I have been on the no-shampoo train since February 1, 2014. Over eight months now.
I’m Quitting Shampoo for a Month (and you can too!)
DIY All-Natural Dry Shampoo (2 Ingredients!)
I Haven’t Shampooed my Hair in 4 Months (no-poo update)
How to Get Started in the No-Poo Hair Care Method
No-Poo FAQ’s, Resources, and Tips
And the verdict? Still lovin’ it, baby! It has only gotten better and better.
To be completely candid, I have just one complaint, which is how greasy my hair gets by the last day before a wash. Day 1 and 2? Best hair days EVER. Day 3? Perfect day for a ponytail and a light dusting of DIY Dry Shampoo, and I’m good to go. But by day 4, I’m so over it. Every day 4 makes me want to quit no-poo like a big fat quitter-pants.
I go four days between washing with my baking soda and vinegar routine, and the day before is always so bleh. Like, embarassingly so. I have fine hair and insufferably greasy roots when someone even looks at them sideways. No-pooing has improved this issue to the point where I can go four days between washes (used to be daily), but I’m still not thrilled about the Day 4 greasies.
Well, I am here to tell you that lo and behold! I think I might have finally actually solved my little problem.
There are actually two things that have made a huge difference for me in this issue.
One is that I bought a boar bristle brush and started using it every night before bed. A boar bristle brush is made of (duh) boar bristles, which are densely packed together and quite proficient at pulling the sebum (natural oils produced by your scalp) down the hair shaft to distribute them more evenly, rather than clustered around your roots.
The boar bristle brush results in amazingly shiny hair that is noticeably less greasy. When I started using it, I noticed my Day 4 greasy problem began to lessen.
The other brainwave that has proven to be a total gamechanger is the simple act of cleaning my hairbrushes! I use the boar bristle brush at night (it produces a lot of static, and should be done in layers), and the “regular” kind elsewhere.
Short story: my hairbrushes were filthy and disgusting. I never washed them. I didn’t know that was a thing people did. I didn’t know that you could do more than just pull out the long bits and strands of matted up hair when they finally begin plotting to take over.
I didn’t know there was months (years?) of dead skin cells and hair, dirt and fluff, hair care product, and scalp oils all cohabiting my hairbrush cozily, being re-deposited back into my hair every time I brushed it.
All together now: shudder.
Here’s the worst it got. Pretty bad, eh? That was under the layer of matted hairs that had been (ironically?!) preventing much of this crap from getting back to my head. Nonetheless. So gross.
Once I cleaned my hairbrushes, my hair started staying clean for longer. I wasn’t depositing dirt back in to my clean hair every time I brushed it. Imagine that.
I honestly cannot believe how many years I spent brushing my hair with dirty hairbrushes. Ugh! HUGE duh moment for me, right there. In case any of you are having your own little lightbulb moment along with me, here’s how I did it:
Materials:
Bowl of warm soapy water (I used Dr. Bronner’s, but you could use shampoo if you’d like)
A splash of vinegar helps to disinfect (optional)
Tweezers or the end of a comb
A non-fuzzy towel (dishtowel works well) to lay the hairbrushes on to dry
An old toothbrush (optional)
Directions:
1. Pick out as much hair as you can, then loosen more by running tweezers or comb point up and down the rows between the bristles of your brush.
2. Gently swish around in soapy water to loosen dirt. Use your desired pokey thing to scrape out as much as you can.
3. Continue to swish the bristles in the warm soapy water.
4. Use an old toothbrush to brush in between rows of bristles… kinda like brushing your teeth. I assume you’re familiar.
5. It’s not rocket science, kids. Repeat as needed.
6. Lay facedown (very important) on a non-fuzzy towel to dry (a few hours for regular brushes, and overnight for boar bristle brushes).
How often do you clean your hairbrush?
Check out my other posts on the no-poo hair care method:
I’m Quitting Shampoo for a Month (and you can too!)
DIY All-Natural Dry Shampoo (2 Ingredients!)
I Haven’t Shampooed my Hair in 4 Months (no-poo update)
How to Get Started in the No-Poo Hair Care Method
No-Poo FAQ’s, Resources, and Tips
Marjorie Flory
My mom, and now my sister and I soak our brushes and combs in equal parts water and amonia. Always worked for us.
Hair Brush
Top 10 best Hair Brush with cheap rate
Andrea Fleiner
I did wash my brushes. I saw my mother was our hair brushes, so I washed mine too. She washed them like that and always washed at least two at the same time: fill the wash basin with warm water, add a bit of shampoo, place the brushes in it. Use a comb to get the long hairs out, take the two brushes and rub them against each other. Use the comb again to get more hairs out, rinse and dry on a absorbent, folded towel on the window sill.
Meryl
Hi,
I am looking for advice. I bought a boar bristle brush after reading your post and have used it on/off depending on how I’m treating my hair at the time. I have also been cleaning my brushes. Today is the first time I’ve cleaned my boar bristle brush. I left it to dry on a towel face down this afternoon with the others and now it smells bad. Does anyone have suggestions for what to do now? Thanks!
