While you could go your whole life without brushing your hair except for the occasional detangling, more regular brushing offers benefits for certain hair types and textures. Dry hair benefits from the scalp stimulation and natural oil distribution caused by brushing, so regular, daily brushing helps keep hair shiny.
Your hair might look dry and frizzy
If your hair is prone to frizziness, brushing it will evenly distribute the natural oils on your scalp, hydrating your strands and kipping frizz at bay, per ETE Saigon – Hair Happiness.
A brush helps distribute those oils so that you can avoid the host of problems that come from having too-dry strands: breakage, frizzing, split ends, and overly greasy roots. Plus, you get a healthy shine in the process.
At its simplest level, skipping hair brushing will not prevent hair loss – which is what some people assume when they hear brushing might contribute to hair loss. However, under certain circumstances, brushing your hair can contribute to increased breakage and a particular type of hair loss.
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.
As a rule of thumb, Adams says to stick to that twice a day recommendation — unless you have curly or ultra-textured hair, then brushing before shampoo is best. However, “people with curly [or] highly textured hair [should] not brush their hair very often if they like to keep it in the natural texture,” he notes.
Prevents hair loss: Avoiding combing your hair on a regular basis, preferably twice a day, might result in unsightly knots in your hair. These knots can be uncomfortable, and they can also cause unneeded hair breakage.
Brushing your hair is more than simply a daily grooming routine. Brushing your hair helps to distribute natural oils, which are essential for healthy scalp and hair growth. By brushing your hair, you're also helping to dislodge dead skin cells that can impact the health of your scalp.
"I don't recommend it because it can cause more tangles and oil buildup," he explains. To add to his response, when you do not comb your locks, your hair dries in odd shapes (a not cute one, BTW) and may look buhaghag and frizzy.
Avoid harsh hair treatments like heating tools, hair dye and bleaching. Hairstyles like tight ponytails or braids can affect your hair as well. Keep your scalp healthy by washing your hair and scalp regularly. “Any inflammation on the scalp will affect the hair growth cycle,” says Dr. Bergfeld.
The short answer is that not detangling your hair can cause it to loc over time and how fast depends on the texture and style. If you are wearing your hair loose (twist outs, wash and go's, braid outs, etc.”>, I would not go any longer than a week without combing.
Brushing your hair is an important part of your daily hygiene routine. While we tend to only think of the aesthetic purposes of brushing, brushing also helps to maintain the health of your scalp and hair follicles.
Wet hair is much weaker than dry hair, so treat it carefully. One of the worst things you can do is tug a brush through it, forcing tangles apart, Wasser says. Instead, try brushing your hair before hopping in the shower to work out knots and air out the roots, James says.
Sebaceous glands in the scalp produce sebum that naturally conditions and protects hair. Combing stimulates the sebaceous glands and ensures natural oils are properly distributed from sebum to the root of the hair, all the way along the shaft. Thus, combing maintains a healthy scalp and creates the right pH balance.
“Whatever you do, do not brush your hair when it's wet because that's when it's at its weakest and becomes vulnerable to breakage (leading to flyaways), split ends and damage,” advises Rob.
It is advised that you should not comb your hair after sunset because evil spirits venture out after sunset. It is the time they are more powerful and it is believed they target women with beautiful and long hair to prey on.
Brush and detangle hair
To help minimise knots and reduce damage, it's important to detangle your hair before you rest your head down for the night. Giving your hair a good brush will help to distribute its natural oils, for healthy, shiny, moisturised hair.
Generally, the comb is to be preferred when the hair is wet, because it is able to better untangle the knots without breaking the hair shaft. Instead, the brush is more aggressive on wet hair and it may risk to breake it. However, hair brushes are ideal for removing dandruff residues and massaging the scalp.
Hair is fed by the bloodstream and when you comb through your scalp, you encourage blood to rise to the surface, causing micro-circulation. This increased circulation brings with it more oxygen and nutrients, nourishing the hair roots and promoting hair growth.
Frizz-central
This is especially true for women who have curly hair since they feel like brushing wet hair doesn't hold up the integrity of the curl, and can cause it to frizz up more easily.
If you comb your hair too little, then they will start tangling big time, leading to hair fall and breakages. On the other hand, if you comb your hair too often then, it will make your hair dry and the scalp oilier.
Things like aggressive brushing and combing, sleeping on wet hair or rough fabrics that create friction, constantly pulling your strands into styles that are too tight, and heat styling are all some of the main reasons why hair breaks.
"Simply put, hair is at its most vulnerable when wet. Sleeping with wet hair can lead to a host of problems for the scalp: unwanted bacteria, fungal infections, skin irritation, itchiness, dryness, redness, and dandruff," says hairstylist Miko Branch, co-founder of hair care brand Miss Jessie's.