hair washing and after care.

[long and strong]

Can someone straighten something out for me please.

Currently I'm washing and conditioning my hair, rinsing and wrapping it in a tshirt for a bit. I then gently brush it, put a teeny tiny bit of jojoba oil on the ends and then a little bit of serum through it.

Now.... from reading through posts on here and becoming a little obsessed with the LHC, I'm starting to think that I shouldn't be brushing my hair wet???

My hair isn't particulally knotty and i never really have to de-tangle my hair. I never feel like I'm "ripping" my hair when I brush it either... but should I stop doing it?? I just feel that if I didn't brush/comb it befor it airdrys it would get knotty and not be as smooth.

My hair has improved so much following giving up heat that I'm willing to try more to help the health and natural texture get even better.

Thanks for any advise.x

[Temme]

I think people say not to brush wet hair because hair is more fragile when wet. However, if you feel that your hair is already detangled beforehand and that it isn't creating a lot of friction, I don't think it's a big deal. I think usually one can kind of intuitively tell how much mechanical damage something is causing their hair.

[Kat-Rinnè Naido]

Personally I just use my fingers to style my hair after washing. But, and this is just my opinion. If you know you are not damaging and breaking your hair. As well as your hair is more manageable if you style in this manner and this reduces knots then you can continue. But be extremely gently, brush very small sections and monitor your hair. Also look out for any snapping sounds. That would be hair breaking.
What brush are you using? A tangle teaser may be a good option.

[Annalouise]

It might be helpful to know your hair type. :) Would you tell us if you have fine, medium or coarse hair? And if it is thin, average, or dense?

[long and strong]

Thanks all..... im using a tangle teeze blowdry paddle brush thing (I bought it before I quit blowdrying). I own a couple of wide tooth combs.. I could switch to those of you think that would be better!!

Annalousie.... I've never really done propper hair typing on my hair. From what I gather I have to wash hair and leave it (no brushing, no oil, no serum)....this makes me nervous and worry what it will end up like and whether I can controls it at work the next day!!!

Just from a quick glance at the typing post I might be.... 2b/c,m,ii??? It's just above BSL at its longest point, layered and cut into a very subtle u shape.

[lapushka]

You could try a wide tooth comb out instead of a brush, see how you like it. But there is more than one person out there that brushes after washing. If you don't see a difference with the WT comb, then I wouldn't worry about it.

[Nique1202]

I comb after washing because otherwise my hair takes about 8-12 hours to dry which is the opposite of helpful in the winter. Breaking up the clumps of hair lets the air circulate so my hair dries in about 4-5 hours instead.

If you're not feeling any stretching or breaking of hairs, and you like how your hair looks when you brush it wet, then the only thing you might have to be worried about is the friction of brushing hair. Some people's hair can take it in the long run and some people's can't, but that's something to worry about later as you gain length, and then only if you start to notice a lot of split or worn-down ends.

[Annalouise]

Thanks all..... im using a tangle teeze blowdry paddle brush thing (I bought it before I quit blowdrying). I own a couple of wide tooth combs.. I could switch to those of you think that would be better!!

Annalousie.... I've never really done propper hair typing on my hair. From what I gather I have to wash hair and leave it (no brushing, no oil, no serum)....this makes me nervous and worry what it will end up like and whether I can controls it at work the next day!!!

Just from a quick glance at the typing post I might be.... 2b/c,m,ii??? It's just above BSL at its longest point, layered and cut into a very subtle u shape.

Ok, if your hair is medium, and you have a good amount of it, and you're not particularly concerned about fragile hair or hair loss, then you can afford to do some brushing if you want to. :) Brushing is one of those controversial hair topics that brings a wide variety of opinions. Yes it is true your hair is more fragile when wet. It's better for your hair to wait for it to dry first. :D

[Frankenstein]

I've always combed and/or brushed my hair while wet after washing. As long as you do it gently and don't rip through tangles or anything, it's probably fine.

[SusanNKI]

I brush my hair one time immediately after washing and the next time only when they are getting dry)

[kinnyuu]

I brush with a wood bristle brush when damp. Always been told not to.. might try without soon

[meteor]

You already got some great ideas here. :) I'll just add that, just like you, I used to be afraid of waiting till my hair was completely dry to start detangling, because I was worried that the hair would be too knotted by that stage, but I was very pleasantly surprised. If I waiting till the hair was dry, I only had to detangle it once, but if I detangled it wet, I'd have to keep on detangling for hours, because my hair sticks to itself when it's drying. Of course, it really depends on the texture, some textures benefit from the extra lubrication from wet and conditioned hair, so detangling in the shower, drenched in conditioner can be good, but many others benefit from detangling dry.