Amanda @ Adventures All Around
Oh my gosh… you may have heard me slapping my forehead from the other side of the world because this is also something I don’t do. And after seeing your pin on pinterest it seemed SO obvious! I had to click and am now sharing that pin away to spread the brush washing word 😉
George
Hello Beth.
This device could help person to improve the health of the hair:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUM-VLfJ_6o
Annemarie Salisbury
After getting out the loose hairs, I throw my combs/brushes in the dishwasher. I don’t know if that would be good for the boar bristle or not.
Jeana
If some one needs to be updated with latest technologies after that he must be
go to see this site and be up to date all the time.
VibeRadiant
I have to say, that after I read this post, I went and looked at my combs and brushes and I was grossed out. One brush I have had for years and it never occurred to me either to wash these things. I would occasionally pull some of the hairs out, but wash them? What?
I used an old electric toothbrush and scrubbed the brushes and I was appalled at what came off of them. But now, they are clean and look brand new.
MJ
Long ago, I started cutting up old pantyhose and slipping a square onto my hairbrush over the plastic tines. Then every so often (I tend to do this once a month or so, unless I notice a lot of buildup), I just slip the pantyhose square off, taking all the dirt and fluff with it! A quick vinegar soak is all I really need after that, then on goes another square of pantyhose.
Obviously this would not work with any kind of bristle bush, but with the “regular” brushes, this makes cleaning super easy!
Faith W
I’m SO glad you posted what kind of hair you have! I’ve been trying various recipes and things for a natural shampoo for my very fine, thick, pin-straight, greasy roots but dry ends kind of hair….but nothing has ever seemed to work or match my hair type. So now, I need to look up all of your hair-related posts now because I think I’ve found a winner! 🙂 I’m going to buy one of those BBB and get to work with it. And clean my other hairbrush while I’m at it. I recently threw away a brush I had only had for a short while because it had gotten so gross and now my “new” brush is already building up nasties. Ah! 🙂 Thanks!
Alyssa
Beth! I am SO glad you posted this because both my my hairbrushes are so. gross. and I knew there must be some way to clean them – like back in olden days surely they didn’t just run to Walmart and buy a new hair brush every year or two. I am doing this tonight. And I might now be willing to invest in a more legit, possibly even BBB, hair brush. And get back on the no poo wagon (I was on it for a couple years and then bailed a few months ago).
Thanks.
Beth
Funny how the crazy obvious things escape so many of us, eh? Glad I’m in good company 😀
Joy
Boar bristle brushes DO NOT work on thick curly hair. Even the ones with the extra nylon bristles. Just saying. For you curly haired people out there. Don’t waste your money because they are pricey!
Beth
I don’t have curly hair, but I do want to clarify that BBB’s are not meant to brush through your hair like a regular brush does. The BBB will only grab the top layer, which is why I do it in small sections, from the roots down. I use a “regular” brush to get out tangles, calm bedhead, etc. 🙂
Perhaps you already knew that, and still didn’t love the BBB, I just wanted to clarify in case anyone was confused. I didn’t explain it a ton in the post.
Thanks for chiming it on behalf of the other curly-haired lovelies 🙂
Cait
I’ve washed my brushes before but not very regularly…and I’ve been thinking lately that it could be contributing to the (very new) oiliness I’m experiencing even on ‘wash day’! Actually, I did the baking soda and vinegar for over a year but eventually stopped when I started making soap, but now I’m thankful I stopped when I did because I believe it really damaged my hair. I’ve since read stories of other with the same experience…it can be really drying. I finally realized homemade soap was still soap, and now I’m using a really really natural shampoo, after months of hating my hair and not giving in because I wanted to MAKE something. I still don’t like it because it’s oily right after showering. All that to say, I will be cleaning my brushes! And probably trying still another solution. (Making designated shampoo bars? Honey? We’ll see!) Thank you!
Beth
I have been hyper-vigilant about damage to my hair, but so far – nada. I found a split end the other day and freaked out a little, but then I realized I haven’t had it trimmed in 8 months. Soooo, yeah. Duh. lol!
Margaret Anne @ Natural Chow
You mean…people actually wash their brushes? I’ve been doing no-poo for a few months now and I love it. But I have noticed that my hair was always so greasy near the roots and terribly dry everywhere else (especially my tips). Thank you so much for this post!
Beth
Right?!?! So glad I’m not the only one who was clueless to this!! 🙂
Grace
I’m so happy you wrote about this. Literally yesterday I was looking at my brush thinking it wasn’t awfully dirty, but I didn’t really know how to clean it. I was also wondering the same thing about it making my hair dirty or greasy. You must’ve received my brain wave. Thanks for the tips!
Beth
I certainly did receive it. How very high-tech of you to send me a telepathic communication. 🙂 Haha!