For those that brush their hair, what is your brushing method? Do you

brush in sections? Do you brush both the top and underside of your hair

to spread oils?


I still brush my fine textured wavy/curly hair once a day. It seems

essential for spreading oils thoroughly. I just wonder if it contributes to

my split ends. I also wonder if my brushing method is too rough. Hearing

other people's brushing methods should help me figure this out.


Thanks so much!

I brush the George Michael way - bent at the waist. I don't need to section as my hair is fine and thin and I'm using a stiff (Jean Pierre) BBB.

I don't brush to detangle, just to massage and clean the scalp and spread sebum. I detangle with a rake type comb before I brush, and in between, before I switch from starting at the nape to brushing from the front hairline down.

I brush every evening, about 30 - 40 strokes total, except on wash days when there's no sebum to spread and I had a scalp massage from washing already.

but my BBB is medium as far as stiffness. It penetrates the scalp gently and distributes the oils.

After I bend at the waist and brush the underside (bout 30 strokes), I stand upright and let the hair fall into place. I have to comb it to gently coax it into its normal position. I then, place all my hair over my right shoulder and brush it (30x) and repeat on the other side.

I also don't brush on wash days.

In the mornings only.
Bend over and brush from scalp to about half way down lenth.
BBB or sometimes my fakeDenman.
flip it back over and wait for about 15 minutes while it settles then comb out again and style for the day.

Interesting... what's the George Michael way of brushing? Can anyone point me to a site with instructions and the theory behind the idea?

I do brush my hair upside down occasionally, but don't like it very much as it tends to create more knots and tangles in my fine hair.

Otherwise, I normally brush from the ends up - probably a total of 20 - 30 strokes.

Rachel

I brush on wash days once my hair is dry (sometimes not 'til late afternoon!), to smoothe it all into place. I do it standing upright, with a fake Denman. My BBB showed me just how much lint and 'crud' my hair was attracting with daily oiling, so I no longer do the oil-and-brush routine. If I'm not too lazy to braid my hair before bed, I'll brush it just prior, with my fake Denman.

Interesting... what's the George Michael way of brushing? Can anyone point me to a site with instructions and the theory behind the idea? ... Rachel

Rachel - Here (http://www.longhaircare.net/brush.htm) is a page that illustrates the GM method of brushing. HTH!

as for me, I can't brush the length at all. Occasionally I will brush my scalp only with a Denman brush, right before I shower.

Question - why would you want to work up to 50 strokes per day? Isn't that about half as damaging as the 100 brush strokes being good for hair theory?

That doesn't make sense to me... but then I could be all messed up, since I don't like brushing upside down AND have a part on the left... :twisted:

Rachel

Well, my hair has a center part.....:(......I doubt I'm one of those very, very few people who look good with one...:(

oops! pushed the submit button too soon.

I wanted to say that when I had the full GM treatment in Feb., Bill said I would be able to brush my hair once it was taken down from the rollerset. My hair was so smooth and shiny! He had me bend forward, handed me a BB brush and told me to start brushing from the nape, but the brush almost got lost in my hair and we decided to stop LOL. :?

I don't brush to detangle, just to massage and clean the scalp and spread sebum.

Ditto what Madeleine said, but I don't brush my length really, sort of just to smooth my hair, but very lightly.

I like to use my fingers or my detangling comb. It goes through my hair much better than a brush.

I brush every evening with a the MP Popular - bent over at the waist, approx. 50 strokes. I brush from the nape to the ends and then put the brush "under" the hair and stroke from the hairline to bottom. I sometimes brush in the morning, but not as much. I brush to spread sebum, stimulate the scalp and to clean the hair.

Hi!

I usually brush morning and at night, except that if my hair is down or in a ponytail, it must be lightly brushed about 6 more times.

My hair is loose when I sleep, but usually doesn't tangle much. I first use the Denman 3D (or maybe it's D3) to detangle and just brush. Then I often use my MP BBB a little too. Mine is stiff and reaches to the scalp with a tiny bit of effort. I don't count strokes, but I probably do about 30. Combing is OUT for me except right after washing. I like combs, but I hear too many small snapping sounds, so I guess my hair doesn't like them much.

Bending from the waist tends to cause tangles and a general mess for me, so most of the time I brush upright. Maybe this is because my hair is very fine-textured.

One change I have made since finding the hair boards is to do all my brushing and combing MORE SLOWLY & MORE GENTLY. I had a tendency to brush too quickly and pretty hard before. Keeping this in mind might help you reduce the chance of damage.

Good luck!
Deborah

I haven't read through all of these, but here is how I brush.

I separate my hair into 2 parts (one over each shoulder).

I begin at the bottom and work my way up to the top.

Then I go to the other shoulder, same process.

Then, I pull all of the hair around to one side, brush it thoroughly, then as I'm ready to move it to the back (to braid it), I use the brush to help lift it to the back. I give it a few good strokes to smooth it from the move (yes, little moves re-knot my hair).