One more thing: when hair gets wet, different layers of hair (e.g. the exocuticle and the endocuticle) don't respond the exact same way. The endocuticle (which is located underneath the harder, more cross-linked and more brittle exocuticle) swells and "bulges", and this can put pressure on the exocuticle "shell", potentially causing fracture if the hair is being brushed roughly, pulled or otherwise roughly manipulated:


It is well known that wet combing is accompanied by the breaking of the surface cuticle cell because of its brittleness. Histologically, the major component of the cuticle cell consists of the exocuticle and the endocuticle as shown in Figure 1. The exocuticle, being highly cross-linked, is not swollen by water. The endocuticle and the cell membrane complex, on the other hand, are less crosslinked and are more vulnerable to damage. This leads to the lifting of the surface cuticle via bending. Such cuticle cells can be broken in the process of combing and teasing. (Effect of Coconut Oil on Prevention of Hair Damage, Part I - http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc1999/cc050n06/p00327-p00339.pdf , p. 330)


The histology of a cuticle cell and the mechanism of damage in wet combing proposed by Swift (4, 5) is shown in Figure 1. Because of cross-linking, the exocuticle is brittle and does not swell. The endocuticle and the cell membrane complex have less cross-linking and therefore swell significantly. This effect produces the tendency for the surface cuticle cells to curve upward and break when pressure is applied with a comb.
Recent studies of Ruetsch and Weigmann (6) confirm that the endocuticle and the cell membrane complex (CMC) are the foci of weakness and that fracture occurs when the fiber is extended. Chemical methods weaken the adhesion of the cell membrane complex between the cuticle cells. The degree of swelling of the curticular layers is increased by disulfide cleavage and oxidation. This enhances the combing damage and protein loss, especially in wet combing, as observed in this study. (http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc1999/cc050n06/p00327-p00339.pdf , p. 337)


The two major morphological components of the hair fiber respond quite differently to the stresses introduced into the fiber during extensions beyond the yield point. The cortex is able to release stresses by the unfolding of alpha helical structures into the pleated sheet arrangement of the beta structure. This alpha - beta transformation occurs in the microfibrils that are embedded in and interconnected to the disulfide cross-linked noncrystalline matrix material that deforms along with the unfolding of the alpha helices.
[...]
The cuticle cells are much more rigid in the longitudinal direction and do not have the capacity to release stress by transformation on a molecular level like the cortical cells. Since the cuticular sheath has to deform concomitantly with the deformation of the cortex and the whole fiber, it is assumed that the deformational stress that occurs on the cuticular sheath is released by the movement of cuticle cells relative to each other.
[...] The outermost cuticle layer is the highly disulfide cross-linked A layer in which 30-35% of the amino acids are half cystine, making it extremely tough and inextensible. The next layer, the exocuticle, has a somewhat lower cross-link density and would be expected to be somewhat more easily deformable. The innermost layer is comprised of the much less cross-linked, easily swellable, and highly extensible endocuticle. [...] At higher extension levels these shear forces can lead to stress concentrations and failure in the weakest layer, the endocuticle. (Mechanism of tensile stress release in the keratin fiber cuticle: Part I: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.523.4273&rep=rep1&type=pdf , pp. 13 - 14)


At higher extension level, this shearing action can lead to stress concentration and finally failure at the edge of the endocuticle. This edge failure results in a partial "delamination" within the scale structure, and under the influence of the shear forces the upper layers of the surface scale are lifted up, starting at the scale edge. J.A. Swift (9) observed the phenomenon of endocuticular failure during wet combing, where failure of the swollen endocuticular layer within the cuticle cell resulted in severe scale fracturing. (http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.523.4273&rep=rep1&type=pdf , p. 17)

[Adorkable One]

Personally, I can always tell a HUGE difference in how my hair feels, if I don't brush it until it's completely dry. It always feels amazing if I let it dry. My hair will behave better and be silkier overall, rather than velcro like. When I brush my wet/damp hair, I don't know if this is possible, but my hair feels "stretched out" and certain parts will be frizz, certain parts will be dry, it will be uneven.

Having said all that, I still brush it wet if I have too.

[lapushka]

I normally detangle pre-wash (to save my drain). Since I haven't combed or brushed for an entire week, a lot of sheds come out that will knot up my hair some. So it's... a challenge. LOL! I use a WT comb, then my TT to get through it all. I get a sink full (bottom of the sink) of hair. A big ball, if you will. Then while washing, I keep a close eye on that drain hair catcher thingy and it is "released" multiple times (after shampoo, after conditioner). Another ball comes out. Then my hair goes up in a towel (t-shirt towel) for 30-45 min. and after that, I go through one more time with a WT comb only because I do not want to disturb my wave pattern too much and a TT will do just that; it will break up the clumps too much. Then I go onto styling the hair. It will be another bottom of a sink full. You will be surprised at the sheds that still come out post wash!!! I would encourage everyone to try and comb after towel drying!

That's my detangling routine in a nutshell. It works for me. :shrug: :)

[cailinbee]

Meteor, I love it when people bring in the hair science! Thank you!!

I just this week shifted from not touching my hair until it was completely dry, to gently finger detangling and wide toothed combing while still wet. It's a length thing for me -- suddenly trying to work out dry knots that formed from air drying was doing more "ripping" than if I had at least gently detangled while damp. It didn't happen until about APL.

To help, I've added silicones back into my product rotation.

One thing I notice is also that air drying is the difference between having 1b and 1c hair for me! My soft wave texture is much more straightened when I comb damp. Makes me wonder if my "waves" are an artificial result of the shape of messy shower hair.

[truepeacenik]

I find detangling before washing, and again in the conditioner soaking in phase works. Once barely damp, I brush carefully with a Denman brush.