How to clean a hairbrush and get the lint out

Step by step: how to clean a hairbrush and get the lint out

Safety first. If you disinfect plastic brushes with diluted bleach, use it alone in a ventilated room and never mix it with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaners, which releases toxic gas. Very hot water can scald: use tongs or gloves when soaking brushes in water at 130°F or hotter.

1. 1

   Pull out the trapped hair

   Run the teeth of a wide-tooth comb, a brush rake or the tip of a pen along the base of the bristles and lift the hair up and off in a mat. If hair is wound tightly around the bristles, snip across it with small scissors first, then pull it free. Do this over a trash can.

2. 2

   Make a shampoo wash

   Stir about 1 teaspoon of gentle shampoo into a bowl of warm water. Shampoo is made to cut scalp oil and styling product, which is most of the sticky gray film in a brush.

3. 3

   Wash the bristles, not the whole brush

   For a plastic brush, dip the head in the soapy water for 5 to 10 minutes. For cushion, wooden or boar bristle brushes, dip only the bristle tips or work with a damp toothbrush instead, so water does not soak into the pad or the wood.

4. 4

   Scrub the base with a toothbrush

   Dip an old toothbrush in the soapy water and scrub between the bristles and across the base or cushion, working row by row. You should see lint and gray residue lift away. Pay extra attention to the ball tips and the corners of paddle brushes.

5. 5

   Rinse and shake out the water

   Rinse the bristles under lukewarm running water, holding the brush bristles down so water runs out rather than into the handle or cushion. Tap the brush firmly against a towel to knock out trapped water.

6. 6

   Dry it bristles down

   Lay the brush bristles down on a dry towel so water drains out of the base, and leave it for several hours or overnight. A one-piece plastic detangler can dry teeth up. Do not use it until the cushion or wood is completely dry.

7. 7

   Disinfect after lice or a scalp infection

   If someone has head lice, soak the brushes and combs they used in water at 130°F or hotter for 10 minutes, as the American Academy of Dermatology advises. For scalp ringworm, follow your doctor’s advice; MedlinePlus describes soaking combs and brushes in 1 part bleach to 10 parts water.

How to clean each type of hairbrush

The material decides how much water a brush can take. Solid plastic can soak; anything with a cushion, natural bristles or a wooden body gets a damp scrub and a fast dry.

Tangle Teezer’s instructions for its brushes match this approach: remove loose hair, scrub between the teeth and the base with soap, warm water and a clean toothbrush, rinse, and let it dry naturally with the teeth facing up. To clean a comb, use the same toothbrush between the teeth; a plastic comb can soak in the shampoo water while you scrub the brush.

What the gray fuzz in your hairbrush is

The gray lint at the base of a brush is a mix of dust, fibers from towels and clothes, dead skin flakes, scalp oil and styling product. It builds up even if you pull out hair every day, and only washing removes it.

That layer holds oil and product, so a dirty brush spreads them back onto clean hair and can make it look flat sooner. If you use dry shampoo, hairspray or oils, wash the brush weekly. If you have dandruff, cleaning the brush more often keeps flakes from moving back onto your scalp.

Sharing brushes and when to replace one

Do not share hairbrushes, and replace a brush when bristles are bent, missing or melted, or a cushion has split. The American Academy of Dermatology notes that ringworm spreads through shared combs and personal items, and fungi can survive on objects for a long time.

• After head lice: soak brushes and combs in water at 130°F or hotter for 10 minutes, per the AAD lice treatment guidance. Wooden and cushion brushes may not survive that; replacing them is often easier.
• After scalp ringworm: MedlinePlus advises soaking combs and brushes for 1 hour a day in 1 part bleach to 10 parts water for 3 days in a row. Use this only on plastic, and rinse well.
• Missing ball tips on bristles leave sharp ends that scratch the scalp and snag hair. Replace the brush.

Makeup tools need the same regular washing; see how to clean makeup brushes.

Mistakes to avoid

• Soaking a cushion or wooden brush, which traps water behind the pad and swells the wood.
• Only pulling out hair and never washing out the gray lint and product layer.
• Drying a brush bristles up, so water pools in the cushion and grows mildew.
• Using a hair dryer to speed up drying on boar bristles or plastic.
• Mixing bleach with vinegar or another cleaner to disinfect brushes.