The best time to brush your hair is when it is almost or completely dry. But if you have tangles after washing it or after a swim, you can use a wide-tooth comb on your wet hair to restore order but make sure it has smooth tooth ends so you don't irritate your scalp.
Hair that's wet and filled with moisture is more fragile than hair that's dry, which can result in snapping when brushed. As such, it's recommended to brush hair in a dry state (guide-to-detangling-curls). This may mean allowing your hair to air-dry post-shower before beginning to comb through hair strands.
Just like sleeping with wet hair can be damaging, brushing through wet hair can cause unnecessary friction and breakage to your strands. We recommend letting hair air dry before brushing and trying to use a wide-toothed comb during or after the shower.
To ensure a damage-free experience, De Marco recommends brushing your hair in sections. He also recommends not starting at your roots. “Brushing your hair from top to bottom will inevitably cause breakage,” explains De Marco. Instead, brushing should always start mid-hair or a few inches from your ends.
Unclogs Pores and Follicles
For example, sebum can build up and lead to blemishes, while clogged follicles can cause hair loss. Dry brushing can help alleviate these issues.
Aggressive brushing and combing can yank healthy hair from the scalp and split knotty hairs. While finger detangling won't make your hair grow any faster, it will minimize breakage and keep more hair on your head, possibly helping you to retain length over time.
Advocates say that over-brushing damages your hair, leading to split ends and breakages, which could end in hair loss. By not brushing your hair, they say, you allow it to remain strong, healthy and even looking better.
Frizz-central
While this one's avoidable, we felt it necessary to include this little PSA anyway: brushing your hair when it's wet can lead to frizzy hair once it's dried up.
The reason it gets frizzy is simple, however. Your hair's outer layer, the cuticle, looks similar to a shingled roof. When hair is smooth, the many overlapping layers lie flat. But when you run a brush through it, those layers can lift.
"The average person who is brushing or combing their hair every day—and this part is important—should lose between 50 and 100 strands. The brushing or combing part should be noted, because not everyone does that, or needs to do that," Dr. Fusco says.
Your hair is at its weakest when its wet, as dry hair is protected by the natural oils which coat each hair strand. Clean, wet hair has zero protection, meaning its more prone to split ends and breakage. So when you come out the shower and brush your hair, you are causing serious damage.
Brush or Comb Only When Wet
The number one priority while air-drying is minimizing frizz. Those with curly hair almost always only brush or comb their hair when it's wet to avoid disrupting their curls and creating frizz. "For curly hair, avoid brushing your strands while hair is air-drying.
The Wet Brush helps prevent tugging, pulling, ripping, and damage that can cause split ends, breakage, and hair loss. Just start brushing from the ends of your hair and work your way up! Yes, you can use a Wet Brush on curly hair.
When we wash the hair, the pores of the scalp are already open making it sensitive. On combing, it leads to hair breakage. This causes hair fall and breakage. It is therefore not advisable to comb wet hair.
Too much brushing can irritate your scalp and stress your hair, causing it to break and fall out. I recommend brushing long hair a few times a day, not more. The same advice applies to using combs: be gentle and, if your hair is long, hold your hair in your hands and comb the ends out first.
Over-moisturised hair ('hygral fatigue') will feel very soft, lack definition and may experience a lot of wet frizz. This will then translate into soft, mushy frizz when hair is dry. Tip: Before deciding whether your frizz is due to a lack of protein, ensure your hair is properly hydrated.
It turns out, ditching the brush might actually do some good for your strands. According to the American Hair Loss Association (AHLA), aggressively brushing your hair can put physical stress on the hair fiber, causing the cuticle to flake and strip away.
Your Water Is Too Hot
Steamy showers are relaxing, but they can also wreak havoc on your hair. Hot water melts away your natural hair oils, leaving it dry, brittle, and frizzy. Excess heat also lifts your hair cuticles, the outermost layer.
Adams warns against brushing hair while wet. “When hair is wet, it will stretch to three times its original length and return to normal when dry,” he explains. “If the hair has been damaged by chemical treatments or if the hair is naturally fine or weak, brushing when wet may stretch the hair and break it,” he adds.
Certain hairstyles can tug on the scalp, resulting in hair loss. Even brushing your hair too much can result in thinning and damaged hair.
Brushes and combs are excellent for grooming, and both greatly benefit your hair. A hairbrush generally works better for dry hair and can be ideal for removing dandruff residues and massaging the scalp, while a comb is the perfect tool for detangling your hair when wet.