Why I Switched Brushing For Combing And Hair Up Date

A few months ago I gave up my beloved Tangle Teezer for a simple wooden comb. I switched hairdressers and before they even started cutting my hair they recommended hair and scalp rebuilding treatment. I didn’t even get my hair cut on my first visit. 

My hair’s fine and just because I don’t dye it or use a hair dryer doesn’t mean I get away scot free on damage. Cycling isn’t kind to fine hair. The wind whips moisture out. I workout everyday, it gets greasy easily and I wash it everyday. My previous hairdresser recommend wearing my hair in a plait cycling which helps no end and I wear in addition a baseball cap to avoid looking like I’ve been pulled through a bush backwards. Running and working out it’s in a bun to avoid sweat, wind and suncream damage. I changed hairdressers for 2 reasons. 1, I felt the salon no longer had pride in itself. Every time I went, I noticed the wax pot didn’t seem to be cleaned and overflowing with dried wax, no fresh towels in the bathroom, cleanliness not what it was, little things that tell another story. 2. I’d noticed Peluqueria Salo PAS (PeloArtSano) on my travels an ecological salon so obvisouly I wanted to try them out!

The girls in PAS are great. No other hairdresser has recommend treatment for my now previously red scalp. I thought it was down to the sun. Nope. Every summer as our hair hair sheds and regrowth, I had hair loss to the point I’ve often thought is this normal the amount I’m shedding? PAS explained as my hair’s in such bad condition, if I don’t address it now I could loose my hair later in life. That was enough to say, okay what’s the treatment?! Several sessions of infra red hair tongs, OWAY an ecological Italian brand that PAS work exclusively with intensive hair masks, at home scalp sprays, shampoos and masks that have really helped make my hair healthy again. It’s a on going process until it’s 100% healthy. It’s also expensive! I get my hair cut around the Solstices and Equinoxes for some moon magic, so I try to tie in treatment at the same time. Say just the intensive mask one month, nothing for the next and the infra red tongs the next. It’s been about 4 months with 3 rounds of treatment and my hair’s looking a lot healthier. It’s longer than it’s ever been, the strands are stronger, healthier looking, softer and shinier. The annual shed’s begun and I’ve noticed the shedding is way less than previous years. I’m still concerned as with every year the regrowth might be white! The treatment is also meant to help delay this for a while. Fingers crossed! 

So what’s this to do with brushing and combing hair? Being vegan all those boar bristles are out. I read an Instyle Magazine article about Norma Kamali who in her 70’s looks fantastic. Wanting to find out more of her beauty secrets, Google lead me to another article saying she uses a wooden comb to stimulate blood circulation bringing nutrients to the roots. I’ve been using a plastic wide tooth comb for years on wet hair, using a brush when dry so I initially switched out the plastic comb of the wooden one. A few weeks after I started the Oway/PAS treatment I took a look at my Tangle Teaser. The plastic bristles were beginning to go in all directions and were probably likely to do more damage to my hair and I’ve just spent all that money getting my locks back! So I recycled the plastic brush and comb for the wooden comb. 4 months later I don’t miss the brush. The comb’s kinder on my hair. It doesn’t hurt as much getting out tangles. It doesn’t break or pull on strands. As you comb the wooden fibres help take the natural oils from your scalp all the way to the ends, it gives my hair a bit of bounce minus the pouffy brush and static effect. Plus it’s more environmentally friendly, lasts for forever and zero waste friendly!

Do you prefer brushing or combing hair? How do you protect your hair from heat and environmental damage?