Brush and Massage Your Scalp For Healthy Hair

from bath and body

In the days when women with waist-length hair sat in front of their vanity tables at night and began their nightly beauty ritual, they would lean over, begin at the nape, and brush 100 strokes with a flat, wide, boar's-bristle brush. Vigorous brushing is no longer considered a good idea for everyone—it can break hair when wet and can make oily hair oilier—but moderate brushing will help keep your hair healthy.

The right brush will massage the scalp, help stimulate circulation, and moisturize the hair by distributing the oils down to the ends. It also helps remove dust and grime; aerates the hair, which gives it more volume; and eliminates loose hair, clearing the way for new hair growth. A flat, natural-bristle brush is still the best for basic, everyday haircare.

Natural bristles are the most porous, which makes them best at picking up the scalp's natural oils and carrying them down to the ends of the hair. Many natural-bristle baishes are rubber-based or rubber-nubbed. The nubs enable the bristles to penetrate even the thickest hair. They also help reduce static and flyaway hair. And because the rubber base is flexible, it doesn't pull at the roots. The longer your hair, the larger the surface of the brush should be. The thicker your hair, the denser the bristles you need.

To avoid breakage, brush hair in steps, starting at the bottom and working your way up. For extra body, turn your head upside down and brush—gently—from the nape of the neck forward. Then brush from the sides toward the crown, and finally turn your head right side up and brush front to back. This stimulates the blood flow to the root and helps get rid of dandruff.

With curly hair, however, brushing tends to flatten the curl, snare the hair, and make it look frizzy. If your hair is curly, stick with a wide-toothed comb, but do brush whenever you don't care how your hair will look immediately afterward: before you wash your hair, for example, or before you go to bed. And be sure to massage your scalp regularly to make up for the fact that you're brushing less.

To massage your scalp, start at the nape of the neck and massage upward with your fingertips spread apart, moving in slow, circular rotations. Next, put your fingers together, one hand on each side of the top of your head, and zigzag back and forth from the forehead to the crown.