Why Brushing Your Hair Is a Necessity

From a young age, brushing hair is simply taught as a thing we’re supposed to do. Just like brushing your teeth, taking regular showers, and other common hygiene and self-care practices. And while hair brushing may come as second nature to you—we hardly think you’d up and stop doing it as part of your regular hair care routine—it’s nice to know that this simple task is actually doing your strands some good. Below, we’re sharing four benefits of brushing hair to back why it’s such a necessity, along with revealing how often you should brush your strands based on your hair type.

4 BENEFITS OF HAIR BRUSHING

As we said, there are some noteworthy benefits of brushing your strands, and we’re sharing four!

#1. IT DISTRIBUTES OILS

First and foremost, hair brushing helps to distribute your hair’s natural oils. Think about it: Natural oils are produced at the scalp, which is why your roots tend to get oily quicker than your ends. Especially if you have long hair, it will take a pretty long time for those natural oils to travel all the way down to your ends on their own. By brushing your hair, you’re able to spread those natural oils from root to tip, resulting in a more hydrated, healthy-looking, and shiny head of hair.

#2. IT GETS RID OF TANGLES

This one may seem pretty self-explanatory, but it’s still worth mentioning! Brushing hair on the reg helps get rid of tangles and knots, not to mention reduces their likeliness of happening in the first place.

Dealing with a stubborn knot or two? Spritz the L’Oréal Kids Burst of Sweet Pear Tangle Tamer for All Hair Types onto your strands prior to brushing them. This detangler spray has a conditioning formula that detangles any hair type. Say bye-bye to tangles!

#3. IT REDUCES BUILD-UP

Similar to how brushing your hair distributes your natural oils, it also helps remove buildup from your strands. With each stroke of your brush, you’re reducing the number of impurities, like leftover hairstyling products, that are on your mane. This also makes your shampoo ritual easier, since you’ve already taken care of some excess buildup.

Editor’s note: Speaking of buildup, over time, your brush can become dirty with all the impurities and natural oils it comes into contact with. No thanks! Make sure you know How to Clean Your Hair Brush—and that you do so regularly.

#4. IT HELPS WITH STYLING

Of course, brushing hair is an important skill for pulling together any hairstyle. Whether you’re brushing your strands into a slicked-back ‘do or smoothing them into a half-up hairstyle, using a brush is the common factor when it comes to having an expertly styled head of hair. Brushing hair not only ensures your mane looks it's very best, but it also makes styling easier, helping to guide your strands in the right direction.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU BRUSH YOUR HAIR?

Now that we’ve covered the benefits of brushing hair, you may be wondering just how often you should be brushing it. We hate to break it to you, but that childhood fable about brushing your hair 100 strokes is just that—a fable. According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), this can actually cause damage. Yikes!

To prevent damage, the AAD states you should brush and comb your hair only to style it. Yup—no need to brush your strands before bedtime (unless you’re styling them into a hair wrap). Your hair type also plays a role in the hair brushing guidelines. Per the AAD, those with straight hair should let their hair partially dry before combing through with a wide-tooth comb, whereas those with textured hair and tight curls should always comb their strands with a wide-tooth comb while they’re damp.

Next up: Now that you’re familiar with why brushing hair is a necessity, it’s benefits, and how often you should do it, let’s talk about How to Find the Best Brush for Your Hair.