How to Brush Your Hair Properly

How you brush can do more damage than almost anything else you do to your hair. Here's how to get it right.

When clients ask me what's causing their breakage, they usually expect me to point to color, heat, or the products they're using. More often than not, the real culprit is something they do every day without a second thought: brushing.

Brushing itself isn't the problem. The way most people brush is. After 25 years behind the chair, I can tell you it's very possible you're not brushing your hair properly, and that it's causing more damage and breakage than anything else in your routine. Here's how I do it.

Which detangling brush should you use?

Use a detangling brush, and avoid the ones with tiny balls or beads on the tips of the bristles. That detail matters more than people think.

“I personally prefer brushes with metal bristles. In my experience, they detangle the best.”

— Mara Roszak Hairstylist and Founder of ROZ

How to detangle hair, starting at the ends

This is the most important change you can make. Always start detangling at the ends, never at the roots.

Divide your hair into sections, at least four at a time. Starting with one section, brush the ends first, then gradually work your way up toward the roots. Repeat with each section.

Brushing from the ends up creates the least amount of friction and gives you the smoothest detangling. When you brush from the roots down, you drag every knot, every tangle, and all of your natural hair fall down through the mid-lengths. That builds into a far worse tangle than anything you started with. Smaller sections, worked from the ends up, avoid that entirely.

Should you brush your hair wet or dry?

The other key to brushing well is never brushing bare hair. You always want a barrier between the brush and your strands.

“My preference is to brush when hair is wet, either in the shower with conditioner on or out of the shower with a leave-in conditioner applied.”

— Mara Roszak Hairstylist and Founder of ROZ

If you are going to brush your hair dry, please make sure there's a barrier on it first, like a leave-in conditioner or an oil. It prevents unnecessary breakage and damage.

The takeaway

The right brush, the right direction, and a barrier every time. Three small changes, and you'll see less breakage, fewer tangles, and healthier hair over time.

Your brushing questions, answered

Does wet brushing change for different hair types?

Yes, it does. One rule never changes: whatever your hair type, always start at the ends and work your way up. What changes is how you section and how much care you take.

For thicker and curlier hair, take smaller sections.

Fine straight hair and coarse curly hair actually have something in common: both tangle the most. Curls tend to be drier, and the shape of the strand itself, a corkscrew curl for example, naturally creates more tangles due to the shape. Fine straight hair can be the most tangled of all, because the strands are so delicate that they mat together very easily.

How do you brush curly hair without losing definition?

To keep your curl definition, brush when your hair is very wet and make sure it's thoroughly detangled. Apply product before you brush, then more after, and scrunch it into your curls. If your hair has started to dry, spray it down with more water to reshape the curls.

How should you brush bleached hair?

Bleached hair needs extra, extra care. Hair that's been color treated, especially bleached, is often more elastic. Brush it through with a mask, and use more product than you think you need, because processed hair absorbs far more.

How often should you brush your hair?

Not everyone needs to brush daily. Daily brushing can be helpful, but it can also ruin a style, and it isn't required for healthy hair.

What you don't want is to let it go too long. Brush every other day or every two days so you're not battling a buildup of knots that takes even more work to remove. The hair you naturally shed each day gets caught in those tangles, and that creates an even bigger knot.

Before you brush, put on a deep treatment, like a mask or a pre-wash oil. It helps tremendously.

Detangling brush vs. wide-tooth comb: which should you use?

With bead-tipped brushes, hair gets caught in the tiny crevice where the bead meets the end of the bristle. It snaps, wraps around the bead, and adds tension. Often the bead breaks off, the hair breaks, or both. A clean bristle with nothing on the end causes far fewer tangles and far less breakage. Removing tension and friction is the whole goal when brushing.

I like wide-tooth combs too, but they're often less effective than a detangling brush with metal bristles. A brush has far more bristles, so it removes more tangles faster.

Whatever you use, take your time to avoid rushing and ripping through knots.

How much product should you use before brushing?

If you feel a natural slip on the hair, you’ve applied enough product. certain sections like at the name of the neck often get more tangled then the rest. Apply extra product there to avoid extra tension and breakage when detangling.