Look at your brush. It’s filthy. Even after removing all the dead hair, there’s a layer of oily, linty buildup on the brush pad and around the base of the bristles. Don’t drag all that crud through your stunning mane. For the love of your locks, learn how to clean your hair brush.
Your Hair Will Thank You
Knowing how to clean your hair brush is vital to your routine. Every time you brush your hair, your brush picks up oils, lint, environmental particulates, hair shed and debris, not to mention dead skin cells and bacteria. Removing those foreign particles is part of the brush's reason for being.
Without regular cleaning, you’ll be depositing all that sour, damp, musty gunk back into your lettuce with every brush stroke, defeating the purpose of brushing in the first place.
Even worse, buildup on your brush causes drag, increasing friction and putting unwanted stress on the hair shaft. The result is excess hair damage and breakage every time you brush.
While a clean brush will glide smoothly through the hair without that added resistance—a dirty brush is a real drag.
Timing Matters When Cleaning Your Hair Brush
It’s not only important to know how to clean your hair brush, but when to clean it as well.
Your scalp type (oily, average, or dry), activity levels, and the amount of hair products you use will determine how often you should clean your brush.
If your scalp is on the oily side, you sweat every day, or use a lot of products, you’ll want to clean your brush roughly once a week. If you’ve got a drier scalp or you rarely/never use hair products, you can get away with a deep clean every 2-3 weeks.
Some “Don’ts” Before The “Dos”
NEVER USE
UV Light
A common sanitation method since COVID, UV light breaks down the rubber pad, leaving the teeth vulnerable to sinking into the brush pad.
Quats
Quats (Barbicide) and Brush Delight! are both acidic soaking solutions, which not only break down the rubber pad but damage the wood handle and the glaze protecting it.
How to Clean Your Hair Brush
TOOLS NEEDED
A dirty, bad brush in need of some good, clean lovin’
Sink
Wide-toothed comb
Toothbrush (that you won’t put back in your mouth)
Gently knock the brush, bristle side down, against the palm of your hand. Cup your hand, as to contact every bristle at once, so you’re not putting too much stress on any single bristle.
Step 2
Now that the hairs have been brought to the tips of the bristles, gently remove them with your fingers or comb.
Step 3
With a majority of the hair discarded, ever-so-gingerly run the comb through the brush’s bristles, gathering up any remaining hairs.
Step 4
Run your brush under warm water to get rid of any loose lint and debris.
Step 5
Apply the shampoo to your toothbrush like toothpaste, or apply it directly to the rubber pad of the brush. Delicately run the toothbrush up and down the pad, scrubbing smoothly between the gaps in the bristles. Be sure to scrub the length and the width of the pad.
Step 6
Rinse the brush and repeat as many times as necessary.
Step 7
Once the rubber pad and bristles are free of buildup, drain the excess water by bobbing the brush up and down, handle toward the sky, drainage hole over the sink. Tilt it side to side to be sure it drains completely.
Step 8
Spray the pad and bristles with alcohol, or rub them down with a sanitizing wipe to obliterate any remaining bacteria.
Step 9
Leave it to dry, bristle-side down, next to an open window for about an hour.
Brush With Confidence
Now that you’ve learned how to clean your hair brush, there’s no excuse for dragging gunky residue and buildup through your locks every day. Brush easy, and lay your head down on your pillow each night knowing you’re avoiding hair damage and breakage with a clean brush.
Lasty, when you’re ready to upgrade your mane tools, peruse our exquisite line of hair brushes…made for guys who care about their hair.
The Mane Hog
The Continental
Any other tactics for how to clean your hair brush? Enlighten us in the comments.
Elefante has been leading the creative development at The Longhairs since 2021, authoring articles, shooting photos, videos and appearing in several long hair tutorials. He first began growing long hair in 2017 and donated the entire 22 inches at The Great Cut in 2024 before taking on the awkward stage once again. He is a filmmaker, writer, photographer, illustrator and Eagle Scout.
