Forget what you may have heard

Remember when you were a kid and you could purchase books through a little catalogue that you received in school? Well one year I purchased a book about having perfect skin, nails and hair. The book which is probably buried somewhere in my closet explained that brushing your hair daily is an important factor if a person wanted their hair to be healthy and strong. If I could find that book I would probably burn it. A girl who looked nothing like me, was pictured in the book brushing her hair, that alone should have been an indication that I was not to follow the books advice. Nevertheless I began my hair brushing regimen which I am certain was the cause of some major hair breakage.
Over the years I have gathered real information which has helped me to appreciate that a simple hair brush may be the DEVIL. Ok not literally but it can really do damage to your hair if you are not careful. If you are brushing your hair to stimulate growth please put down the brush and continue reading this post.

Our hair is naturally more dry and it can be quite fragile so we must treat it tenderly. And let's face it some of you out there brush your hair violently, just dragging those bristles down your tender strands. If you are using a brush please ensure that it is a super soft boar bristle brush and do not use it to brush your hair just for the sake of brushing. If you look at your brush do you have a bunch of short strands left behind? If so, you may be experiencing hair breakage caused by your brush. * (this asterik connects to a side discussion that you will find at the end of this post)

I have a very soft boar bristle brush that I barely touch and when I do, I use it to gently smooth down a particular section of my hair. It has been said that a natural boar bristle brush helps to circulate the oils on your scalp straight down to the ends of your hair as you brush. This oil relocation leads to shinier hair-this has not been my personal experience so my brush is hardly used.

The Goody company has released their Ouchless collection which features products that will not rip your hair out of your head. Please stay away from their ouchless brush because ouch is the only thing that you will be saying as it rips strands from your scalp. If the little ball at the tip of the brush is not properly secured on the brush it is just hair snags and breakage waiting to happen. I know some people enjoy using that particular brush (priced at $5.99) but I am not one of them.

Ultimately, if scalp stimulation is what you want that can be achieved through some very special essential oils which I will discuss in another post. Using your hair brush less frequently is not as difficult as you may thing once you get into the swing of things. So I beg you to put down the hair brush and slowly walk away.

*Please note that hair sheds naturally and it should but not all hair that leaves our heads is from shedding sometimes it is breakage. So how can you tell the difference? Here is a quick test for you- if you look at a strand of hair that has left your head, do you see a tiny white bulb at the tip? If you do, that is a shed hair which has ended its life cycle. If you see shorter strands with no bulb it is likely that you are looking at breakage. Now this is not to say that each strand that does not have the tiny bulb is breakage but this is just a general test to help you figure out what issue you may be dealing with.
Happy Grooming!