Best Hairbrush?

Vinegar, hmmm... who would have thought? I have read the link that you sent. Thanks. I think I might try the stuff this weekend. Today, I stood in front of a fan (set on high) for a few minutes and let my hair air dry for another. Then I blew dry in low settings to style. I put my usual heat protectant stuff first though. I hope this is good enough for now. Less heat. Maybe in a few weeks, I'll get used to not blow drying my hair altogether.

Thank you guys for the replies, suggestions and links.

Hmmm. How about instead of washing your hair with shampoo every day, you try conditioner-only washing? That will both clean your hair and protect the damaged parts.
Here's an explanation of this technique from the LHC/Stressless Tresses: http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/thread?forumid=224266&messageid=1035399568&lp=1039925065

OK if you have to blow-dry, I suggest you use a diffuser attachment (if you don't already do so) so that the dryer is not concentrating heat on a specific sections of your hair.

The oils I mention can be used as hot oils but there have been some reports that hot-oiling is not so good for the hair structure in the longer term. I use my oils "cold", melting the coconut (which is solid at room temperature) in my hand.

Hope that helps.

Uzma

Hi

I would suggest you oil the damaged ends of your hair while it is damp. Try coconut, jojoba, monoi - find what suits you best and use just a little to protect the hair from both friction and elemental damage.

Do you really need to blow-dry it? Heat is truly destructive, and if your hair is already weakened, heat will damage it more, causing splits and breakage. Could you just let it dry naturally or if you must blow-dry, how about using the cool air setting?

I think you are better off combing, rather than brushing, from what you say. I came to the same conclusion with my own hair, even though it is not damaged. I felt that the act of brushing would itself cause damage.
I recommend you get a seamless comb that will slide through your hair and eliminate tangles.

Once the hair has been compromised by tangles, it is possible to salvage it and keep it IF you care for it tenderly henceforth. As the expert hair-growers say "treat it like fine, antique lace".

The daily washing and blow-drying are both damaging activities - I suggest you re-think your hair routine.

Best of luck

Uzma

Here is a post from TLHS on Boar Bristle Brushes...
Pay close attention to the long paragraph before the end.....
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Boar Bristle Brush: wher to purchase & how to use
Posted by heidi w. on April 12, 2003, 17:57:52, in reply to "kind of brush"
68.113.149.176

Nancy: a Boar Bristle Brush (BBB) can be purchased in Walmart, Rite Aide, Save Mart, a number of grocery stores and beauty supply stores as well as on line.
I personally get one that is light weight in my hand (not advertised as such though), has a wooden handle and is 100% boar bristle, not the kind with nylon bristles interspersed.

From your post, I am concerned that you think that brushing and detangling your hair exclusively with only a BBB is the way to manage your hair best. If this is the case, I would like to tell you how to use a BBB properly. If this is not the case, then allow me to use your question to discuss how to use a BBB in hair care for the best results so that others can learn.

First and foremost, do not detangle the hair with a boar bristle brush (BBB). Instead, to detangle the hair, use a wide-toothed comb with no seams to catch the hair (can use a nail file to smooth burrs but seamless and static-free wide-toothed combs are now widely available) or a lightweight brush with widely spaced plastic bristles (rubber backing on the paddle), and the bristles are ball-tipped (if using a brush).

The BBB is used to "polish" the hair. Think of your hair as a fine wooden table. The oil on your hair as the 'polish' that needs to be moved throughout the length to improve quality, sheen and softness of all the hair length. The BBB is the cloth for polishing your fine wood table. That is, after your hair is thoroughly detangled, then you use the BBB to shine the hair.

Once the hair is detangled, you can then start at the top of the hair (although I say this, I still work cautiously) and run top to bottom to move oil throughout the length. Any streakiness from oily hair on the top will be congealed to a high shine on the crown of the hair, and move through the length to the ends. That is the purpose of a Boar Bristle Brush: to move oil throughout the length of the hair.

The BBB does not penetrate the thickness of anyone's hair and is not supposed to, so don't press harder to penetrate. Rather, BBB the top and underside of your hair separately. The bristles are compact for a reason: to hold on to your hair oil or the oil you add to your hair or the BBB bristles themselves.

