View Full Version : Back To Basics: How To Brush Long Hair...
PHOENIX MOON
September 20th, 2009, 01:28 PM
Hey all,
My hair is getting kinda long now (very excited and proud!!!):cheese: and I have had a realisation that my method of brushing could be the cause of the ends becoming damaged.
My questions to the long haired ones are:
Do you detangle your hair by finger combing, combing, brushing, or a combination of the above?
If it is a brush, or a comb, what type is it and what is it made of?
Describe the methods of how you brush/comb your hair?
What methods have you found to limit damage/breakage though brushing/combing?
QueenAnne'sLace
September 20th, 2009, 01:40 PM
Hey all,
My hair is getting kinda long now (very excited and proud!!!):cheese: and I have had a realisation that my method of brushing could be the cause of the ends becoming damaged.
My questions to the long haired ones are:
Do you detangle your hair by finger combing, combing, brushing, or a combination of the above?
If it is a brush, or a comb, what type is it and what is it made of?
Describe the methods of how you brush/comb your hair?
What methods have you found to limit damage/breakage though brushing/combing?
I detangle only in the shower with conditioner and my fingers.
In between weekly showers, I use a real boar bristle paddle brush. It detangles well and is gentle. I use a bamboo wide toothed comb as well to scritch my scalp and move the oil around. Giving my ends a good dose of jojoba helps with split ends too.
In the end, everyone with long hair is going to have some damage. It just comes with time. (Unless you're one of those lucky mutants with super hair! :laugh")
The best thing you can do it be gentle, use oil on the ends, and eat a good diet/drink enough water so the hair coming out is nice and strong.
Hope that helps!:cheese:
ravenreed
September 20th, 2009, 03:14 PM
Since I got my Tangle Teezer, it is what I use all the time now. I find it the best for tangles, and my hair loves to tangle.
Brat
September 20th, 2009, 03:40 PM
I only brush it when it's dripping wet out of the shower. I use a brush with a soft, flexible base so I have time to stop if I feel it start to pull. I brush from the ends up, very gently. My hair is still dripping wet when I'm done.
If I flatiron it straight, I brush it only once (while dry) in the few days until I wash it again.
bttrfly857
September 20th, 2009, 03:50 PM
I usually finger comb after a shower, and then use a wooden wide toothed comb from the Body Shop when it's damp/dry to further detangle.
longgone
September 20th, 2009, 04:44 PM
Reading through the forum, I am realizing that I may be quite lucky... I've had long hair, though not as long as I do now, most of my life... Even now, I never planned on it getting this long, I just had my yearly trim for the last few years and no reason to cut it... I've never done anything special to take care of it or get it to grow...
Reading what other do to brush their hair, I wonder if I'm actually pretty harsh on mine... I brush mine, usually once a day when I'm wearing it up regularly, generally after showering, with a double toothed comb (actually the same comb I've had since high school)... Recently, I've been wearing it down a lot and brushing it 3-4 times a day with the same comb while dry...
Speckla
September 20th, 2009, 05:17 PM
I never use a brush and rarely use a comb. I mostly finger detangle after adding a lot of conditioner.
slz
September 20th, 2009, 05:19 PM
Combing with a horn comb here. I can't even imagine how I could brush it. No way !
clairenewcastle
September 20th, 2009, 05:25 PM
I've always used a plastic wide toothed comb (Boots Detangling comb) on my hair, never a brush. Mind you, there's a tiny ridge along each individual tooth of the comb which now worries me for I read here that such ridges can damage the hair shaft.
A lot of people have mentioned the wooden combs from the Body Shop so I intend to get a few as soon as possible. One to use...one to lose...
heidihug
September 20th, 2009, 05:25 PM
There are as many ways to brush/comb/detangle your hair as there are members on LHC. You will have to try different methods and experiment until you find what's right for you hair.
I never use a comb, and I never brush or even attempt to do much detangling on wet hair as that is a recipe for damage for me. I brush my dry hair with a Denman vented every other day, before washing. Many people here, though, would never use a brush, and, as they have said, cannot comb out dry hair.
