new thread
I hope I can upload this pic (I've had trouble in the past, unless I use Bill's resize feature). This was taken in May of '05, so my hair is a bit longer than this now...
Anyway, just curious how many folks here brush their hair when it's dry? I've been doing this all my life (even when my hair was short). I learned a long time ago from a female friend to NEVER use a brush on wet hair (because hair is at its weakest then), --- so I always use a comb only, or "finger-comb", when in the shower & detangling with conditioner.
But... whenever my hair is totally dry, --- like, say when I wake up the next morning after at least a full day or 2 since my last thorough shampooing --- if I don't feel like dunking my head under water, I do a thorough brushing. Besides making my scalp feel very "alive" afterwards, it also helps distribute the natural oils down the hair shaft. I remember my grandmother's generation always advising to brush at least "100 strokes". Well, I've never counted, actually, --- I usually just brush until it feels good! Just the other day, though, I actually decided to count: I got up to 77 strokes before I felt like stopping (which surprised me that the # was that high)!!
Also, I've found that dry-brushing is easier if I turn my head more or less up-side-down (with the hair forward over the face). And to avoid ripping & snapping if any tangles, I always start at the ends, and then work my way up.
Anybody else here go through the dry-brushing ritual?
- Ken
Hey Ken
You followed the Yellow Brick Road pathway just fine in getting the photo on. Wow.............is your hair ever getting long! :-) I had no idea. Super Great length!
I ALWAYS attack my hair when it is dry as well. In my case however a brush is a bit to harsh. For the longest time I was using a wide-toothed comb with very good results. But now it is "Finger-Comb" only just like EdG does. I find this way that barely any hair is lost and all somehow "melts" together and looks as if it had been combed. Why? I really don't know, but I am glad it works for myself so well.
Justin~
While it is not a ritual for me but merely the way I always detangle my hair dry or damp, brushing is a great way to move those oils. Unless you are going weeks without any washing don't worry about getting 100 brushstrokes in. Shampoos today are nothing like what was used in Victorian times when that bit of wisdom originated. Several days oily now was their best version of 'clean'. You see a movie set long ago and if the characters are done right they have a pretty good grease slick on their hair. We just don't have the masses of oil to reduce by scooting it down the shafts these days, and if you are already oiling the ends they aren't starved to begin with. A head massage can stimulate your circulation, one of the brushing benefits, but without the wear on your strands.
Flipping your hair forward is going to give your hair fuller body temporarily and I bet the upside-down head is again good for blood circulation. The different orientation of the strands in that position might also be good for strengthening your roots. For me repositioning the hair back again creates more tangles than the brushing would have solved so I just stand up and use top down strokes since it works on my hair. You are in good company though, Lady Grace is a woman who shares hair advice from her perspective online and the flipping is a method she has used to be gentle on her forward hairline.
One other thing that is good to note, Lady Grace also suggests working from the top downward so you are not going through the oldest hair, your fragile ends, repeatedly as detangling moves upwards. Her suggestion for combing that might work for brushing as well is to use fluttering 'butterfly strokes' as she calls them. Rather than pulling the brush straight downward and possibly compounding knots instead curve each mini-stroke outward out of the hair. Working slowly down the length this way lets you find where the brush catches and work it out without putting pressure that makes tangles worse.
Elizabeth
OMG, Elizabeth! You can write books to people on the topic of hair here just as badly as I can!! You & I will have to go head-to-head someday (or maybe "protein strand to protein strand"), --- we can both enter a contest over who can blab on & on the most about hair, and see who wins!
Seriously, though, thanks so much for sharing the interesting details about what Lady Lucious Lox has to say (I can't remember her name right now...), --- very interesting, indeed!
Thanks for replying... and THEN some (lol!)!!
- Ken
I've got more to blab but your telling would be much more entertaining, Ken, and that's a lot more useful. I'm on the list of Ken fans and really would relish the opportunity to meet you one day should I be so lucky. If I can persuade you to come to Ebisu one day your dinner is on me since I'm such a fan. You'll be safe enough from me with Trolleypup of the gorgeous hair there, my Bill of the hair that would if it could, and any other local longhairs we could entice.
Looking like Trolleypup has turned me into an Ebisu sushi pusher in training,
Elizabeth
http://www.ebisusushi.com/
That's a very generous offer, Elizabeth, but I need to forewarn you: I'm a BIG guy who loves loves loves to eat fine food, --- especially when someone else is paying for it (so bring a REALLY FAT wallet - lol!!)!!!
