One of the most-used (and probably most neglected) tools in your haircare arsenal is the hairbrush. While many of your daily styles may call for a quick detangling or, in the case of a slicked-back style, a concentrated smoothing of your strands that requires precision, it’s easy to overlook the everyday wear your hairbrush endures. But that doesn’t mean your brush should be exempt from a good deep clean every now and then.
We tapped the experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty & Personal Care Lab to break down the real reason your hairbrush shouldn’t be neglected and how to get the best clean with minimal effort.
So, should you clean your hairbrush?
The short answer is yes. With all that our brushes endure during use, there is ample reason to give them a thorough cleaning. “Hair brushes accumulate buildup from your natural scalp oil, dandruff, dead skin, hair product residue, and dust that clings to styling products on your hair,” says Good Housekeeping Beauty Lab Director Sabina Wizemann. And all that lingering on your brush really makes you think twice about using it on your clean, freshly washed hair.
How often does your brush need to be cleaned?
According to Wizemann, you should give your brush a good once-over pretty regularly. “Depending on your hair type and product usage, such as leave-in styling or dry shampoo, it is recommended to inspect a brush once a week and clean it,” she says. With the busyness of life, once a week for a deep clean can seem a bit strict, but this will vary depending on your hair styling and use.
How should you clean your brush?
Now that you know how often you should be cleaning your brush, here’s a breakdown of the best way to get it done:
Remove loose hair: Any strands caught in your brush’s bristles should be removed as the first step in cleaning. Wizemann recommends using your fingers or a comb for this. She also notes that “some brushes have built-in picks in the handle to pull out hair,” or you can buy specialized tools separately, like this one from Jenny Patinkin.
Cleanse bristles: Once hair has been freed from your bristles and discarded, you’ll want to move on to cleansing. For this, you can “dissolve a gentle shampoo or mild soap in tap water in a bowl, then immerse the bristles of an old toothbrush or a cleaning brush (like this one: Denman Cleaning Brush),” says Wizemann. “Gently brush debris from the hairbrush in one direction, then switch. Or, in short: dip and scrub.”
Rinse: While this may seem like the most straightforward part of cleaning your hairbrush, it can require more attention than you might think. “Depending on the material your brush is made of, your rinsing method may vary,” Wizemann says.
- For hairbrushes with a plastic, silicone, or cellulose acetate handle, or a synthetic or plastic brush pad and bristles, can simply be rinsed under running water, she explains.
- For brushes with wooden handles and a natural rubber cushion, you should “gently remove soap (from wooden and rubber brushes) with a clean, wet cleaning brush (dip it in clean water) and wipe away soap around the bristles, keeping the cushion air hole (if your brush has one) out of the water,” according to Wizemann.
Let dry: Finally, you can air-dry your brushes until your next use. Wizemann says that placing the brush face down when drying is ideal.
