When is the last time you gave your hairbrushes and combs a good cleaning? If you can’t remember, its been too long. A friend of mine who is a hair stylist recommends that you clean them (at home) at least once a month. By keeping them clean you’ll prevent damage to your hair, oil build-up and germs from calling your hair tools…home.
How do you clean your hair brushes and combs? Well, I don’t know how other people clean theirs…but this is how I clean mine.
1. You’ll want to remove all of the hair that you possibly can. You can run a fine-tooth comb through the brush bristles to help dislodge it. If you have hair that is wound around the bristles, try using a bobby pin or toothpick to remove it.
2. Fill up your bathroom sink with warm tap water and add a few drops of shampoo to it. Place your items into the sink and let them soak for 1-2 hours. By using the shampoo, you’re cleaning the dirt, debris and oils from your styling tools.
3. If they’re really dirty…use a fine-tooth comb or old toothbrush to help dislodge debris and to help scrub them clean.
4. Once they’re clean…rinse them under cool running tap water. Shake off excess water and lay them onto a folded bath towel to air dry.
Additional Tips:
If your comb is missing teeth or if your brush is missing some of it’s bristles…it’s time to toss them away and get new ones. If the bristles on your brush are missing the little “protective balls” on the end of the bristles, it’s time to toss it and replace it.
If someone in your home recently had a bout with head lice, you’ll need to disinfect all of your hair styling tools. You can do this by using a product that is specifically made for delousing them. You can also try placing them in a pan of boiling water that contains approximately a 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Let them soak for several hours before rinsing them. However, in my honest opinion, I would just buy new ones and toss the old ones after head lice treatment has finished.
Cleaning your hairbrushes and combs needs to be a part of your cleaning routine, and should be done every month. By cleaning your hair styling tools, you’ll get better performance out of them, have cleaner & nicer looking hair and you’ll help prevent the spread of germs.
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Oops. It’s been a long time since I cleaned my brush. I do get the hairs out of it, but can’t remember the last time I washed it. Will be doing it this week.
I haven’t owned a brush in years since I have very thin hair. I love using lavender castile liquid soap to clean my wide tooth combs. I don’t use many hair products so they don’t build up much gunk. Wearing my hair in a ponytail and braid most often, where I’m not combing my hair all the time, probably helps too.
I like the old toothbrush idea
I use the same method for cleaning my hairbrushes, but I have to admit that it’s been a lot longer than a month since I’ve done it! Thanks for the reminder–it’s definitely time.
I clean my brush every day by removing the extra hair stuck in it and I usually take it and a comb into the shower with me to wash it there when I take a shower.
This is how I have been cleaning my hairbrushes and combs for years. I never thought about using an old toothbrush though to help scrub out. Good idea.
I have the most trouble keeping my hairbrush clean. It’s one of those with the fairly widely spaced plasticy bristles, & it seems to have these gaps around each bristle that lets my Mom’s hairspray gunk build up! I think I need to find a different brush, lol.
I used to have a lot of issues like that until I switched to a cushion brush aka paddle brush. I find that I can easily clean the brush, it doesn’t tug at my hair and I can clean in with hot water & a little liquid soap quite easily.