Also, might Lady Lucious Lox be able to join us? True, I am a gay guy (so obviously, I'll be able to admire her outfit, but yet be clueless about Her Royal Luciousness "beyond that", so to speak...); but, "legends are legends", --- and she sounds like the Liz Taylor of the long hair set... so, I'm hoping to meet TWO royalty in in one evening!
Again, thanks for the nice offer & your kind words... BUT, I also need to forewarn you about one more thing: I'm a lot more of a "smarty-pants" on-line than in-person, --- in-person I think I'm more like that exciting dessert called, "vaniila custard".
- Ken
Even vanilla has admirers, it is good for variety. Long hair get-togethers are about seeing your hair and how you smile when you laugh so that's all you need to bring, of course if Even's in town and comes along too then that's all the better!
I should note that what I tend to get in person is a surprised, "you're so much nicer than online." I try to take that as a compliment. :-D
Elizabeth
"... and any other local longhairs we could entice."
Count me in, Elizabeth! I'd love to meet you, Ken, and other MLHH longhairs in the bay area. One thing I'm confused about... are you in San Francisco? I thought you live in the DC area. I live in San Jose, not too far from SF.
Take care!
--Rick
I believe she travels back & forth between Maine / East Coast in general. & the Bay Area; but I'm not exactly sure... you'll have to get the answer directly from the source!
I enjoy giving Elizabeth a hard time. It's not like I'm going to be a TOTAL "piggie" at the restaurant... it's just that this may be my one chance to try out Lobster sushi (lol)!!
- Ken
Eat all you want, Ken you're worth it! :-) We've roped in Rick (yay!) and maybe others by the time we are done. Suzy, Lady Grace (of once about three feet beyond her height hair) lives in Florida and I've never met her so if I'm lucky I get to be the token girl. About time too, Bill's gotten to be the only guy surrounded by ladies at a lot of meets so it is nice to have a turn. Suzy is pretty busy these days anyway, she's hosting a large get-together at her home this Saturday with Yueqin Dai who has hair at least twice her height. In that company we'd look shorthaired for a change but it sounds worth the experience. :-D
I've been living in Castro Valley in all but name and moving van for over a year now since I ran away from teaching in Maryland to be with Bill. I still get to Maine and Maryland for about six weeks a year each but California is now home for me. I get back East regularly for family visits and long hair meets.
Funny you should mention lobster, Ken. The last time I saw Trolleypup he was telling me how Ebisu serves live lobster with the claws still waving weakly while you slither the prepared but still raw tail meat down your throat. I told him I'd be willing to try that. Maybe I won't wait to bring my own lobster back from Maine and will try it with you guys. Now *I* might have to eat my words! ---============:-O
Elizabeth
Thanks for the clarification, Elizabeth. Overall, the weather's probably better here than back East!
From Trolleypup's description of the lobster sushi, I KNOW I'm not ready for that! :) I've had sushi a few times in the past and didn't care for it much. But having higher quality sushi might be better. I went to Ebisu's website and checked out their menu. They've got much more than just sushi, in case I still don't like sushi!
--Rick
I'd love to be included too, if you all don't mind. Rick and I can carpool! I also like sushi, but am partial to sashimi, especially まぐろ and さば. (That's "maguro" [tuna] and "saba" [mackerel], in case the characters didn't come out right.)
I do brush when it's dry but if I don't brush it out while wet after washing it ain't happening.A hazard of curly hair.I pretty much use the same technics you do,finger comb,start on the ends.
One of my sisters turned me on to a brush made by Goody called the ouchless.They make it in three configurations for fine,medium,and thick hair.I use the one for thick hair.It works better than anything I have ever used including combs.
Arrick
I dry brush a couple of times a day, mine's not nearly as long as yours. I always do the end first to avoid tangles. These days I finger brush when wet and use a lot less product too!
MattT
I do. My brushing techniques are pretty much in line with yours with the exception of using a comb. I haven't had a comb since high school. Over the years I've tried various styles of brushes and the one I like best is the one like yours in your pic. It doesn't pinch the strands in the bristles. I usually dry brush my hair before going to bed and then in the morning before taking a shower. During the day, at work, I finger comb my ponytail quite a bit. Also, I agree with you re: finger combing while detangling with conditioner. It's the only way! :)
--Rick
nicee :)