To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question!!!

Q

qtpi

New Member
Hi Everyone!!!
I have a question on brushing. How many of you brush your hair, and how many of you don't, and why? According to the Cathy Howse system, you're not supposed to brush, but according to others, you're supposed to brush to keep your hair (scalp) stimulated, and smooth out tangles.....
What do you ladies think?, or is it more whtever works for you as an individual? What about the little frizzy pieces that stick up if hair is broken in front? (I have that problem with my daughter) Also, has anyone tried the Curls products that is advertised on the top of this page? What was your opinion on it, if you tried it? Is it for people who already have natural curls, or does it enhance and help define curls? Thanks in advance!
 
qtpi- love that handle!!

I have curly hair and I recently obtained a boar bristle brush but it was doing more harm than good. First of all it frizzes up my hair and if I brush when wet, it pulls my hair out. Now I am back to using my wide tooth combs. I detangle my hair while the conditioner is still in and use it again afterwards to style my hair after I've put in my leave-in. My comb works much better and it doesn't pull my hair out. Also, I only comb when wet.

As for scalp stimulation, I do massage my scalp when I do my hot oil treatments.

But again what works for one may not work for another. So u really have to experiment and see what's best for u.
 
i used to brush my hair all the time when it was natural and i got it roller set twice a week. i didn't have any problems with it. also now, when i blowdry my hair straight, i brush it too.
for the past six months i haven't used a brush on my hair though. i only use a wide tooth comb and a small tooth one to smooth my hair into a ponytail. i like both, brush or no brush. but i think that this has a lot to do with your hairtype and on how you wear your hair (straight, wavy, curly).
 
Yes brushing hair does help to define curls. I'm a 4a and used to brush with conditioner a la Tracy Ross (is that her name??)

The bit I just found out is overbrushing=split ends.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

I've brushed with boar bristles and nylon bristles without and problems. I guess it does depend on your hair.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

I had a friend tell me not to brush and use only seamless combs. I have a gentle Mason Pearson that I love and use though..
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

<font color="brown">I do not brush either because, as CaramelKiss stated, it seems to do more harm than good. I use a wide toothed shower comb for detangling and general usage, and I use a smaller toothed comb for smoothing.

I recently purchased a wooden brush that is designed for long hair, but I have not used it more than twice. The 2 times that I have used it, it was used cautiously . . . but it did NOT break or damage my hair. However, I still prefer combs.

AngieK</font>
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

Hi qtpi,

You're right about what Cathy Howse says about brushing the hair but she also says that brushing the hair into a style is permissable. Repetitively brushing your hair from the scalp to the ends to produce stimulation will destroy it. This can be found on page 128 in the second box.

HTH
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

I see nothing wrong with brushes. I have a natural bristle boar brush and a Denman D83.

I use the Denman only when my hair is full of conditioner and I brush from ends to root. I use the boar brush to smooth the loose hairs into place.

I'm wondering how the boar brush is pulling out anyone's hair? The bristles are just as soft as a baby's brush.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

Cyrs,
There are some boar brushes that are hard as rock. These can pull your hair out. I use to use one I now only use the soft ones.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

[ QUOTE ]
Cyrs,
There are some boar brushes that are hard as rock. These can pull your hair out. I use to use one I now only use the soft ones.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, I C.
think.gif


I always thought that a boar bristle brush is soft, I never knew there were hard ones. When I went looking for mine, I specifically asked for a natural bristle boar brush, maybe the natural ones are soft.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

I tried Cathy Howse's system of no brushing ever never, but I ended up having problems when I would try to smooth hair into place, or my scalp would itch to high heaven. So I went back to what was working for me. I use gentler brushes, like right now I have a Denman that I LOVE. But I don't brush everyday, and I don't brush to remove tangles. I do it mainly to scratch my scalp before a wash, or to smooth my hair out, and it has not caused me any problems. This is not to say that this would work for everyone, though.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

Same here I use a brush to smooth my hair. Nylon or boar. Mostly nylon and I have no problems.
 