Good luck in your search!
twolunarspring
September 20th, 2009, 05:30 PM
I gently detangle with my fingers, then comb through with a wide-toothed wooden comb (The Body Shop one) or, more recently, a horn comb... then I sometimes brush it with a BBB very gently, or other times I don't. The BBB is just to distribute oils, I would never use it to detangle. I only use a comb or brush when my hair is at least 80% dry unless some kind of tangling disaster has occurred in the shower. I very gently run my fingers through my hair in the shower. One thing I have found very useful is to minimise tangling when wet from the outset: I brush my hair before I get in the shower, and braid it. Then I gently unbraid under the shower, rinse/wash, and braid it up again straight after.
twolunarspring
September 20th, 2009, 05:32 PM
A lot of people have mentioned the wooden combs from the Body Shop so I intend to get a few as soon as possible. One to use...one to lose...
I have to buy a new one every year at least... they tend to warp and/or snap after a while. Still worth it, though, they are very good combs.
nowxisxforever
September 20th, 2009, 05:41 PM
I use a wide-toothed seamless wooden comb (The Body Shop, 10$).
Only when dry.
From the ends towards the scalp (last 2 inches, then 4 inches, then 6 inches... so on up and up) gently, pausing to detangle anything nasty with my fingers.
nowxisxforever
September 20th, 2009, 05:43 PM
I have to buy a new one every year at least... they tend to warp and/or snap after a while. Still worth it, though, they are very good combs.
I've had mine for 2-3 years now and it's warped only a tiny bit (little enough that you generally can't tell), no snapping, a fair bit of discoloration. I don't intend to replace it for a good long time since it's still perfectly fine, just not pretty!
Jinx2234
September 20th, 2009, 05:57 PM
I usually comb my hair in the shower when it's wet and has conditioner in it. I use a Goody Ouchless comb which doesn't seeem to have any ridges on the teeth (at least none that I can see). Other than that, I mainly detangle with my fingers between washings. I haven't noticed any damage caused by this, but my hair is already damaged from my pre-LHC method of ripping my plastic brush through my hair.
Quixii
September 20th, 2009, 07:05 PM
I detangle in the shower with a wide toothed (plastic) comb while I have conditioner in it. :)
Edit: And try my best not to touch it when dry. I for sure don't brush it any more.
Darian Moone
September 20th, 2009, 07:25 PM
I wash my hair (or CO) in the shower and usually comb my hair w/a wide tooth seamless comb beforehand. After showering I comb my hair again with the same comb, when my hair is still damp, adding a bit of coconut oil to it. If I use products with good slip I really don't have that much to deal with in the way of tangles anyway so it's a quick and easy process. One of the benefits of stick-straight hair I guess.
bluewhiteblue
September 21st, 2009, 12:36 AM
I detangle with my hands and a wide-toothed comb (plastic or wood) before washing my hair. Once it's almost entirely dry, I do a light oiling with coconut oil and detangle with fingers and a comb again (starting with the ends and working up). I've only used a brush a couple of times in the last six weeks, but I've always had long hair and didn't start using combs until a few months ago.
Rivanariko
September 21st, 2009, 12:49 AM
I detangle with my fingers before I shower and do my best not to touch it while it's drying, just leaving it down to air dry on it's own. My hair is very fragile in the first place, and becomes even more so when wet. Once it's mostly dry (or as long as I can stand it) I very carefully finger-comb through it again to detangle, then put it up in either a braid or a bun to try to prevent future tangles. No matter how gentle I try to be, though, I still end up snagging a few tangles with my fingers and not stopping before they break.
I used to brush it several times a day with one of those big knobbly paddle brushes. I avoid it now... but use it every once in a while ONLY after I have completely detangled it. I usually brush it before a trim to make sure it's all lying evenly, and sometimes if I've had a REALLY bad day, I'll brush it because it feels good on my scalp.
I'd like to get a wooden comb, but I'm trying not to let myself spend any money on non-essentials until I find a new job.
TheEndlessOcean
September 21st, 2009, 01:25 AM
These days I never touch my hair with anything other than my fingers, and I almost always detangle in the shower when it's wet, usually when it has conditioner. I find that when I rinse out the conditioner my hair practically detangles itself, though that maybe have something to do with the cones in my conditioner, which I'm going to try going without soon. After I get out of the shower I don't touch it again until the next shower.
Teazel
September 21st, 2009, 02:10 AM
It all depends on your hair, I think. Might be worth finding out what people with your particular hairtype do.
