Wet brushing

[TechnoAngel]

For several years I have been brushing my wet hair to get out the tangles and frizz. My hair is a bit wavy (2a) but I like it better when it's sleek. I always apply some leave-in before brushing it.

Is wet brushing really as bad as they say?

[pili]

I only brush my hair wet. It's never worked out well for me on dry hair.

[BuddhaBelle]

For me, I have knots that seem to fall out when my hair dries, my hair is also a lot more likely to break when its wet so I avoid it at all costs. :)

[lapushka]

Straight hair? Sure brush dry, no problem.

Wavy to curly? I would venture out to say brushing dry could be causing breakage due to the texture of the hair. So, brushing wet is an absolute must.

It just depends on your texture.

[Bri-Chan]

I need some conditioner on my hair to detangle, so I brush it when wet.

[JasminxCat]

As long as the comb or brush easily passes through so to prevent any breakage, right after conditioning before tangles happen or while I condition in the shower

[Finda]

I have 2a/b waves. In early days (way before LHC) I had to brush wet under the shower with conditioner. But I never got all the tangles out. The rest I had to rip out when dry. That went better than when wet. Meanwhile I have learned how to handle my hair in such a way that tangles hardly even form anymore. So now I brush my hair (carefully) after taking it out of the towel. My ends are never tangly, just my roots a bit. So I guess wet detangling is not too damaging. Even though I think my hair generally tolerates dry detangling better. When my hair gets tangly and wet from rain, for example, I still need to wait for it to dry in order to attempt brushing.
When brushing wet my hair dries a lot faster, too. Because when I leave the clumps alone, that takes forever and I read somewhere, forgot where, that leaving hair wet too long can be damaging as well?

[foreveryours]

I learned years ago that brushing wet hair is for me. But I was still in the carefree just-rip-thru-the-knots stage then. I only use a wet brush now (which is really a 2D comb) on my hair dry AFTER detangling with progressively finer combs.

[Neorago]

For me, I have knots that seem to fall out when my hair dries, my hair is also a lot more likely to break when its wet so I avoid it at all costs. :)
I am the same as you and we have the same hair type (different texture). My hair won't comb through tangles when wet, not even when saturated with conditioner. Yet when it dries there are barely any tangles. I only ever comb my hair. I only brush my hair before washing.

[Whirly Girly]

I brush my hair wet all the time after washing it. The best advise I was ever given about hair is that “you should treat your hair like it’s a fine delicate lace and be as gentle possible”. So when it’s wet, I go slow, easy and gentle and have no troubles or breakage at all.

[Jane99]

Lately, a wide tooth comb seems to work best for me when detangling damp hair. I’ve used it before, then switched to a Tangle teezer, and am back to the comb. I was hearing more noises through my hair with the TT no matter how gentle I was trying to be. The comb is working better for me ATM. I never detangle in the shower, and I don’t have a lifestyle that allows me to wait for my hair to dry completely before detangling. The only time I’ve done that was for hair typing purposes and I can’t imagine that as difficult as it was to detangle dry that detangling wet is any more damaging.

[MusicalSpoons]

My hair definitely prefers some lubrication to thoroughly comb it out with a fine-toothed comb, so oil is great. But a HeadJog brush seems to be doing the trick for dry hair, and I also comb when wet so I don't have to do anything to it for 3-4 days after the wash (my hair does not like it if I comb before then). After that when the texture is mostly just straight clumps rather than waves, and there's no more frizz, it's okay with the HeadJog or a wide comb, but it still doesn't really like the fine-toothed comb. I haven't tried the brush when wet but anything damp is an absolute no-no, it's terrible. Damp means half of it's still wet and half of the hairs are frizzy already so it's just a nightmare, even to separate clumps for any reason is a difficult task!

What was the original question? Oh, whether it's damaging. Um, not if you're careful and your hair is okay with it. It very much depends on your own hair tbh, like most other options in haircare! :shrug:

[TechnoAngel]

So you only detangle when your hair is wet Musicalspoons? Do you use a towel after doing that? I brush my damp hair after towel drying.

My hair just really hates towel drying I guess.. I tried argan oil for detangling, it worked but maked my hair feel greasy. After towel drying I now use a coconut leave-in.

Maybe I should go back to washing it at night, by the time I wake up it's (almost) dry.

[maddie9]

I find that wet brushing has reduced damage for me, and it also preserves more defined waves in my hair. What I do is while rinsing out my conditioner, I let the shower stream do most of the detangling, and use a wet brush to assist with the more persistent tangles. With the aid of the water there's no pull on my roots at all and the wet brush never snags on the knots. For me it was worth the investment to get a wet brush because I find it gentler compared to a regular brush or comb, you can buy it on amazon and it's not that expensive anyways. Then after I step out and gently squeeze most of the water out with a microfibre cloth I don't brush my hair again until the next wash (if I can help it).

[MusicalSpoons]

So you only detangle when your hair is wet Musicalspoons? Do you use a towel after doing that? I brush my damp hair after towel drying.

My hair just really hates towel drying I guess.. I tried argan oil for detangling, it worked but maked my hair feel greasy. After towel drying I now use a coconut leave-in.

Maybe I should go back to washing it at night, by the time I wake up it's (almost) dry.

I comb at during the wash, before the last rinse. At the end I squeeze or the water then wrap it in a microfibre towel to help it dry. I then don't comb until 3-4 days afterwards, then I'll detangle whenever needed until the next wash. When it's heavily oiled in preparation for the next wash I thoroughly detangle, at the time of oiling and again just before I wet it to put the first conditioner on. That way it's as tangle-free going into the wash as possible, because that's what works for my hair.

I air-dry overnight anyway, but it does mean tangles are minimised during drying as well.

[baanoo]

I don't detangle in the shower - that's a recipe for breakage for me. I leave it plopped in a tshirt to get the soppy-wetness out, and then finger detangle followed by wide-tooth detangle. When it's damp, I use the TT (and either scrunch it back up if I'm drying wavy / don't if I'm drying "straight"). I've tried all the variations and this minimizes breakage and tangles both better than everything else I've done!

Usually, I detangle once in the morning and once in the evening.

[blackgothicdoll]

I brush wet. The more texture, the more lubricant you may want to use to allow slip and elasticity.

My hair is nothing like lace; it's Medusa. I respond in kind.

Jk I'm mostly gentle. Mostly. :lol: