How To Brush Your Hair And Scalp To Keep Them Healthy (5 Tips)
Something that comes as a surprise to most of my clients is that 95% of people brush their hair wrong. You probably don’t pay much attention to it, but it is so important to learn this skill to avoid unnecessary breakage! So in this post I’m going to cover 5 tips to properly brush your hair for healthy hair and scalp.
Are you rough on your hair while brushing it? Or do you hear those horrendous ripping sounds every time you pull the brush down?? If you do, it’s very likely that you’re either using a low quality brush or are entirely brushing your hair the wrong way.
To learn about the different types of hair brushes and which ones to avoid, see my post here.
How to brush your hair and scalp
I know it may sound silly, but you probably have been brushing your hair wrong your entire life. When you hear those rip and crunch sounds, that is actually your hair weakening and breaking. It makes me cringe to see someone rip at their hair while ignoring those horrid noises.
Below, I’ve summerized 5 main considerations for properly brushing your hair and scalp:
***Since I’m sharing the products and tools that I love to use with you guys, my posts may include affiliate links to these products. If you take action and purchase a product through clicking one of my links, I’ll make some commission money from it at no extra cost to you. This enables me to be able to continue giving you awesome hair tips, so thanks! ***
1. Hold the brush vertically, not horizontally
It’s likely that when you brush your hair, you hold the brush horizontally and pull down to get the tangles out. Well believe it or not, this is actually wrong! Although it feels awkward at first, you should hold the brush vertically, in line with the bristles and you will be amazed at how much smoother the tangles come out.
Think of the bristles like rows of trees. If the trees are jumbled together like a forest, it’s going to be much harsher on your hair than if they’re in a straight row.
I show this in my Youtube video mentioned above, but you can see it again here:
Crazy, right?! Most of us have been doing this wrong our entire lives.
2. Start at the bottom
The second step is a little more well known. It’s to start at the bottom of your hair and gradually work your way up. You should never start at the top and pull the brush all the way down until the rest of your hair strands are tangle free.
Not only can this cause breakage throughout your entire hair which leads to flyaways, but it actually pulls the tangles together, forming a giant knot!
When a knot is formed, that’s where big breakage comes in. Unless you properly undo the knot, you’re going to break the hairs where they’re tied together.
3. How to remove a knot from your hair
It’s so important to be gentle with your hair, and never tug hard. If you have a tough snarl, work on just that piece slowly and gently until you release it. Raking the brush over and over that knot will only weaken your hair and break it off.
It is best to use your fingers or a rat tail comb to spread the knot apart, which helps the hair strands to release.
Think of untangling a necklace, it works best if you can pull the knot apart so that it’s not as tight. then you can work slowly from the bottom releasing the hairs gradually.
4. Brushing your hair wet vs. dry
Another aspect that many people don’t realize, is that you should always use a different type of brush to detangle wet hair vs. dry hair.
When your hair is wet, you should use a detangling brush either in an oval or paddle shape. The bristles should be made from nylon, not plastic or metal as those are too strong and can lead to breakage.
I also recommend choosing a brush specifically for your hair type. Olivia Garden makes a detangling brush for fine/thin hair, and one for thick/coarse hair. The fine/thin hair brush has much gentler bristles for fragile hair, while the thick/coarse brush is stronger to better penetrate through the hair.
And when your hair is dry, you should not use this same brush. Wet hair brush bristles are too strong for dry hair and will likely lead to breakage. You should always use a boar bristle brush to detangle dry hair, and then you can work your way to a nylon brush once the hair is untangled.
5. How to brush your scalp
Whether you realize it or not, it is really important to brush your scalp. Your hair follicles need to be stimulated, while loosening up and exfoliating dead skin cells. And if you’ve ever had the problem of your scalp being oily and the ends of your hair being dry, this right here is your solution.
You should take 10-15 minutes per day to really brush your hair and scalp out. It feels amazing and is wonderful for your hair. I recommend doing this on dry hair, the night you wash your hair and each day up until you wash it again. To determine how often you should be washing your hair based on your hair type, see my post here.
Section by section, brush your scalp a few times over with a boar bristle brush. This can be the same brush you use to detangle your hair when it’s dry, or a smaller one that fits into your hand better.
Boar is best for brushing your scalp because the natural bristles pull the oil down throughout the rest of your hair that need it. This doesn’t work nearly as well with nylon or other synthetic bristle types.
Blow drying your hair with a brush
If you’re using a brush to blow dry, keep in mind that flat and paddle hair brushes will straighten and don’t really add any volume. This is great if you have naturally curl hair and are looking to straighten, but not if your goal is to add body.
Round brushes will add body, and the larger the round brush the more volume you will typically get. You can also use round brushes to straighten the hair, you just won’t turn the handle at all. For this reason, I personally only use round brushes to blow dry the hair and just adjust the way I curve the brush in my hand based on the goal.
If you rotate the round brush in your hand while pulling it out, you will create more wave and body than if you just pull it straight through your hair. This does take a bit of experience, but with enough practice you’ll get the hang of it! See my post here for tips on blow drying your own hair.
I also highly recommend using a round boar bristle brush when blow drying because they add so much shine to the hair and are very gentle. It’s nearly impossible to get these brushes stuck in your hair.
But if you have thick and coarse hair, you may need a bit stronger bristles to penetrate the hair. You can use a full nylon, or a boar nylon combo brush to get the best of both worlds.
To see more about hair brush types as well as a larger list of my recommended brushes, see this post here.
Conclusion
Believe it or not, it’s likely that you’ve been brushing your hair wrong your entire life. There are 5 main considerations for properly brushing your hair and scalp.
You should:
- Hold the brush vertically, not horizontally
- Start at the bottom of your hair
- Properly remove knots, snarls, and tangles
- Use a different brush on wet hair than on dry hair
- Properly brush your scalp with a boar brush
And when blow drying your hair, I recommend using a round brush whether you want your hair straight, or curly. To straighten with a round brush, pull the brush out straight. To add curl and body with a round brush, rotate the brush in your hand to wrap the hair around the brush as you blow dry.
Use a boar bristle brush to detangle dry hair, to brush your scalp, and to blow dry fine or fragile hair types. Use a nylon bristle brush to detangle wet hair, and to blow dry thick hair types. And you’ll use a combination brush on medium to thick hair types when you want the best of both worlds.
If you have any further questions for me, leave them in the comment section. And make sure you subscribe if you want to make everyday a good hair day!
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