Combing your hair frequently vs. not combing your hair often, which is healthier?

In daily life, combing hair is something that almost everyone has to do. We often hear that combing hair more often every day is good for you; combing hair 100 times a day not only beautifies your hair but also improves your brain.

Image source: Screenshot from a social platform

But is this really the case? How should you comb your hair? How often should you comb your hair? Today, let's talk about combing your hair.

Let me start with the conclusion: combing your hair does have benefits, and there is nothing wrong with combing it appropriately, but if you comb your hair in the wrong way, problems may arise.

Combing your hair regularly does have benefits

The most obvious benefit of combing your hair is that it cleans your scalp and hair .

Many people will see the scene of "snowflakes flying" when combing their hair, but in fact, what is combed off is not just dandruff, but a series of mixtures.

1

Cleans old hair from the roots of the scalp

First, the old hair at the root of the scalp. According to statistics, people naturally lose 50 to 100 hairs every day. Just like when we were young, rubbing a ruler at the root of our hair would attract paper scraps by static electricity. Many of these hairs do not fall off naturally.

2

Cleaning up shampoo and conditioner that haven’t been rinsed out

Since many people do not wash their hair properly or do not spend enough time washing, there are still many gaps and corners in the hair that are not cleaned. In order to ensure the effect of removing oil, most shampoos on the market are alkaline. If they stay on the hair for a long time, it will easily make the hair dry.

Combing your hair every day is actually cleaning your hair in a waterless environment.

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3

Keep hair moisturized

In addition, for people with dry hair , combing your hair every day can keep it moisturized .

This brings us to the key part that can protect and nourish the scalp and hair: the sebaceous glands.

The human scalp is divided into the epidermis and dermis from the inside to the outside. The dermis is densely distributed with hair follicles. Each hair follicle will grow a hair and is connected to the sebaceous glands at the dermis. The sebaceous glands will secrete an appropriate amount of oil and transport it to the epidermis, which is the surface of the scalp, attached to the hair follicles.

Every time you comb your hair, the naturally secreted oil will be combed from the roots to the ends of the hair, allowing the hair to be nourished by natural conditioners.

Of course, if you already have oily hair, it will probably get oilier the more you comb it.

Combing your hair has benefits

But not as exaggerated as you think

There is a saying that "combing your hair can promote blood circulation and help hair growth". People who believe this often think that: combing can stimulate the human scalp, which can not only speed up the body's blood circulation, but also promote hair growth.

This is actually some nonsense .

First of all, there are indeed many blood vessels distributed on the head, but they are located under the epidermis. It is too difficult to pass through the numerous keratinized cells to stimulate the blood vessels. It is definitely not something that can be done by just combing your hair twice.

Moreover, as mentioned in our previous article (What will happen to your body if you often soak your feet in hot water? These 4 types of people should never soak your feet in hot water!), even if you soak your feet in hot water for 20 minutes, it can only stimulate the local blood circulation of the feet and legs. The same is true for the stimulation of the head. If you want to accelerate the overall blood circulation of the human body, it is impossible to just comb your hair. It is better to run a few laps.

At the same time, combing your hair to stimulate hair growth is not an easy task. If you shave your scalp excessively, it will not only stimulate the sebaceous glands and make your hair oily, but also cause the cuticle to fall off too quickly, which will affect the growth of your hair.

As for the fact that many people feel comfortable after using the "soul-extracting artifact" octopus head massager to massage their scalp, it is actually because the corners of the comb stimulate the nerve endings, just like the comfort you feel when you pick your ears. This kind of normal physiological phenomenon is only a temporary relaxation and is far from achieving the effect of maintenance.

Image source: Screenshot from a social platform

What happens if you don't comb your hair for a long time?

What are the consequences of not combing your hair often? There are some popular sayings now, such as not combing your hair will cause hair loss or dry hair , but in fact, there is no relevant data to confirm these claims .

As we said above, combing your hair does have its benefits, but it is just the "icing on the cake". After all, it is just a comb rubbing back and forth between the hair and scalp a few times.

If you don't pay attention to the hygiene of your scalp and hair and wash your hair less than once a month, no amount of combing will save it.

The way you comb your hair is important

As we mentioned above, combing your hair does have some benefits, but you also need to pay attention to the correct way of combing your hair.

If you comb your hair incorrectly , you may increase the risk of hair loss , which is called "traction alopecia." For example, when you comb your hair, you frequently pull your scalp, which can damage the hair follicles over a long period of time.

