How to Clean Combs and Brushes
Brushes and combs should be cleaned weekly not only to keep your hair clean longer, but also to ensure you're not adding lint or fluff to clean hair after washing it.
The bristles of a brush or a comb's teeth have a nasty habit of grabbing and holding dust, dirt, and hair styling products. If you tackle this task weekly, however, you'll be rewarded with cleaner hair daily.
Cleaning these hair-tamers is quick and easy. All you'll need is regular hair shampoo, running water, and a toothpick for really settled-in hairbrush hair.
Here's how the cleaning program shakes out:
1. Start by removing all lingering hair.
You can remove the hair by pulling it from the bristles with your fingers, and simply tossing it in the trash. Use a toothpick to loosen really tightly bound hair for removal.
2. Soak brush in the sink for 5 to 15 minutes minutes in warm water and shampoo.
A soak in warm water with shampoo helps break up any lingering oils, grease or hair products while cleaning the bristles at the same time.
Gently scrub the base with your fingers, then move on to the bristles. Continue gently removing debris until all the hair and visible buildup on the base and bristles is removed.
Rinse with clean water. Lay on a towel to dry.
3. For stubborn, oily deposits, soak in a coffee mug with equal parts water and vinegar.
If your brush still doesn't seem clean and all oils removed, the next step is to submerge in a coffee mug filled with equal parts warm water and vinegar. Let soak for 15 minutes.
Rinse and dry flat on a clean towel.
4. If the handle is wooden, padded, or rubber-cushioned, don't submerge in water. Clean under running water instead.
If your brush has a wood base, rubber padding or has natural boar bristles, clean under running warm water with shampoo without submerging in water.
Water can got through the vent hole on cushioned brushes, and will erode the cushioning. On wood brushes, sustained exposure to water can cause the wood to weaken and break. Natural boar bristles can twist or curl if dampened.
Suggested Reading
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About the Author
Tara Aronson is a native Californian. Having grown up in San Diego, she studied journalism and Spanish to pursue a career in newspaper writing. Tara, whose three children - Chris, Lyndsay, and Payne - are the light of her life, now lives and writes in Los Angeles. She also regularly appears on television news programs throughout the U.S.
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