There’s an old wives tale that by brushing your hair with 100 strokes that you can prevent hair loss. Sadly, this ancient bit of advice is just that – a tale. In fact it is potentially a very damaging piece of advice. Recent research by the American Academy of Dermatology has found the opposite – that over brushing can cause hair damage which will result in even more hair loss.
Simply put, you should avoid over-brushing your hair. The damage can be caused by putting unnecessary strain on your hair follicles. This can be a case of using a brush that is too hard which can create a lot of friction which can damage the follicles due to a process known as Traction Alopecia. Expensive natural boar bristle brushes are often feted as a great brush to use, but the simple fact of the matter is that these brushes are highly damaging. You are often best resorting to a cheap, wide-needled, plastic hairbrush as these create far less friction. Brushing against the natural grain of your hair can also cause damage to the follicles so be aware of the natural fall of your hair.
There can also be issues as to when you brush. If you have straight hair then it is advisable that you only brush your hair when it is dry. This is because when your hair is wet it is highly flexible, so again Traction Alopecia can be caused by pulling it out of it’s natural growing pattern. The inverse is true when you have kinky or curly hair – it is better to brush your hair when it is wet to take advantage of the natural flexibility of your hair.
The Wrap Up.
Ignore those who tell you that tell you should brush your hair more vigorously to prevent hair loss. Be sure that you consider the way that it naturally falls, brushing it in other ways will cause damage and could accelerate any future hair loss. Be sure to take care of your hair!
