Reconsidering Brushing

[Blueneko]

I have been a non-brusher for most of my time with LHC (10 months). I feel as if the strength, growth, shine and happiness of my hair has improved. However, it is also a bit of a sexy-wavy-mess for the most part. And I still shed and deal with a halo of baby hairs (or breakage perhaps).

I am reconsidering purchasing a nice brush (Denman?) and trying to add some smoothness to my luscious mane. I am very lucky to not have split ends. I am prone to breakage, however.

Any advice on brushing versus non-brushing? Thanks!

[lynnala]

All I can say is that I'm with you! I've ordered a Denman D3, and can't wait to start-a-brushin'! (I'll let you know how I like it)

[Deborah]

You will probably like the way your hair looks and feels if you add in some brushing. The Denman D3 or D4 are both really nice. They are the same except the D4 is a little larger. I have both and like the D4 better. Another really nice brush that's easy on the hair is the wooden bristle brush from the Body Shop. The health food stores carry one that looks very similar; I think it is by Bass. I love my brushes. I also have a Mason Pearson boar bristle brush. It's nice too, but I use the other two a lot more.

Hope you find something that you really love! :flower:

[heidihug]

I always either finger comb or brush - I just use care when I brush and make sure there are no tangled spots before I start. It always looks nicer, smoother and shinier after I brush than after I finger comb. As I have very straight hair, I could not do the sleek updos I tend to like without a brush. Good luck with your brushing experiment!

[nomadhome]

Have you tried following a wide toothed comb with a finer toothed comb? I find that gives my wavy hair a less messy look.

[justgreen]

They (brushes) are good for spreading sebum, which is good for your hair length.

I've avoided them for almost three years and my hair has really calmed down. The longer it gets, the straighter it gets.

[Katze]

I rarely brush, as brushing makes my waves look weird. Also, if I brush my scalp and spread the sebum down, my crown gets slicked-down very fast and starts looking ugly - greasy crown, but fluffy, bumpy length.

What I do sometimes do is either use the brush to smooth my hair when it's dry (this does not keep long on my messy hair) or brush thoroughly (but carefully!) before washing. Otherwise, I don't brush my scalp, but massage it while washing instead.

A brush is good to have but I have given up on the idea of "100 strokes" that I was raised with - it just does not seem healthy for my hair or scalp to brush thoroughly down to the scalp.

[Saranne772]

well, I use a bristle brush and just being careful not to brush too vigoursly! I just cant stand not brushing- I did try not too but didnt work for me

[Ursula]

Brushing tends to be a straight-hair thing. I did a poll a while back, and people with 2a or less curl in their hair tended to do well with brushing, while with 2b or more curl, there were few people who liked brushing. Given that you have your hair typed as 1c, I suspect that brushing will be something that is helpful. Both Denman brushes and boar bristle brushes were well-liked amoung those who brushed. Since the Denman is much cheaper than a quality BBB, it seems like a wise place for you to start your experiments with brushing again.

[Finoriel]

In my experience it turned out to be the best for me to use both.
I´ve been "brush only" for a long time of my live, because I thought combs would snag hair until I found out that I only had tried the wrong combs for me (very fine toothed and plastic).
Now I´m using a wide toothed horn comb for detangling and doing my updos and a BBB to remove lint from my length, but mainly on my scalp hair to loosen dead skin cells and because of the massage effect. I would really miss that feeling. I´m not doing the 100 brush strokes, that would be too much mechanical stress for the length over the years, I think.
I think trying a mixture of brush and comb is a good idea. Each tool for it´s own purpose.

[Blueneko]

Thank you, all, for the valuable input. I am price shopping for a Denman. It seems $9.95 is the best deal, and that is certainly affordable in my book. I will keep you all posted!

[Misso]

I like brushing. I stopped for awhile but got back to it. I don't brush wet hair and I brush carefully from ends upward, never had a problem with that.