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View Full Version : Interesting study: Brush less for thicker hair



Athanéis
August 14th, 2009, 01:56 PM
Came across this article today
http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/brush-less-for-thicker-hair-20090811-eg6t.html
and found it very interesting. It seems that if you brush/comb your hair a couple a times a day, you will loose a lot more hair than if you only brush/comb it once. The dermatologist apparently said: "I was surprised by the results, as in medical circles the comb is believed to improve blood circulation and reduce hair loss".

I also found an abstract of the original article in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment:

Background: Hair loss is a common, bothersome problem among women.
Objective: To evaluate the effect of different brushing frequencies on hair loss in women.
Methods: This was a non-randomized crossover study. During a 4-week period, 14 women were asked to brush their hair with different frequencies during each of the 4 weeks. The amount of hairs lost during each week was counted and the average hairs lost during each week was compared with that of a week with a different brushing frequency.
Results: In all comparisons analyzed, hair loss was reduced by reducing brushing frequency. A subgroup analysis found strong association (p < 0.05) between brushing frequencies and the magnitude of hair loss. A limitation of the study was that the majority of the subgroup analyses did not find a statistically significant association between brushing frequency and amount of hair lost.
Conclusion: Brushing is associated with hair loss. Reducing the brushing frequencies may reduce the amount of hair shed.


My hair isn't very thick and very fine and I loose a lot of hair every day. My hair tangles easily (especially the damaged part), so I always feel that I am ripping out too many hairs when I am combing it (even with my wooden wide tooth comb). So I'm definitely going to try this, mayby my hair will gain thickness over time.

HairColoredHair
August 14th, 2009, 02:17 PM
I try to avoid too much combing, no matter how gentle. Some days (well, more than some) I just don't comb it at all! It's in a bun, so it doesn't tangle much either. :) I lose more hair at once when I do comb, but I lose a lot combing constantly too, every single time I comb.

Dreamernz
August 14th, 2009, 02:42 PM
I can see how this would be true, you inevitably lose at least a little hair each time you comb etc. though of course less brushing= tangling = more hair coming out next time you brush. It seems the only solution is hair up as much as possible hmmmm :confused: (= crown breakage unless there is a circulation of updos :confused:?)

jera
August 14th, 2009, 03:08 PM
I haven't brushed my hair in 4 or five years, but I do comb it. I can't finger comb successfully so I use a wooden comb or a seamless one. :o

neon-dream
August 14th, 2009, 03:11 PM
I can go days without brushing, but when I do again I lose a ton of hairs, so I don't see how this works. :shrug:

pixiedoo
August 14th, 2009, 04:34 PM
I can go days without brushing, but when I do again I lose a ton of hairs, so I don't see how this works. :shrug:

I agree!! I think brushing my hair gets rid of hairs that would shed anyway. For example I brush my hair before I shower, because if I don't those hairs will just shed when I wash and end up wrapped round the plug hole :eek:

Medievalmaniac
August 14th, 2009, 04:39 PM
Pixiedoo, I agree with you. ;op I don't think how often you brush is going to necessarily affect how many hairs you shed...shedding is natural. You may shed more often brushing more often, but you are going to shed what you are going to shed...kind of like a dog's coat. I have shelties. If I don't brush them, they don't lose much hair - but then when I pet them or I do brush them during shedding season, I end up with another dog out of the equation, whereas if I brush them everyday I get another dog in about a month's time or so. I'm not sure I think this study says anything new or particularly groundbreaking in terms of the issue.

Rohele
August 14th, 2009, 06:33 PM
I agree that if it's going to come out, it will come out sooner or later. I'm wondering if the study was done on women with normal hair loss, or women who were having excessive hair loss for other reasons - maybe more brushing is detrimental in those cases?

Moonstruck
August 14th, 2009, 08:46 PM
I also think a 4 week period is not NEARLY long enough. After all, if they didn't brush for a week, and then brushed right after, all those hairs that were shed but not really lost yet would fall out with week 2, making that first brushing even more dramatic.
So long as you're not using a brush too roughly, I can't imagine that you're actually ripping hairs out of your scalp, but rather loosening/removing shed hairs. If you ARE brushing that roughly, I guess it could make sense, much like how people that wax their pits will eventually see finer and less growth of hairs.

ericthegreat
August 14th, 2009, 08:59 PM
I believe as long as you are brushing in the correct way, you can channel your inner Marcia Brady and brush your hair 2,000 times a day if you wanted to. As long as you gently detangle from your very ends and slowly work your way up to your roots, you should be able to glide your brush through your hair without ripping out any of your live hairs.

I agree with the above posters, if you go longer without brushing, eventually your hair will actually tangle and get matted up even further, and these tangles will actually make it harder to detangle and brush your hair out to the point where you might even damage your hair while in the process of taking out the tangles and knots when you do go to brush your hair. I actually think that if you brush gently but fairly frequently, you will remove all the loose hairs you are going to shed out anyway and keep your live hairs pliable and detangled from each other. This is what I do myself, I brush my hair for about 25-30 strokes in one brushing session. I'll usually do either 2 or 3 brushing sessions a day, once in the morning of course, and sometimes but not always in the afternoon (if I find some free time), and at night just before I head to bed.

rhosyn_du
August 14th, 2009, 09:07 PM
The sample size was way too small, the study didn't run long enough, and the results weren't statistically significant, which all adds up to not-very-worthwhile data. Still, it's really cool that people are actually wanting to research this. Here's hoping for better research in the future.

CaityBear
August 14th, 2009, 09:33 PM
I never brush my hair any more, but I do comb it. I find if I haven't combed my hair in a while (say it's in a bun all day) when I do comb it, then lots of hairs come out because they are just naturally shed hairs that have built up during the day. There's no stopping that from happening.