I learned on this board to comb my hair only when wet (with conditioner or leave-in in it), with a wide-toothed seamless comb. I do not comb after airdrying, I just use my fingers. I've cut down so much on breakage. I have a natural boar-bristle brush somewhere but I haven't used it in a very long time.

Carolyn Gray recommends getting a soft-bristled brush that black men use and to use it for smoothing hair when pulling it back or creating an updo.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

I brush infrequently, but when I do, it's just to smooth my hair into place for making a bun. I only do it when my hair is dry. I use mainly my wide toothed comb for detangling and most styling when my hair is wet.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

I use my cheap old Goodies brush from Walmart to put my hair in a ponytail sometimes. It didn't do me any harm. I do know my hair looked better after a brush had been set to it. Also, when I wear my hair straight I use one of those big brushes with the wide bristles (also some cheap one from Walmart). I love the way it feels on my scalp and no damage that I know of.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

I use my shampoo brush to stimulate and scratch my scalp when I am experiencing extreme itching.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

i have a brush with very soft bristles just like a baby's brush (dunno if its a boar brush or not). but i use it to brush down the front when I apply cream or gel and occasionally i brush the ends smooth. no problems
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

See this is my problem. I get a little happy with the smooooooove results a brush gives me, even when my hair is wet, which is worse I know.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

Well I guess I'm just plain 'ol bad. I brush daily and I have 5 brushes. I use 3 of them to blowdry my hair. The other two are for smoothing/styling.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

[ QUOTE ]
I've brushed with boar bristles and nylon bristles without and problems. I guess it does depend on your hair.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree, I think it depends on your hair and wheter your relaxed or natural. Relaxed hair is weaker and don't stand up to the brush as much. At least mine does'nt there was so much hair in there, I just stopped altogether.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Carolyn Gray recommends getting a soft-bristled brush that black men use and to use it for smoothing hair when pulling it back or creating an updo.


[/ QUOTE ]

I tried this, but the don't seem to brush my hair.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

I use a couple of brushes but only when my hair is good and moisturized. When its dry and "cranky" I don't brush. Plus I spent a long time on a hard search for the right kinds of brushes for my hair. I finally settled on two. One is an Ace brush and its narrow and boar bristle. I use it for smoothing. The other, for detangling is a Conair vent style brush. I spent a full hour in Walgreens comparing the differnt types of the vent brushes. I'd realized that for me I needed one with thin bristles, balls on the end and that were FLEXIBLE. It was the thick stiff bristles on other vent brushes that ripped my hair out. This brush glides through just like my shower comb - again, as long as my hair is properly moisturized.

Fortunately Conair makes a variety of vent brushes in different bristle styles and round and flat ones too. Added bonus the one I bought was about $5!

Oh - but I still don't do the Marcia Brady brushing. I only use them to either put my hair up or do a few swipes through when I take it down. None of that repeated brushing over and over.
 
Re: To Brush or not to Brush! That is the Question

Thanks to all of you ladies for your replies. The conclusion seems to be stick to what ever works!! That's one reason I love this board, everyone is helpful and here to learn and help each other out!! Thanks again!
 
I use a soft boar bristle brush.
When I first tried to use it, it was way to soft for me.
The bristles would bend and not grip the hair and I thought that I bought the wrong type so I continued to use my regular bristle brush.

After I read that harsh brushing could be damaging my hair, I tried using the brush again and I got used to the really soft brushing instead of the hard brushing that I thought was normal.
I got so used to it that when I accidently picked up my normal brush once and started brushing, it felt like I was tearing my hair out!
I had been using that brush for all these years and I never realized how harsh it was.

So now I continue to brush with the soft boar bristle brush just for general smoothing.
 
What about using natural wooden brushes on wet hair? Wouldn't that be similar to using a wide tooth comb? The bristles are wide
 
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