How Often Should you Clean your Hairbrush?

Okay, I know I don’t do this nearly enough and now I’m kind of grossed out with myself but yes, you’re supposed to clean your hairbrushes. Not just remove excess hair, but clean it with soap – ONCE. A. MONTH.

I’ve had my hairbrush for about a year and I have never cleaned it and I think I’m not the only one who was uneducated about this.

You know those gross lint balls that appear on the end of your bristles over time? Well, I always thought that was a sign that it was time for a new one but it’s just a sign that it is time to give your hair brush a wash (something I had never done…not even once). Of course, we will pull out the hair build up in the brush, but I’m talking about scrubbing it down till it looks brand new.

It does make sense though. We clean our makeup brushes and sponges once a week or fortnight (sometimes…) so why wouldn’t you do the same with your hair brush? Most of us use hairbrushes every day and when we don’t clean them, imagine the amount of product build-up and oil we are just putting straight back onto our hair. Gross right?

So, I think it’s a good idea we all start cleaning out hairbrushes ever 2-4 weeks because we care about our hair health!

What you’ll need:

• Dirty hair brushes (duh)
• Large plastic dishpan
• Gentle sulphite-free shampoo
• Clean comb and toothbrush

Steps:

1. Run a clean wide-tooth comb through your brushes to pick up any excess hair or product build-up. Don’t worry about being too perfect here—just remove as much hair as you can before you move on to step two.
2. Next comes the washing Remember: Your plastic and aluminium brushes will go through a slightly different process than your wooden ones, so separate your brushes before you do the following:

For plastic hair brushes: Throw your brushes into a dishpan, drop in a decent amount of mild shampoo, and fill up the bin with warm—not hot—water until your brushes are completely submerged. Let them soak for 10 minutes, then grab a toothbrush and gently clean any leftover hair and build-up from the bristles.

For wooden hair brushes: Fill up your basin with warm water and shampoo, and dunk each brush one at a time into the soapy water, cleaning the bristles with your toothbrush. The key here? Absolutely no soaking—just clean your brush, remove it from the water, and set it aside.

3. Rinse each brush with cool, running water, making sure to get rid of any leftover shampoo. Pro tip: Gently squeeze the water out of your paddle brushes to prevent any build-up from forming underneath the base.
4. Lay out your brushes on a clean towel and let them dry for a sold 12 to 24 hours (the longer you wait, the more likely they’ll be totally dry).

Do you clean your hairbrush? Or did you know you were supposed too?

See more:

• Tame your Frizz with Splash Happy 
• 6 Foods for Healthy Hair 
• Curly Hair Care

Written by Sophia Ivory

Curly hair and she don’t care, this stylish babe plays by her own rules. With a love for dance and all things body positive, you’ll usually find her searching out the latest fashion trends and digging through local thrift stores. Word of warning, don’t bring your dachshund around her, she’ll want to keep it.

Check out her Instagram for all things goals! @sophiaivory