Brushing your hair too much

[jasinfla]

I've heard that brushing it too much is definitely a bad thing but I feel like I have a disorder that causes me to do this. I will brush for hours until I'm satisfied but I know I am doing more damage to my hair than helping it. Does anyone know that hair that I could knock out from brushing, does this grow back or am I just basically like male pattern baldness & destroyed it myself from brushing?
Thank you.

 

[Artas]

I do the EXACT same thing. My hair is fine and long so when the wind waves it around part of my scalp can be seen... so I take a comb everywhere with me. Whenever I get the chance I comb it until it looks good.

 

[jasinfla]

Thanks for the reply artas...I honestly thought I was the only one. I haven't taking a comb with me yet when I go out but I know what you mean. I'm wondering if that hair that gets damaged when I brush vigorously will be eventually get better if I can stop. But I feel the same way, I cannot leave until I feel good on how it looks, even when it's just my wife and me at home and I'm not going anywhere. I seriously don't have a full grown bald spot but possibly thinning in the crown and I am really thinking about rogaine to see if it will possibly thicken the hair up.

 

[Mygoodness]

This is close to a disorder known as "trichotillomania" (great name). If you pluck hairs it does injure the follicle and repeated plucking can slow, maybe halt growth (women do this on their eyebrows) Brushing harshly, resulting in plucked hair that hurts when it is pulled is NOT good. As for general brushing, I am on the fence. I have read beauty articles that say if your hair is thinning, brushing will result in an increase in thinning. I have also read testimonials and so called expert opinions that brushing your hair promotes circulation and results in healthier scalp and healthier hair. I think this is meant for people who are not rapidly balding. I am a long hair and if I don't brush my hair it looks like hell but it is a little thicker (mostly from being nappy). I figure any hairs that would fall out (not be painfully plucked) from brushing are bound to fall out anyways, so by not brushing your just prolonging the inevitable. Those hairs will come out sooner or later. I use a wide tooth brush and get down to the scalp. I do it gently like a massage and am super cautious not to pull on tangles. I brush in the morning and before bed, finger brushing throughout the day. One thing that is for sure is that brushing oils the hairs on your head and this will make them look thicker and healthier. But by cold turkey stopping brushing your hair will not recover. No freaking way. It may benefit if your forcefully pulling hairs, but normal brushing or even slightly excessive brushing I think is totally good and not related to hair loss.

 

[uncomfortable man]

What is this brushing you speak of? Not familiar.

 

[anxious1]

a suggestion for u....

do ur hrs of brushing a day on only the non male pattern baldness part, the sides and the back, but not on the front and vertex. that way u fulfill ur strange Trichotillomania
but u dont rip out hairs.

but on the other hand, usually brushing although it does make some hairs fall out, these r hairs that have already detached from the root in the normal cycle, or the miniturization cycle, and would have fallen out anyway.

the same can be said for shampooing, the hairs that all seem to fall out at once, r detached and would fall out one by one if u didnt shampoo and pull them out all at once.

if u shampoo only once a week, then u will have 7 days worth of detached hairs sitting in the follicle, waiting to fall out. shampooing or brushing just makes them fall out at once, instead of one by one.

there is a point however when u brish or shampoo too much and ur pulling out perfectly attached hairs. this is when to worry. however they too will regrow in the normal cycle within 2 yrs.

 

[DarkDays]

If you're brushing and putting too much force then you might do some damage, but brushing, especially with the right brush for your hair is not bad.

The reason everybody got so excited about "brushing makes you go bald" thing is that brushing tends to do two things(one is natural, the other is a bad brush compared to hair):

A : Brushing will clear your hair of hairs that are not growing anymore and have become loose. For people with curly hair this is essential as the loose hair can tangle in existing hair(if you are wearing it long).
B : Brushing can in some instances break hairs which gives the illusion of more hair being lost, although the truth is the hair just got shorter.

I know people are divided upon this and as an example here are two links where people have positive things to say about brushing(compared to the negatives you get from others).

http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/archive/index.php/t-65622.html

http://recedinghairline.blogspot.com/

 

[thehairsalon]

I have heard such things also from my friends that always brushing there hair. I don't think so if that really cause hair damage. I am not too sure of this.

 

[briana77]

Thanks a lot for this great information...