How to Clean Hairbrushes and Combs

Clean hairbrushes and combs not only keep your hair styled and snarl-free but also keep your hair cleaner longer. It also ensures that brushing and combing isn't adding lint or fluff to your hair. It's quick and easy to always have a clean brush or comb.

Steps   

  1. Before you shampoo your hair, gather two hairbrushes or one hairbrush and one comb.
  2. Wet the brushes/brush and comb under warm running water.
  3. Apply a small amount of shampoo to the bristles of one of the brushes.
  4. Gently scrub the two brushes' bristles together. If you are cleaning a comb, gently scrub the brush's bristles with the comb. For best results, scrub in one direction only.
  5. Continue gently scrubbing as you hold the items under the warm running water until all the suds are gone.
  6. Dry the brush(es) or comb on a towel. Don't be rough with the brush's bristles or they might fall out.
  7. Try an alternative way. You can also clean a comb by soaking it in a mugful of warm water and a bit of shampoo. Or, you can try a mugful of white vinegar, which will remove oily deposits left by your hair. Rinse and dry.
  8. Another alternative way: You can use your old unused toothbrush to clean the brushes of the comb after applying a mild soap or shampoo to it. This is a easy and a perfect way to clean the comb.


Tips   

  • Remove hair from your brush or comb after each brushing. Less dirt will remain in the bristles/comb that way.
  • You wouldn't want to put hair oils and dirt back on your hair right after washing it, so cleaning your brush/comb before you shampoo gives you a clean brush/comb to use when your hair is at its cleanest.
  • If cleaning your styling tools with vinegar, be sure to add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil to reduce the acidic smell of the vinegar.
  • A tapered "interdental" brush is great for cleaning the base of a brush, between bristles, and a comb. These special brushes are in the dental section of a pharmacy.


Warnings   

  • Always clean your brush/comb gently so bristles/tines don't break off. Never use your fingers to scrub a bristle brush; it's painful to get poked in the finger by a bristle/tine or worse - under the fingernail.