share on Pinterest A hairbrush can smooth strands and detangle hair. It can besides get dirty pretty promptly by soaking up the anoint, dirt, dust, and products in your hair’s-breadth. When you use an unclean hairbrush or comb, all that soil, oil, and sludge can get back into your hair. If you want your hairbrush to do its subcontract well without adding unwanted remainder, it ’ randomness important to give it a good clean.
here ’ s a spirit at some best practices for cleaning your hairbrush.
Why is it important to clean your hairbrush?
No topic how frequently you use your hairbrush, it has the ability to act like a sponge. This means it can trap all sorts of remainder in its bristles, both from your haircloth and from the environment. Hair care products like leave-in conditioners, gels, or hairsprays can build up on your haircloth and stick to the bristles of your brush. Your brush besides contains abruptly peel cells which can transfer back to your hair every clock time you use your brush. besides, hair’s-breadth sheds every day. According to the american Academy of Dermatology, it ’ s normal to shed 50 to 100 hairs a day. A distribute of this hair can accumulate at the basis of the brush. Particles in the environment like carbon black, dust, and other dirty can besides settle on your hairbrush and build up over time. If the bristles are already coated in oil or muggy hair products, it can make it even easier for these particles to stick to your hairbrush. Without regular clean, all this residue can get deposited in your hair each time you use your hairbrush. As a result, a dirty hairbrush may have a much harder clock time doing its occupation and helping your haircloth look its best.
How often should you clean your brush?
There are no hard or fast rules regarding how frequently to clean a hairbrush. It truly depends on the types of products you use on your hair and how much you use them .
- If you regularly use styling creams, gels, or hairspray, a good rule of thumb is to clean your hairbrush once a week.
- If you don’t use much product in your hair, try to make a habit of cleaning your brush every 2 to 3 weeks.
- To make cleaning easier, try to remove hair that’s accumulated in the bristles every couple of days.
Steps to cleaning a hairbrush
Cleaning a hairbrush doesn ’ t take much prison term. once you know how to do it, it will be easier the next clock. You merely need a few items to get started :
- bowl of warm water, or you can use the bathroom sink
- gentle shampoo
- baking soda (optional)
- scissors
- old toothbrush
- rat tail comb (optional)
Whether your brush is made from wood or fictile, the houseclean method acting will follow alike steps, with fair a few variations .
1. Remove hair
- Use the end of a rat tail comb (a type of comb that has a long pointed end) to remove hair from the base of the brush. If you don’t have a rat tail comb, any pointed object will work, like a pen, pencil, or ice pick.
- You can also use scissors to cut away any hair that’s tangled in the bristles.
2. Dip and shake
- Fill a bowl or sink with warm water. Add a few drops of gentle shampoo to the water and swish it around to create suds. For extra cleaning power, you can add 1 to 2 teaspoons of baking soda. Stir the water well.
- For a plastic brush, submerge the entire brush in water. Let it soak for 3 to 5 minutes. If the brush has a soft padding at the base where the bristles attach to the brush, dip the brush bristles into the soapy water, making sure to keep the padding dry.
- Don’t entirely submerge a wooden brush. This could damage the wood and finish. Just submerge the bristles, as described above for a brush with a padded base.
- Dip and shake the brush several times. This will help loosen and remove oils, dead skin cells, and product buildup. If your brush isn’t too dirty, this should remove most of the buildup.
3. Use a toothbrush for extra cleaning
- If you have a very dirty brush, you might need to use an old toothbrush to clean the base and bristles.
- Dip the toothbrush into the soapy water and make sure to scrub each bristle. Start at the base of the bristle and work upward. Scrub the other edge of the brush to remove any buildup.
4. Rinse and dry
- Once you’ve finished cleaning your hairbrush, rinse it under a stream of cool water. Or, you can sprinkle a little water on the base of the brush and wipe it dry with a cloth.
- Leave the brush to dry, bristles facing down, on top of a clean cloth or towel.
What’s the best way to clean a lice comb?
If you ’ ve had to deal with headway louse, you may wonder if there is a special way to clean the comb that ’ s used to remove these nits. To clean a worm comb :
- Use a paper towel to wipe the nits or lice from the comb after each swipe through the hair. Once you’re done, place the paper towel in a sealed plastic bag and throw it away.
- Next, place the comb in a pot of hot water (it should be at least 130°F/54.4°C) to kill any remaining nits or lice.
- Let the comb soak for 10 minutes.
- Dry the comb thoroughly and then pour rubbing alcohol over it.
- Let the comb air dry.
The bottom line
It can be easy to neglect a hairbrush or comb. But, if you want your hair to look its best, without any unwanted oils, scandal, or product residue, it ’ s a good idea to give your hairbrush a exhaustive clean on a regular basis .
