Boar Bristle Brush and stretching washes?

[gracenotes]

I have a BBB that I am trying to become more friendly with while I am (slowly but surely) stretching washes. I've read lots of glowing reviews here about BBBs, citing their ability to distribute sebum more evenly, which results in lovely shiny hair. So far though, even using the method Madora recommended on some of the other BBB threads, I've had mixed results. My hair DOES get lovely and shiny, but in combination with my stretching washes, I'm finding that my most noticeably result is, unfortunately, hair that looks a lot greasier a lot faster than if I'd just left my scalp alone. Is this just a "side effect" of the BBB distributing the oil? Is there an adjustment period after which BBBing will stop making my hair look vaguely like an oil slick? Does it just not work for everyone? Any BBB wisdom would be appreciated!

[Madora]

I have a BBB that I am trying to become more friendly with while I am (slowly but surely) stretching washes. I've read lots of glowing reviews here about BBBs, citing their ability to distribute sebum more evenly, which results in lovely shiny hair. So far though, even using the method Madora recommended on some of the other BBB threads, I've had mixed results. My hair DOES get lovely and shiny, but in combination with my stretching washes, I'm finding that my most noticeably result is, unfortunately, hair that looks a lot greasier a lot faster than if I'd just left my scalp alone. Is this just a "side effect" of the BBB distributing the oil? Is there an adjustment period after which BBBing will stop making my hair look vaguely like an oil slick? Does it just not work for everyone? Any BBB wisdom would be appreciated!

I can't say for sure why your hair is becoming greasier "a lot faster" when you use your bbb.

The problem might be due to what you use on your hair..i.e. if you use oils, leave-ins, etc. As you know, the bbb distributes the hair's natural sebum down your strands. If you have additional coatings on your hair, they might be adhereing to the natural sebum, thus resulting in a greasier look faster.

Also, I found that I could stretch my washes longer if I used a clean bbb every day.

Lastly, it could be that your hair is still getting used to the idea of stretching your washes and you'd have better results if you went back to washing once a week for a time, then stretch it to washing once every 10 days, and so forth.

[Manny1826]

how often do you wash your BBB, Madora?

[Madora]

how often do you wash your BBB, Madora?

Hi, Manny,

It gets a "quickie" clean every day. I just take a small nail brush, add a bit of Neutrogena hand soap, then scrub briskly between the rows of bristles, then rinse thoroughly under cold water.

Once a week I add a small bit of shampoo into a tall, plastic cup, add in about 10 oz of warm (not hot) water, mix thoroughly, then insert the brush so that only the bristles are submerged. Let it soak for 7 minutes, then rinse well with cold water.

I then fan the bristles, shake it out well, towel off all wooden parts, then place it, bristles side down, on a microfiber towel.

Before you wash your brush, be sure all the tiny hairs have been removed from between the bristles. Some people use a narrow tooth comb. I use a small metal hair rake made for brushes.

[Hairwish]

I am trying to stretch my washes from 5 to 7 days and for this purpose I have started using a BBB, but, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be doing anything for me.

[~Jenny^-^~]

Im fairly new, so someone tell me if I'm being a complete noob... :P.

I've found that when using a BBB you can brush just on the surface of the hair(with the brush parallel to the hair) or you can angle the brush so the bristles go to the scalp, maybe if your doing the latter you're stimulating your scalp to produce more oils. I hope that makes sense!

[pinupdancer]

I tried the BBB method for the first time last night and had the same result. But I'm thinking that, like Madora said, I still have some sort of coating on my hair from my last oil treatment. Keep us posted on your progress, though. I'd be interested to see if it's the same problem for you. Best of luck in finding a solution.

[bna_rapunzel]

I have a BBB that I am trying to become more friendly with while I am (slowly but surely) stretching washes. I've read lots of glowing reviews here about BBBs, citing their ability to distribute sebum more evenly, which results in lovely shiny hair. So far though, even using the method Madora recommended on some of the other BBB threads, I've had mixed results. My hair DOES get lovely and shiny, but in combination with my stretching washes, I'm finding that my most noticeably result is, unfortunately, hair that looks a lot greasier a lot faster than if I'd just left my scalp alone. Is this just a "side effect" of the BBB distributing the oil? Is there an adjustment period after which BBBing will stop making my hair look vaguely like an oil slick? Does it just not work for everyone? Any BBB wisdom would be appreciated!

I love my BBB, but unfornately, I only get to use it every couple days because of this. I'm a biiig coconut oil user so this might be my problem. Keep us updated, I'll be watching this thread!

[gracenotes]

Thanks for the advice, everybody! I think I've finally made peace with my BBB!
I've been washing my brush more frequently (every day or so) so that I don't get all of those residual oils right back on my scalp. I'm not a heavy coconut oiler, but I do use it sometimes, and I'm sure that was contributing to the oily look. I've also found that lifting my hair away from the scalp when I brush it is really helpful--so that the bristles have contact with just the hair rather than the scalp. What I was doing before (just brushing with the bristles against the scalp) was, I think, just grabbing oil from my scalp and making it more obvious. I hope that made sense!