And if somebody has thicker hair after not brush it for a month, then maybe they should be a bit more gentle on their hair. I can only understand the concept of the study from the point of if people are ripping hairs out while brushing.

More over, I can't go too long without brushing because my hair becomes very tangled. If I wear it down, I have to comb it every couple hours because of it moving, me moving it, the wind, etc. it gets very knotted. I do have the habit of randomly finger combing it when it's down though. :)

EdG
August 14th, 2009, 09:52 PM
I'm very doubtful of those results.

I'll lose a lot of hairs all at once if I comb once per day. If I comb two or three times a day, I'll lose much fewer hairs each time. My total shed count remains about the same (50-100 hairs a day). :)
Ed

missmagoo
August 14th, 2009, 11:25 PM
I would also wonder if the women in the study had curly or straight, long or short hair.

I know curly hair has the tendency to "hang on" on shed hairs until they're combed out (I would imagine that super-long hair might do this moreso than short hair). So, it might appear that curly-haired women were losing more strands through brushing than straight-haired women because the straight-hairs might lose more just randomly during the day without brushing.

chotee
August 15th, 2009, 03:19 AM
I have noticed that when i massage or brush my hair i shed a lot more. and when i comb my hair not so much. But, i still do as i think brushing makes me feel better abt my hair and makes the rest of my hair stronger...like many say here, i think if the hair has to come out it will.

BlackfootHair
August 15th, 2009, 04:02 AM
I love brushing my hair. Something about the paddle brush going over my scalp induces relaxation for me.

Lady Godiva
August 15th, 2009, 06:12 AM
I haven't put a brush to my hair for probably a decade; it's combs-only for my hair. Brushes cause tangles for me, which increase fallout. Because the bristles are so flexible, brushes can seem gentle, but a comb forces me to stop and very carefully pick through each and every tangle. Combs take more time, but far less falls out and breaks than with brushes.

Susana
August 15th, 2009, 07:14 AM
I got to agree with what a lot of members have said, I am not buying it just yet. If I brush my hair everyday I loose smaller amounts of hair per session. If I don't do it for a while and then do it I'll just loose it all at once. I think that brushing incorrectly nad wearing styles that cause tangles definetly can lead to more damage/breakage. However, as long as you brush properly, all you will be doing is removing the hair that have fallen because their time has come to an end. As far as I know, each strand of hair has a time frame and will give way to a new one when that time come regardless.

violetka
August 15th, 2009, 07:26 AM
I knew it. Im totally not brushing anymore ! as a child i never brushed my hair, i was notorious for my crazy hair an my mother was furious an always tried to make me do it. And for many years I overbrushed, cause i thought it was good for the hair.

Athanéis
August 15th, 2009, 07:58 AM
It's too bad we can't read the full article on the website, maybe some of the questions about the study would then be answered. I tried to sign up but that appears to be really expensive.

I think the outcome is mostly interesting for people who have more hair loss than average, have (very) fragile hair and/or who's hair is on the thin side. All of those things apply to me. Two years ago I stopped heat styling (I used a hair dryer with a brush attached to it) and now my pony tail at the nape of my neck has become about 0.5 inch thicker in circumference. I am willing to start the non-brushing method for the next two years to see if the thickness will increase even more.
This morning I washed my hair, used a new anti-tangle conditioner and put a bit of Aubrey Organics gel in my hair. When it was dry, I gently removed the loose hairs with my fingers. My wave pattern looks really nice. I hope I can keep it like this till the next time I wash my hair (I wash 3 times a week) with no brushing/combing.:)

mira-chan
August 15th, 2009, 08:12 AM
I do agree that this study is inconclusive. Too short a time, not enough people.

Other than a few tries (with not so great results) I have not brushed my hair, and used a comb only. My hair type does not agree with a brush.

Since this winter I've switched to finger combing. I probably lose the same amount of hair overall, maybe a bit less, but it certainly takes less time. My hair is not tangly so even if I haven't finger combed I generally can easily draw my hand through the full length of my hair and not catch on a tangle.

marikamt
August 15th, 2009, 09:17 AM
okay... my two cents... before I came here (and was totally clueless as to what was good for my hair), I thought the plastic "ball tipped" paddle brushes were the best for my hair... thought natural bristle brushes were "old fashioned" and didn't "brush as well"........ as far as I knew, all my friends/family thought the same thing.... I wonder what KIND of brush they used in the study???? I am thinking it may have made a difference???

sibylla
August 15th, 2009, 10:59 AM
I disagree with the study.( I get logged out every time I write here so I´ll be brief...just in case). Just look at the difference between a horse´s tail which has been brushed everyday and one that hasn´t. I believe in brushing with a BBB.

misspriss
August 15th, 2009, 12:06 PM
I don't ever brush my hair, but I lose a ton in the wash.

I figured if you only wash every 4 days, you are bound to have shed a lot in those 4 days.

renarok
August 15th, 2009, 01:16 PM
Shedding is a normal part of hair growth. The way you brush or don't brush has a very small effect on shed rate. Shedding is affected by diet, hormones, medications, stress, and many other factors.

We know a strand of hair only resides on our head seven or so years, so even if all contributing factors were at optimum for hair health, we will ALWAYS lose hair.

Brushing hair can cause breakage and frizz. Those are good reasons not to brush. Worrying if it makes shedding worse is just silly.:poot:

Fireweed
August 15th, 2009, 01:42 PM
All I can say is that over the last three years I have only used a comb and a little oil and my hair is the best it has every been. My hair is longer and thicker. The change was the oil and comb. I well never brush again.