I hope that helps.

BTW, I use my brush for detangling. I do not comb first. The only time I comb is when my hair is wet, or if I'm DESPARATE for smoothing my hair and there is no brush "hanging around."! ;)

I want to give a warm thank you to everyone who responded to my post! Thank you Madeleine, DweamGoil, Thinkfirst, Rachel, Heidi, Dulci, Komodokaji, Anne, Sheba, Deborah, and Teacherbear.

I really appreciate you all taking the time to post your brush routines in such great detail. It really helps me figure out what I should do with my brush routine.

I now think that perhaps I am being too rough and should at least section my hair on each side when I brush the top of my hair. I may even experiment with only brushing the scalp and half way through the length. My fine textured wavy/curly hair which is also color-treated might be too fragile at the ends to handle too much brushing.

Thanks again for all the input. I really appreciate the advice and information. :heart:

Can anyone tell me what the 'parting' is all about ? I found it on the link from Dulci's post.

thanks,
Niphredil

Long hair expert Dr. George Michael believes in right side parts because of how the hair grows on most people. He believes left side parts weaken hair and seems to dislike center parts. Here is a direct quote from the web site of stylist, Brent Jones, who follows the George Michael (GM) hair system:
"PARTING THE HAIR

You probably part your hair on the left side or use a center part. We suggest that you part your hair on the right side. Hair follicles along the forehead grow from the left to the right. A right side part adds height and has your hair doing "push-ups".

The middle part is definitely out. It puts additional stress on the weakest hairs on the top of the head, which results in hair thinning and the part spreading wider. A center part forms a line that goes down the middle of the face, which accentuates the nose and any irregularities that exist between the left and the right side of the face. There are only a very, very few people in the entire world who literally look good with a center part."

I don't think there is anything wrong with a center part. Center parts look good on a lot of people.

As for right and left parts, it depends upon your hair. One LHC member once said that her GM stylist has her parting her hair on the right because her hair along the forehead grows from right to left. That is the opposite of what GM usually says. So I think it depends on how your hair follicles grow near your forehead hair line area. Most people fit the right side part criteria.

I personally part on my right side because it flatters my face better than a right side part. I guess my hair follicles grow left to right. I'm not sure!

Hope this helps.

Hi! I think maybe I have an addiction to brushing because #1, I cannot STAND tangles, and #2, it makes my hair sooooo shiny.

I only brush when my hair is dry, NEVER when wet and I try not to brush more than twice a day, and then it's only to remove tangles/spread shine/oils.

As far as stimulation, I do "champissage" everyday (Indian Head Massage) and rely on that for the stimulation for my scalp.

I don't like to bend at the waist because though I can get my hair all nice and smooth, I have to brush again once I flip up, thus causing more friction and such than I'd rather get. So I brush in sections standing up straight, champissage daily, brush no more than twice a day, plus only enough strokes to detangle (no point in overkill).

Any time my hair is damp or wet, I use a WIIIIDE tooth comb I found at Ulta (by Mebco) and start at the ends, gently combing through until smooth.

Additionally, for that extra Oomph, I use Biosilk Serum. That stuff is AMAZING.

Hope this helps some! :D

Hi Tricia,
What is the indian head massage - champissage? It sounds interesting.

These days I'm mainly using my wide-tooth Madora comb, for detangling and grooming, though I do use my Speert to neaten my braid tassel. I also use my Denman after I completely detangle. I love the way it feels on my scalp (like a fabulous head scratching) and I use it gently down the length, a few times on the outside and inside. I don't use oils, so I'm not using it to spread them. When I comb or brush, I have a center part and do each side separately, for the most part. When I brush, I really only do a few strokes on each side, and I am very careful and go fairly slowly. I, too, have wavy/curly, frizzy, fine hair (though it is not color or chemical treated), so I also need to be careful with brushing.

I do not brush my hair much at all. I brush it before I get in the shower to wash it. I put it all over my left shoulder, and brush in sections from the bottom up, then put it on my back and do the same until it is all tangle free. I also brush it when I get out of the shower. Yes, I brush wet, or when my hair dries it will be a massive tangle of knots. I use a very wide-toothed comb, basically to just smooth things out while my hair is still dripping. I haven't had a trim or cut in over a year and my hair has very few split ends, so it can't be that bad for it. But those are the only times I brush my hair, before and after washing.

After detanlging in the morning I brush to get my scalp awake and stimulated. SOmetime I do the bend at the waist thing and sometimes I don't. I brush a little at night too. If I am putting an oil on for over night I'll brush a little more to get the oil well distributed. I usually shampoo in the morning and I don't brush much after shampooing. Never wet of course. I mean after it's dry. If I am wearing it down I'll usually brush once or twice during the day after a comb detangling. I like the way my hair looks after its freshly brushed. I don't feel it's causing any extra damage. I use a MP Mixed Popular or a purse sized MP. I think those brushes with the little ball tips used to damage my hair but I don't use them anymore. I should throw them out.