How to Brush your Hair in order to Straighten, Wave and Stimulate Growth

How to brush your hair properly may seem like a trivial question, yet some techniques outlined below will make all the difference in the world if you haven't tried them before. After all you’ve been brushing or combing it for years supposedly but there is a right way to get the most out of brushing your hair and to minimise potential damage. So here’s a guide on how to brush your hair properly and even style it without heat.

Firstly, if you are brushing your hair straight from the shower it should be prepared accordingly.  This means washed, conditioned and treated if necessary.  Always use conditioner because this softens hair making it much easier to get a brush through it – wet or dry. 

When you do apply conditioner, comb it through (don’t brush it at this stage because brushing wet hair stretches it and can cause it to snap).

How to brush your hair after shower

When you leave the shower, towel dry it by wrapping up your hair in a nice warm towel then remove the towel once the excess water has been squeezed out. 

Then you should take a wide tooth comb or a detangling brush and very gently section out your hair and comb or brush through.  Never, ever yank a brush through your hair because you will break it especially if you have weak areas. 

Don’t over brush your hair either because when your hair is wet it is very vulnerable.  Just do it carefully in little sections until you have covered the whole head. Try the Hair Symphony Scarlet Detangling Brush.

How to brush your hair straight

If you want straight hair but you don’t want to use heat on your hair there are ways of achieving it but you need a little extra patience and time. 

Start with damp hair (follow the steps above) and apply a straightening serum which can help to eliminate frizz.  Smooth this all over the hair so it is evenly distributed and even give it one final comb through. 

If you don’t use any heated products at all the best advice would be to stay in a warm room and continuously brush your hair (gently) until it is dry.  This can take up to an hour and a half depending on length. 

The truth is, if you have wavy or curly hair it won’t go poker straight but you will get a straighter look.  Finish off with some Moroccan oil to smooth down any excess frizz.

Brushes that Straighten Hair without Heat

The best type of brush to use to straighten hair without using heat would be a paddle brush because it is wide and has plenty of bristles.  The bristles are set further apart so the brush takes plenty of hair in one go and should glide through hair without getting knotted or caught. 

Straightening your hair using a wide paddle brush will take time though so be prepared to spend over an hour (depending on the length of your hair) brushing it through until it is dry. 

If your hair is very curly the chances are your hair won’t end up completely straight and it might kink up again but you can try and combat this by using a straightening serum before and Moroccan oil afterwards.  

How to brush your hair to get waves

There are two ways to get waves into your hair without using heat.  The best way to do this is to keep brushing hair from wet carefully and gently until it is nearly dry and then pin loose curls to your head allowing hair to completely dry off. 

For best results, keep hair in the loose curls overnight and then unpin, let them fall and separate with your fingers.  Finish off with some serum to smooth down any frizz. 

The other thing you can do is brush your hair into sections and braid it to get kinky waves – leave the braids in until your hair is completely dry (again you can sleep in the braids over- night) and then gently unbraid each.  Separate the braids with your fingers and smooth through some serum to get rid of any frizz or static.

Using a Hair Brush that Blow Dries

Of course if you would rather use heat but want minimum fuss then the newest technology on the market include hair brushes that blow dry your hair while styling and there are so many to choose from. 

You can select from paddle brushes which plug in like a hair dryer and distribute heat through the bristles so you brush as you dry.  It’s much faster than air drying hair and it cuts styling time by half.  Most of the brushes available have ionic technology too which means they are anti-frizz and anti-static plus they improve the condition of your hair leaving it soft, silky and shiny. 

As well as the paddle brush styles there are plenty of hot air stylers which are round barrel brushes which straighten and create waves or volume.  Some of these have rotating barrels and you can achieve different size waves according to the barrel size.  Of course, shorter hair should use smaller barrels whereas long and thick hair can take larger barrels.  Try the Babyliss Pro Nano Titanium 2 Inch Rotating Hot Air Brush or the Acevivi Ceramic Brush.