How To Clean A Hairbrush In 8 Quick And Simple Steps

by John Griffith
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Did you just take a look at your hairbrush only to be horrified of what you saw? We understand. Forgetting to clean your hairbrush happens often, but it shouldn’t become a habit. If your hairbrush bristles are lost in a ton of hairs and lint, it’s time to give it the proper care it deserves. Leaving in all the gunk and still using the brush as is will only stop it from being able to preform at the highest level, and it can’t properly serve its purpose. Not only that but brushing with a dirty brush only means you are in a constant cycle of transferring dead skin cells and from your hair to your brush and vice versa. That’s why it’s a good idea to give your brush a good clean. Here how to clean a hairbrush the right way.

Did you just take a look at your hairbrush only to be horrified of what you saw?

girl with orange hair brushing her hair

What is The Gunk In My Hairbrush?

Your hairbrush is like a sponge, it collects a ton of yucky stuff. That horrible, gray residue you find on your brush is a mix of dead skin cells, sebum, old, matted hair, product residue, soot, dust, oils and so on. In general, nothing you want back on your head. However, without a regular cleaning, these are all the things you are deposited back onto your hair with each brush. So, not only does the brush struggle to do its job, you are also not doing any favors to your hair.

Your hairbrush is like a sponge, it collects a ton of yucky stuff

pink hair brush with hair in it

How Often Should You Clean a Hairbrush?

Well, there really aren’t any hard set rules on how often you should clean your brush, as it depends on a lot of factors. For most brushes a good, deep clean once a month is more than sufficient. However, if you have longer air and use a lot of styling products such as hairspray, gel, creams and so on – once or twice a week is best. And to make your life easier you can also remove any hairs from the brush at least every couple of days. This will make the deep cleaning process go along faster and easier. However, that’s pretty much it.

There really aren’t any hard set rules on how often you should clean your brush

how to clean a hairbrush brush tangled in long black hair

How To Clean a Hairbrush The Right Way

Cleaning your hairbrush really isn’t that tedious of a task, and it’s quite simple. Plus once you know how to do, the next time will be a breeze. No matter if your brush is plastic or wooden, the steps really don’t vary all too much. Let’s see what you’ll need and how the process of cleaning a brush should go.

Cleaning your hairbrush really isn’t that tedious of a task, and it’s quite simple

different hair brushes on a bed

What You’ll Need:

  • Your dirty brush
  • Scissors
  • Bowl
  • Warm water
  • Gentle shampoo
  • Toothbrush (optional)
  • Towel
  • Cotton Swab
  • Baking soda (optional)

Get rid of the hair in the brush

dirty hairbrush full of hair

Step-by-Step Guide:

  1. First you need to get rid of all the hairs that are trapped inside. So, with your fingers or a comb pull the hair out of your brush. If you have a round brush loosen the hair wound around it and with a pair of scissors carefully cut away the strand.
  2. Now the brush is hair free, fill a bowl with some warm water. You can add a teaspoon of baking soda for extra cleaning power.
  3. Take your brush and swirl its head in the water. Then add some drops of shampoo to the head of the brush and agitate with a toothbrush or your fingers. This is to help clean the bristles. Make sure to NOT soak or entirely submerge a wooden brush as it can get damaged. This also goes for plastic brushes with soft padding. Only submerge the bristles.
  4. Then just dip and shake the brush a couple of times. This will help loosen any dead skin cells, product buildup and oils.
  5. Also take some time to wipe down the handle of the brush, especially if there is any product residue there.
  6. With the cotton swab make sure to clean any grooves you can.
  7. Then toss out the dirty water in the bowl and fill it once again with some clean, warm water. Swirl the head of the brush once again to rinse it. You can also rinse it under the sink with cool water.
  8. Finally, place the brush on a clean towel (bristles facing down) and let it air dry completely.

Enjoy your clean hairbrush

black woman brushing her hair with a hair brush

This was how to clean a hairbrush in a couple of simple steps. We hope you found this article useful. Now it’s time to go give your hairbrush the care it deserves! Once it’s nice and clean, make sure to do it on the regular to keep it that way.

This was how to clean a hairbrush in a couple of simple steps

how to clean a hairbrush bamboo hair brush

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John Griffith

John Griffith is a young, passionate journalist. Writing has been John’s hobby ever since he was a boy. He has worked in some of the UK’s most successful news portals over the course of his professional career but found his forever home at Archzine.