How to properly care for your comb. Why it gets dirty and how to wash it. Features of cleaning products from different materials. Regular cleaning of the comb is an important hygienic procedure, because it collects not only dust and dirt, but also fatty secretions of the sebaceous glands of the scalp. As a result, at best, the hair becomes dirty faster, at worst, there is a general deterioration in the condition of the curls up to the development of seborrheic dermatitis and other diseases. In order to prevent such a situation, you need to clean the comb every day mechanically, and once a week to arrange "water procedures" for it. At the same time, the features of care will be determined by the material and shape of the comb.
The main causes of brush contamination
However, before we move on to the instructions for the hygiene of various types of combs, let's talk a little more about the main reasons for their contamination:
- Environmental pollution … As long as you do not store the comb in an isolated environment, it will "attract" dust and dirt from the environment. This also applies to hair care tools that you keep at home and those that you constantly carry with you.
- Dead skin … Cell renewal is a natural process, the upper layer of the epidermis regularly dies off, giving way to new cells. Dead particles get onto the comb and create an additional cause of contamination. Moreover, keep in mind that with a dry scalp, the peeling process is more intense.
- Fatty secretions of the sebaceous glands of the scalp … Another reason for the contamination of the comb, which in turn is more relevant for girls with oily scalp. Of course, even with dry hair, it will be present, but to a much less pronounced extent.
- Styling products … And finally, another problem is the dirt from the styling products. Varnishes, mousses, gels - everything counts.
Well, now imagine what troubles a seemingly quite decent-looking comb is fraught with in itself. Dust and dirt from the environment, dead skin particles, grease and sticky styling products are ideal conditions for the active reproduction of pathogenic bacteria. The situation becomes especially dangerous when there are wounds on the head and when several people use the comb at once. Perhaps now it is not difficult to understand why daily hygiene is so necessary for curl care tools.
How to clean your comb properly
So, let us recall once again the general rule. It is necessary to clean the comb mechanically every day, wash it with a special solution once a week. If the hair is short, cleaning every two days is allowed, washing - 2 times a month. Now let's figure out the easiest, but at the same time, most effective way to clean combs made of different materials.
Wooden comb care
Natural wood - the material is quite capricious, you need to approach it very carefully to clean it so as not to spoil it. It is especially sensitive to the effects of moisture, it can deform under its influence, begin to exfoliate, which is already dangerous for hair, especially brittle hair. However, this does not mean that cleaning and washing the wooden comb should be neglected. And, nevertheless, a full-fledged washing with soaking according to the general rules will not work here, and mechanical cleaning will not be effective enough, since the dirt "adheres" to the tree quite strongly.
It is best to do the hygiene of a wooden comb according to this rule: every three days, wipe the wood thoroughly with a cotton pad moistened with alcohol, alcohol-based liquid or hydrogen peroxide. Pay attention to each tooth, and at the end of the procedure, wipe the comb well with a dry clean cloth, or put it to dry on a battery or in another warm place - just do not forget to clean it up in time, because overdrying also harms the tree, as well as exposure to moisture. Note! Do not use ordinary water and aggressive detergents to clean wood - this can cause irreparable harm to tools made from natural materials.
How to care for a plastic comb
But the situation with plastic combs is much simpler - we are talking here about a very unpretentious material. Mechanical cleaning can simply be done with your hands, in case of severe contamination, help yourself with a toothpick.
There are a lot of washing options. If you want the scallop to shine cleanly, you can use three different methods in turn - each of them will help rid the instrument of dirt in a broad sense, but also each will have a special narrow specifics:
- Soap solution … Prepare the solution: pour warm water into a small basin and dissolve a tablespoon of liquid soap or shampoo in it. Put the scallop in a bowl and wait half an hour - during this time all the dirt will get wet and go away by itself, and all you have to do is rinse the instrument under running water. If the comb has not been washed for a long time, then soaking may not give the desired result, in which case an old toothbrush will come in handy for effective cleaning.
- Antiseptic solution … This way of washing not only gets rid of dirt, but also bacteria. To carry out the procedure, dissolve a small amount of an antiseptic agent (you can buy it today in every pharmacy and also in many supermarkets) in water and soak the comb for 20-30 minutes, and then rinse it with running water. By the way, if there is no antiseptic agent at hand, you can always replace it with vinegar, the proportion for preparing the solution in this case will be as follows - 2 glasses of hot water and half a glass of vinegar.
- Grease removal solution … And, finally, another method that will very effectively help get rid of the fat secretions of the sebaceous glands of the scalp. Take the foam for shaving, squeeze a small "ball" onto your hand and gently evenly spread it over the surface of the comb, leave for 15-20 minutes. Then, without rinsing off the foam, clean with an old toothbrush and rinse the comb in warm water.
As we said above, you can mix these methods, or you can choose one for yourself. For example, if the comb is used by more than one person, it is better to carry out antiseptic cleaning, and if a girl with an oily hair type owns the comb, she cannot do without foam cleaning, etc.
