Look after your hair: how to clean dirty combs and brushes
Every time we use a brush or a comb on our hair, some strands always break off and get stuck in the bristles. Given this, it's a good idea to get into the habit of removing all trapped hair immediately after using a brush and before putting it away. But is this really all that needs to be done to clean a hair brush?
If you think about it, you use a brush on your hair when it is both clean and dirty. And even clean hair may have "products" in it that transfer to our combs and brushes! So, are you sure your brushes are truly clean?
Using clean brushes is important for keeping your hair healthy. Let's check out how best to keep ensure this:
How to properly clean your hair brushes
Towfiqu barbhuiya/Pexels
The first thing to do is remove any hair from the brush or comb. For combs, you can do this by hand quite easily. With brushes, however, you will need to use some tools:
- You can use a comb by passing it through the bristles of the brush to "scrape away" any hair and dirt;
- There are also special cleaning tools - which look like mini metal rakes or toothbrushes - that have long, stiff, synthetic bristles, tines or teeth;
- You can also use tweezers or nail scissors if you need to remove stubborn tangles.
After doing this, you can move on to the actual cleaning. For this, you will need:
- a basin
- sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
- a drop of shampoo
- an old toothbrush
Proceed as follows:
- Fill the basin with warm water;
- Pour in two tablespoons of baking soda and a drop of shampoo and stir to mix well;
- Immerse the brush or comb in this mixture and leave soaking for 15 minutes;
- Using the toothbrush, scrub the base around the bristles thoroughly;
- Rinse off well and allow to dry out thoroughly before using the brush or comb again.
If the brush is made of wood, however, do not soak it in the mixture - just dip it in the mixture briefly, scrub and repeat if necessary. Use only a little shampoo as you do not want to use water on the wood for rinsing foam and suds away.
How often should brushes be cleaned? And how often should they be replaced?
Karolina Grabowska/Pexels
How often you should clean your brushes and combs varies depending on your habits:
- If you wash your hair very often (every day, for example), then your brushes themselves will stay cleaner for longer. In this instance, you only need to clean your brushes and combs once a month.
- If, however, you use many hair products and/or you wash your hair less regularly, then you should clean your brushes and combs every two weeks.
Of course, if you see that dirt has accumulate at the base of the comb or brush, clean them immediately to ensure continue, good hair hygiene!
How often do combs and brushes need to be replaced? Again, it depends on how we use them - there is no precise rule, but when the teeth/bristles break, loosen or bend, it's time to replace the comb/brush.
Have you checked on the condition of your brushes/combs recently?
