new thread
Hello, i've been coming to mlhh for a while and i really like this.. so im thinking of a question
i've been combing my hair.. for a long time and i BRUSHED my hair today.. and im wondering.. what does a comb do different than what a brush does?
does one damage your hair?
Hello Swordhopper, brushing ones hair needn't damage the hair, nor should combing. One need only carefully, cautiously, brush from the ends first, working your way with each subsequent brushing swoop towards the roots. This prevents tangles, snarls, and breakages. A good boar's bristles brush, purchasebale at any hair care aisle at most drug store chains, is an ideal investment. They help bring out the natural hair oils best. Nature on nature in action, I opine.
Best wishes in longhaired camaraderie and hair care,
Quenyan
There are some differing opinions on this; but, here are my views:
1) I recommend a wide-toothed comb on hair when it's wet (like after shampooing & conditioning). Like Quenyan said, it's best to start w/ the ends, first; then work your way gradually up towards the scalp.
2) I use a brush on my hair only when my hair is completely dry. I say this for several reasons; but mostly because I remember hearing this advise a long time ago from a very long-haired woman, who emphasized that hair is weakest when it's still wet, --- and a brush is more likely to stretch and possibly snap and break hairs than a comb would do on wet hair....
I've done a brushing ritual all my life (even when my hair was considerably shorter). It is based on a practice that was popular from my grandmother's generation of, "brushing 100 strokes" in order to stimulate the scalp and bring its natural oils down the hair shaft towards the ends (where it needs those oils the most).
Curly-haired people seem to not do this dry-brushing ritual as much as straight-haired or wavey-haired people do, because they report it to be more damaging. But, otherwise, I personally highly recommend it!
Hope this helps!
- Ken in San Francisco
Both serve essentially the same purpose - to detangle and arrange your hair is an acceptable (to your self) way. And both can damage your hair, if you use too much force for the situation.
Think of the teeth in a comb, or the bristles in a brush, and little men pulling in a tug of war - the more "men" on the rope, the more force applied to the hair.
That means, when your hair is weak (like when wet), and/or when it is tangled, you should use the minimum force necessary to get the job done. For most, this means a wide-tooth comb, or fingercombing, first - fewer teeth = less force. Starting at the ends and working up also reduces the force, as tangles are worked out as close to the ends as possible, and each subsequent tangle is worked out without piling it into another one "down the line".
This doesn't mean that you can't do the same thing with a brush, but you need to be much more gentle than with a comb, in order to minimize the force applied.
Everything we do to our hair adds to the "wear and tear" - the more we can do to minimize that, the better our hair will be, and the longer it will be, as well.
Jim