/curls!

[lunaF.]

Hey guys, as an extra brushing-related question, do you have a favorite brush (possibly the mason pearson).

[lapushka]

Hey guys, as an extra brushing-related question, do you have a favorite brush (possibly the mason pearson).

Yes, the Tangle Teezer!

[embee]

I have a Denman brush. Love it!
http://www.amazon.com/Denman-Cushion-Brush-Nylon-Bristles/dp/B00197623M
I undo my night braid/bun, detangle, brush my hair, put in a bun for the day.
Undo the bun, detangle, brush my hair, braid for the night (or make topknot).
I am distributing sebum and avoiding washing.

[Deborah]

I have an all natural bristle Mason Pearson, a couple of Tangle Teezers, and two Denmans, but my far above them all favorite is my WIDU wooden pin brush. I had a couple of cheaper wooden pin brushes (Body shop, etc.,) but I gave them away once I had the WIDU.

[Mammasaurusrex]

I am loving reading all of your hair care routines! My daughters hair is much longer than mine and gets tangled usually by the end of the day. I use a wide tooth comb on it before bed every night to keep it untangled as long as possible. I am thinking that I am going to get a wide brush of us both to use. I think it will be a lot better than the wide toothed comb I use now. Her hair is very fine and so is mine at the ends.