I like to use a soft BBB to start with, detangling from the bottom up. Any snarls that don't brush out easily I pull apart with my fingers, and I finish up with a wide-toothed horn comb.
Detangling in the shower is a big no-no for me; it seems to create tangles, and I can hear snapping. :tmi:
Heavenly Locks
September 21st, 2009, 02:49 AM
Generally, I am pretty tangle free. If I've had my hair loose I will finger comb, picking apart any knots or what have you. Then I go over the lot with a horn comb.
I don't really do anything besides wash in the shower, I have a wide tooth comb in there to help distribute my conditioner...but it's not really for detangling.
karli
September 21st, 2009, 04:02 AM
For my hair, that doesn`t tangle, I mostly fingercomb. For dd, whos hair tangle alot, I use the tangleteaser piece by piece. Works great!
HildeMV
September 21st, 2009, 07:36 AM
I dare not brush my hair while it's wet because it gets very elastic. I use the natusan kids balsam spray and brush with a normal brush, starting from the bottom and working my way higher up.
I also have the body show thingy.
JamieLeigh
September 21st, 2009, 09:43 AM
I normally detangle with my fingers. That way I know exactly how much pressure I'm putting on my hair, because I can feel it pulling on my fingers. With a comb, I'm afraid I'd just rake it through - and you don't always hear your hair break. :(
Suisan
September 21st, 2009, 10:09 AM
I can't touch my hair when it's wet -- I certainly never brush it when it's wet.
I try not to obsess about tangles too much, unless they are along the canopy or at the nape of my neck. So generally I don't comb or brush that much as it is. My boar bristle brush I use daily when I pull my hair back. My hair is straight and fine -- without the brush I get lumps and loops along the top of my head. I don't put much pressure on the brush, just enough to smooth the top layer. If I'm going to braid, I comb it with a wide toothed plastic comb, but I take a lot of time with it.
In the shower I wet, condition, wet again, scrunch the conditioner through, let sit, etc. I try not to handle it too much. In my final rinse while the water is running through my hair I put it in a loose braid. That braid gets rolled in a small towel when I come out of the shower. Eventually as it dries it works itself loose. If it goes loose and is still wet, I'll sometimes clamp it up in a loose claw clip just so it doesn't get my neck wet. I only try to detangle once it's really, really dry. With the leave in conditioner on the end of the braid, I haven't found much need for detangling, honestly. Leaving it alone seems to be what my hair likes best.
paintedmuse
September 21st, 2009, 11:22 AM
In the shower I wet, condition, wet again, scrunch the conditioner through, let sit, etc.
I also do this. I condition between 2-4 times depending on how much moisture my hair needs / how tangled it is.
After that there will be no tangles left in my hair. It will be completely smooth.
I wash my hair at night, so the next morning my hair is completely dry. I brush it a bit with my wooden brush, strand by strand, slowly and carefully. Sometimes I repeat this later in the day, as needed :)
HairColoredHair
September 21st, 2009, 11:29 AM
Do you detangle your hair by finger combing, combing, brushing, or a combination of the above?
Combing, finger combing doesn't work very well for me unless my hair doesn't need detangling. :lol:
If it is a brush, or a comb, what type is it and what is it made of?
Mostly my horn comb (LOVE!) though I have a couple resin seamless pocket combs about that I use if I can't find my horn combs (which happens. A lot.)
Describe the methods of how you brush/comb your hair?
Start at the bottom, work my way up to my roots slowly. Takes forever, but it helps keep away most knots.
What methods have you found to limit damage/breakage though brushing/combing?
Basically, gentle slow and careful.
cobblersmaid
September 21st, 2009, 11:30 AM
I use a seamless plastic or resin comb. I comb in the shower with conditioner, then don't until dry. I comb every morning and night with a comb (or my finger if I am super lucky and it didn't tangle horribly over night).
Carolyn
September 21st, 2009, 11:30 AM
I detangle after washing with my Mebco wide tooth comb. I can't imagine waiting until it's dry to detangle. I don't have many tangles after washing, so getting a comb through it isn't a problem. I use a BBB or my Body Shop wooden/quill brush when dry or almost dry to straighten out my waves if I'm going to wear it down. I'll comb or brush thoughtout the day as needed. If I wear it up or braided it's not brushed again. I often finger detangle too if I'm wearing it down. I'm another one who love the Body Shop wooden comb. I've never had one warp or break.
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