Be sure to downstroke completely as the bristles can easily catch hair and as you move upward to begin the next downstroke can accidentally carry a hair strand with you and thereby cause a tangle. (This is particularly true the longer your hair becomes, especially for classic length and longer.) If you encounter any resistance or tangling while BBBing, then stop BBBing and use your detangling tool to work this out. Indeed, I always have to switch back and forth between the BBB and my detangling tool.

The BBB will cause fullness of the hair, and if the hair is a bit dry, even some static or fly-away (for these latter two situations, do oil hair length only to provide moisture, protection and weight). This is easily calmed by smoothing the hair over with the palm of the hand. I follow each downstroke with a downstroke of the palm. I brush topside and underside separately, frequently in sections.

Brushing in sections for those with thick hair, wavy or curly hair works better than trying to downstroke completely from top to bottom with the BBB.

I hope this clears up any misunderstandings about how to best use a BBB as part of one's hair care routine. Using the BBB in combination with oiling the length only (from earlobes on down) is a fabulous way to achieve a nice sheen, and very soft and supple hair.

The BBB can cause damage if used incorrectly. It must be used slowly and with time on your hands--don't be in a hurry and try to brush with a BBB. Not a good combination. If you are trying to go an extra day without washing and your hair is sectioning on the top because of oiliness, use the BBB to congeal the oil and get that high shine we see in movies. Actually, once my hair is in my day's updo, I use the side of the BBB to very lightly brush the hair on my head to make it really shiny and congeal the oil. (It does make the hair flatter, though, when the oil is allowed to remain on the hair longer than you might be used to.)

Try to avoid twisting the wrist thereby changing the direction of the BBB while downstroking (that is using the brush parallel to the hair or perpendicular to the hair). Whichever way you start to brush, the way you hold the brush, try to keep it the same direction while downstroking so as not to twist hair and cause a tangle.

Do not use a BBB on wet hair. It simply won't work!

I use the BBB frequently, following up most detangling sessions with a BBB. This is one of the reasons my hair is soft and has a nice sheen.

One note, though. If your hair is in repair and currently is rather dry or brittle (say after perm or coloring, or just now learning how to take care of your hair after a number of years of not knowing how), do not use a BBB until the moisture content is improved. The BBB, with dry or brittle hair, can cause damage. Instead, oil the hair first and/or improve your conditioner to improve these problems. Once the severity of dryness and brittleness is gone, keep oiling hair length, but then add the BBB to move that oil throughout all of the hair. You can apply a small amount of oil to the BBB's bristles by simply apply a very teeny tiny amount to the palm of your hand and rubbing the palms together to warm and melt the oil, then work the oil through the BBB's bristles. Also, allow your hair or other oils to build up on the BBB's bristles; do not wash this brush very often--say no more than twice a year. After washing a BBB, do apply some oils to the bristles.

In combination with dusting, oiling, proper detangling, proper washing, the BBB can be a great tool for achieving the hair quality you desire.

heidi w.

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HTH!

Amanda

Hi

I recommend one of the Kent or Mason Pearson 100% boar bristle brushes (BBBs).
You have to match the quality of the bristle to your hair type and I know that one/both of the above companies have advice on matching bristle to hair type on their websites.
The edge that bristle has over nylon or plastic is that you are basically brushing your hair with hair - so the theory is that it is the gentlest route. Also plastic can have seams which will rip hair and nylon has sharp ends that will scratch both hair and scalp.

Also, you have to watch out for where the bristle (whatever it is made out of) is joined to the base of the brush. Those rubber cushioned brushes can trap, snag and pull hair out of the root. Bristles set in wood are better, in my opinion.

Personally, I prefer hand-made seamless combs for grooming as they don't progressively damage the hair cuticle. Having said that, the brushes are better at distributing oils down the hair shaft and cleaning/stimulating the scalp.
I'm kinda tender-headed (since an illness last year) so I stick with the combs now - but I have used brushes extensively in the past.

Happy brush hunting !!

Uzma