And, by the way, do not worry that a plastic comb is not as good for curls as a care tool from natural materials - high-quality plastic in hairdressing is often even better and more expensive than wood.
Rules for the care of a metal comb
Metal combs are not used as often as plastic and wooden combs, however, if you need to create a beautiful styling or hairstyle, you cannot do without them. In the case of metal, as in the case of wood, there are some subtleties for cleaning. They are connected with the fact that it begins to rust with prolonged contact with water.
Thus, care is carried out according to the following scheme:
- Mechanical cleaning can be done in the same way as with plastic - hair and dirt can be easily removed simply by hand or with a toothpick.
- When washing, soak should be avoided. The best way to do this is to moisten the comb with warm water, apply baking soda to an old toothbrush and start scrubbing off the dirt, and re-wet the comb if necessary. Once it shines clean, dry thoroughly with a clean cloth.
The subtleties of care for a massage comb
Another whimsical tool that requires separate consideration is the massage comb. It can be made from different materials, but the main difficulty of cleaning will always be relevant. It consists in getting to the accumulated dirt, which usually lives at the base of the teeth.
Each girl comes up with her own way that will help her cope with this difficult task - toothpicks, knitting needles, pen rods, etc. are used. However, the most effective solution to the problem is a flat plastic comb.
But mechanical cleaning is not so bad. Washing a massage brush is also not always an easy task. If the teeth and the brush itself are made of plastic, there is no problem, all the same rules apply as for cleaning a plastic comb. However, when it comes to capricious materials and their combinations, things get more complicated.
If the prongs are wooden or metal, soaking is contraindicated for them, and treating each prong is not a pleasant task. However, if you want to maximize the life of your massage brush, this is exactly what you will have to do. In the same case, if your own time and money are more expensive, use a gentle soak:
- For wooden tines … Dissolve a tablespoon of mild shampoo in a liter of water, place the massage brush in the solution for 15 minutes (no more!), Then remove and remove all dirt using a flat comb.
- For metal prongs … Dissolve a tablespoon of baking soda in a liter of water, stir to dissolve well. Place the comb in the solution for 15 minutes (no more), rinse in warm water - if dirt remains, help yourself with a flat comb.
Note! Dry the wood and metal massage brushes immediately after washing. To do this, it is best to put it on a soft cloth in a warm place with the prongs down. The situation with a massage brush, the teeth of which are made of natural bristles, requires separate consideration. In principle, there are no special difficulties here - washing such a comb is similar in principle to washing natural hair, that is, an ordinary warm solution with shampoo will do. However, you need to understand that no chemicals, alcohol and other aggressive additives are allowed here!
Pay also attention to the fact that in this case, regularity is very important, washing a massage brush made of natural bristles should be carried out at least once a week, otherwise the latter will quickly become unusable.
How to clean a straightening comb
Recently, for many girls, another problem has acquired particular relevance - how to clean a hairbrush-straightener. This is a relatively new tool in creating hairstyles, it looks like a regular straightener, only instead of smooth irons - a massage brush. True, it, of course, has a special device: each tooth is a heating element, ending with a protective tip.
The main advantage of the device is that to straighten the hair, you just need to move the brush along the strands, at a time when a regular iron requires certain skills in hairstyle modeling. But the main drawback is the complexity of cleaning. If a smooth iron is enough to simply heat it up, and then unplug it and wipe it with an alcohol napkin, then with a brush everything is much more complicated.
Unfortunately, there are really few cleaning options: all you can do is arm yourself with cotton swabs dipped in an alcohol solution and scrupulously clean out the dirt. Some brave girls soak the device, wash it, dry it thoroughly and start using it again, but we strongly advise against doing this.
Note! If you use an iron only when the hair is clean, store it in a special case, and apply the styling products only after using it, you will have to clean it extremely rarely.
Comb care rules
Mechanical cleaning and conscientious washing - these are the two main rules for caring for a comb, following them, you can not only prolong the life of the main hair care tool, but also do not harm your curls.
As for some additional rules, here are some points to pay attention to:
- Individual tool … In most cases, the comb is not treated as an individual hygiene item, but this is the wrong approach. A personal comb, as well as a personal toothbrush, should be personally owned by each family member, not to mention girlfriends.
- Comb type and hair length … Less often, it is allowed to wash a flat comb for short hair care - once a month for this case is quite an adequate "schedule". Most often, you need to clean the massage brush with which long hair is combed - in this case, it is imperative to carry out hygiene once a week, and better - once every three days.
- Storage … It is best to store your home hairbrush in a closed cabinet in the bathroom. This room tends to have the least amount of dust, well, and because of the "isolated" placement, the likelihood of dirt "sticking" is even more reduced.
Note! If your room has high humidity, it is better not to store wooden and metal combs in it. How to care for a comb - watch the video:
Cleaning the comb is an important hygienic procedure, the condition of your hair depends on the conscientiousness of its implementation. The curl care tool requires daily mechanical cleaning and weekly spring cleaning. The peculiarities of the procedures are determined by the material of the comb. The easiest way is to clean the plastic comb and massage brush.