Most people's hair is not like in shampoo commercials, where you can just shake it and it will be smooth, or run your fingers through the hair to comb it all the way to the end. The reality is: when you comb your hair, it is inevitable that there will be tangles and resistance.

This is actually normal. As we said at the beginning of the article, everyone has dead skin cells, oil, shampoo residue and other dirt in their hair.

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After all, hair is very easy to get greasy. People who cook all year round will know this: every time you fry an egg, if you don't wear a headgear, the grease will get on your hair. Not to mention, dust is everywhere in our daily lives.

In this case, if you still comb your hair from the top to the bottom, it will be a small act of forcing the hair to grow faster. As for some claims that combing your hair too frequently will cause hair loss, there is currently insufficient evidence to prove that combing your hair too often is related to hair loss. Even if you comb your hair frequently, it will not cause hair loss.

However, combing your hair in the wrong way will indeed increase the risk of hair loss.

This is how you should comb your hair correctly

So how many times a day should you comb your hair? Many medical and hair experts recommend combing your hair once in the morning and once in the evening. The American Academy of Dermatology also mentioned that you don't need to comb your hair 100 times a day.

The key premise of combing your hair is to be gentle : "If you comb your hair too hard, even just once a day, it can cause breakage and damage."

In fact, combing your hair is a science. In order to ensure the benefits of combing your hair and reduce its negative effects, you should pay special attention to the choice of comb and combing method.

First of all, when choosing a comb , you should pay attention to three points.

1. It is best to have rounded beads between the teeth of the comb, so as not to hurt the scalp and cause the cuticle to fall off prematurely and too quickly.

2. It is best to have a comb with an air bag, which fits the head when combing the hair and has a cushioning effect, making combing the hair comfortable.

3. The teeth of the comb should not be arranged too densely to prevent the hair from being caught. Every time you comb your hair, a lot of innocent hair will be pulled out.

There are some tips on how to comb your hair.

If your hair is dry, it's best to start at the center of the hair and work your way down to the ends , then move a little further from where you started and continue working your way down until all the tangles in that section are gone. Repeat.

If your hair is wet, you need to be more careful.

Hair is mainly composed of the epidermis, cortex and stratum corneum, and the epidermis is composed of many small scales, also known as hair scales, which is the protective layer of hair.

In a healthy state, the hair scales will be arranged neatly and the hair will look moisturized and smooth. However, after washing the hair, the hair scales cannot recover instantly. At this time, if you comb your hair directly, it will easily damage this protective layer.

Many people are used to blowing their hair backwards from the ends, while others like to wring their hair dry with a dry towel. In fact, this will cause damage to the hair.

After washing your hair, it is best to wrap it with a towel, press and pat it to absorb the moisture, and then gently comb your hair using the method mentioned above.

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In general, combing your hair does have benefits. It can keep your hair moisturized and help you remove broken hair, dandruff, and yesterday's shampoo residue.

But the premise is to use the correct method, and not to overdo it in frequency and strength. As for the claim that combing hair can prevent hair loss, promote hair growth, and promote blood circulation in the human body, it is pure fantasy.

References

[1] Alexander Kiderman, Itzhak Gur,Pnina Ever-Hadani. The effect of brushing on hair loss in women. J Dermatolog Treat. 2009;20(3):152-5. doi: 10.1080/09546630802512661.

[2] Histology Guide | Skin Histology.leeds.ac.uk.

[3] Hair Structure and Hair Life Cycle. follicle.com

[4] Ley, Brian (1999). "Diameter of a Human Hair".

[5] The New York Times Style Magazine: How to Wash Your Hair-A guide to building an effective, adaptable routine for every hair type retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/29/t-magazine/hair-wash-routine-shampoo-conditioner-tips.html

[6] The Benefits of Hair Brushing and How to Do It Properly retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/brushing-hair

[7] Guangzhou Daily: Can combing your hair 100 times a day improve brain health? 2019-12-25

[8] American Academy of Dermatologists:DO YOU HAVE HAIR LOSS OR HAIR SHEDDING? retrieved from https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/hair-loss/insider/shedding

Planning and production

Author: Li Mi, popular science creator

Review | Feng Jun, deputy chief physician of the Dermatology Department of Sinopharm Tongmei General Hospital

Planning丨Wang Mengru

Editor: Wang Mengru

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin