Hair care is not only balms and masks. It is also important to comb your hair correctly. It seems that it is easy, but combing also has its own rules, and for straight and curly hair they are different.
Why comb your hair at all?
Combing is considered a microtrauma for hair. It (like rubbing your head against a pillow) is something like an inevitable evil. But experts do not advise giving it up completely : firstly, your hair will get tangled, and secondly, sebum will accumulate on the roots and scalp .
Combing helps to untangle hair, and also removes hair that has already come loose from the hair follicles and is ready to fall out . Normally, a person loses 50-100 hairs per day – some of them remain on the comb.
Brushing moisturizes hair and protects it from damage.
Microscopic sebaceous glands are attached to the hair follicles . They produce sebum – skin fat. Sebum protects the skin from dryness and hair from brittleness. When combing, we transfer it from the roots to the ends of the hair. This is useful if the hair is naturally quite dry (for example, curly ). Sebum is a natural lubricant for them , something like a conditioner . But this process also has a fly in the ointment: sebum can glue the hairs together, and then the head will look greasy . Therefore, with oily hair, it is better not to get carried away with combing.
Combing relaxes
Brushing is also a mini-massage. When we brush our scalp, the blood flow in the skin increases . This has its advantages. For example, in 2016, Japanese scientists discovered that scalp massage makes hair thicker. However, their study was quite small: only nine people took part in it. And the scientists did not notice any particular difference in the speed of hair growth – only in thickness.
In any case, massage relaxes, and it is good for hair. Severe stress is one of the reasons why hair falls out . Dermatologist Andrea Suarez believes that head massage will help to lose less hair.
What a good comb should be like
Dermatologists and trichologists usually recommend using a wide-tooth comb. This is the most gentle option for hair. When the teeth are rounded at the ends, it is even better: they do not pull or catch the hairs. And those, in turn, break less. A wide-tooth comb is suitable for both straight and curly hair.
Popular types of combs
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A tail comb is essentially a comb with a long and very thin handle (in English it is even called a “rat tail”). This is suitable for parting and dividing hair into sections. It is also used for backcombing.
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Round comb. This is an option for those who dry their hair with a hairdryer. With this one, you can style a bob, form a beautiful wave or curl. For short hair, hairdressers advise choosing smaller combs. They are more convenient to work with to curl strands. Round combs are also produced in a thermal modification. The body of such combs is made of a material that heats up quickly and evenly (for example, ceramics). When paired with a hairdryer, you get a tool for hot styling.
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Paddle brush. It is also called a paddle brush and is recommended for people with long and thick hair. Such a wide comb can cover a large area of hair at once in one movement. And the paddle can also be used to massage the scalp.
What material is better for a comb?
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Plastic combs can be gentle if they have flexible teeth, but they often cause static in the hair.
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Wooden combs and brushes , unlike plastic ones, do not create static electricity. They are ideal if your hair often gets electrified.
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Tourmaline and nylon combs also do not conduct electricity, but they are more expensive than wooden ones.
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Natural bristle brushes. Boar bristles are commonly used. An ethical alternative is cactus bristles. These brushes are often praised for distributing natural protective oils through the hair better than others. Cosmetic chemist Perry Romanowski suggested on his blog that this may indeed be the case. Perhaps because boar hair interacts better with oils than nylon or plastic. However, this theory has not yet been backed up by research. According to experts at Redken (an American brand of professional hair products), natural bristle brushes leave hair looking smooth and polished.
How to comb your hair correctly
The main recommendation of dermatologists is to comb your hair carefully. That is, do not pull your hair or the comb itself in the process.
Dry brushing – for straight hair
When wet, straight hair breaks more easily . Combing it can damage the cuticle, the outer protective layer of the hair. This can lead to split ends . Therefore, it is better to comb your hair in advance – before washing your hair. Or dry your hair with a towel first .
British hairstylist Jane Littler showed this method of combing hair in a tutorial video for the Mason Pearson brand:
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Start from the ends. Comb them evenly, moving the comb from top to bottom. To make it easier, you can put the back of your hand under the hair.
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Rise up smoothly. Each time, your starting point should be a little closer to the top of your head.
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Move to the scalp and make several downward movements with the comb. Gently massage the scalp with the teeth of the comb. Comb the remaining hair.
If you need to detangle your hair, the first rule is to work with dry hair. Wet hair is too fragile and will break more easily. To make detangling easier, you can apply a moisturizing or detangling conditioner to your hair (it will make the hairs smoother, they will rub against each other less and, therefore, tangle less). Then take a wide-tooth comb and gently work through the tangled strands, starting from the ends and gradually moving towards the roots. If it hurts, you can hold the hair at the roots.
To prevent your hair from tangling in the future, it is important to moisturize it regularly – use a deeply moisturizing mask or serum a couple of times a week.
Wet combing – for curls
Curls often get frizzy and break when dry. That’s why it’s easier to untangle them when wet. American dermatologist Andrea Suarez mentioned this in her video, and experts from the American Dermatology Association also recommend the same .
To comb curls:
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Wet them thoroughly and apply a leave-in conditioner.
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Divide your hair into sections, untangle each section with your fingers, and comb gently with a wide-tooth comb. The principle is the same: smooth movements from top to bottom. You can also start from the ends.
How not to ruin your hair by combing
Don’t brush your hair too often.
Combing your hair a hundred times a day is a bad habit. According to experts from the American Association of Dermatologists, this can cause split ends. You should only comb your hair when you want to style it. American hair stylist Vincent De Marco advises doing this twice a day: in the morning and before bed.
Don’t get carried away with backcombing
In English, combing is called backcombing. It is done with a special comb, moving from the ends of the hair to the roots. That is, not like with regular combing, but in the opposite direction. Backcombing lifts the “armor” of the hair – its cuticle – and exposes the inner layer, the cortex. The strength, color and elasticity of the hair depend on the cortex , it must be protected. When we remove this protection, we leave the hair shaft vulnerable.
Clean your comb regularly
Combs accumulate skin particles and residues of styling products. To avoid transferring all this back to your head, it is important to clean your comb regularly. Otherwise, your hair may get dirty faster. It is because of a dirty comb that it may seem that when styling at home, your hair instantly becomes greasy, but after a salon, it stays clean longer.
Cleaning a comb is easy. Collect the fallen hairs from it, soak it in warm water with shampoo for half an hour, and then scrub it with an old toothbrush. How often to do this depends on the specific case. If you always use foams and gels, you should wash the comb once a week. And if you don’t use it, one cleaning every two or three weeks is enough.