Having clean hairbrushes is just as important as bathing. You wouldn't use the same dirty bath water, so why use the same dirty hairbrush?
Everyone knows you have to clean your makeup brushes, but for some reason hairbrushes are often forgotten. Imagine this: you’ve just finished washing your hair. It’s nice and clean thanks to some top-notch salon professional shampoo and conditioner. And then, you take your brush or comb that you’ve used a gazillion times before on dirty hair and use it on your freshly washed hair. *shudder*. If that didn’t leave you pulling the face below, then great! That means you regularly wash your brushes (we hope). But even if you regularly clean your brushes, don’t turn away just yet. We might have spotted a couple of ways to clean your brushes that you hadn’t thought of. So, for the sake of two minutes and supremely clean hair brushes, stay with us!
Why do you need to clean your hairbrush often?
Like all your beauty tools, hairbrushes get dirty with repeated use, especially if you're regularly using styling products on your hair. Along with clumps of broken hair and product residue, dust mites, dead skin cells and oils can build up. This rather gross sounding concoction of hair and skin nastiness can serve as a breeding ground for all sorts of bacteria and yeast overgrowth. Risk of infection is high – which can cause a dry and itchy scalp as well as making your hair greasy quicker. Skipping regular cleaning also prevents your hairbrush from working properly, as each stroke of a dirty brush redeposits buildup back onto your strands and scalp. This’ll make detangling your hair that much harder too. So why do that to yourself? The first step to cleaning your brush: find out what kinds are in your collection. Then remove built-up hair once a week and follow these instructions for an occasional wash.
Clean hairbrush tip #1: Pre-cleanse your brush
You might need to grab your tweezers for this one. ‘Pre-cleanse’ is just a fancy way of describing the process of picking out the hair and dirt from your brush. Ensure you remove as much hair (and any other grime or dust) as you can because this will make washing your brush easier. Once you’ve finished picking out your hair give it a light tap over a dustbin. By removing a lot of the hair and larger clumps of dust you can easily get rid of smaller dust bits by tapping the back of your hairbrush. The removal of larger pieces means the smaller bits should just fall straight out of your bristles and into your bin.
Clean Hairbrush tip #2: Wash or soak your brush
Fill up the sink or a bowl with warm water and add a small amount of clarifying shampoo, or even your anti-bac handwash, which let's face it, you've probably got an abundance of right now. Let your hairbrush soak for about 5 minutes before thoroughly washing. Use an unused toothbrush to gently brush out any stubborn debris, starting from the base of your bristle and working your way up. Be sure to be gentle, as softer bristles will be prone to breakage, especially when under water - just like your hair in fact. Plastic brushes or combs on the other hand can withstand a monthly bath using a toothbrush as they’re solid and able to completely dry afterwards. Paddle brushes or tools with squishy bases are a bit trickier to wash however. Paddle brushes have a tendency to trap water underneath, which can be difficult to remove. The lingering dampness can result in an unpleasant smell or even worse, mould. We recommend taking a look at the manufacturer’s guidelines and washing every other month to help clean and preserve them. Take caution with wooden hairbrushes too. When wet, the finish on the wood may get ruined with soap and water. So again, check the care instructions and refrain from intense scrubbing. We would avoid soaking hairbrushes with wooden handles altogether on the side of caution. Instead, a pea size amount of shampoo or hand-wash and a quick wash under a running tap of warm water (without a toothbrush) should do the trick. Do this every other month and you’ll be keeping that bacteria at bay.
Clean hairbrush tip #3: rinse well, and then air dry
There's not much else to add to that TBH. Other than, if you've just washed your paddle brush it's a good idea to let it air dry on a towel with the bristles face down. That way any left over water that's still sat in the cushion bed should trickle its way out.
That's it folks
A whole lot of stuff can lurk around those little bristles, so keep them clean (just like your hands). If singing happy birthday while you wash your hairbrush helps, we won’t judge ? ?. By the way, if you can't bear the thought of washing out months (possibly even years) of dirt and hair from your hairbrush it's probably about time to buy a new one. We stock our favourites in our online shop - so take your pick. Just be sure to keep it clean this time!
