Can Brushing Hair Before Shower Combat Hair Loss?

These days, anybody with a hoop gentle and sufficient followers can dole out supposed “knowledgeable” recommendation on-line. Whether or not or not it’s recommendations on managing fungal zits (which isn’t a medically acknowledged type of zits) or an explainer on rice water’s benefits for hair (which are literally very actual), it may be arduous to separate reality from fiction.

So after we noticed the age-old ladies’s journal fantasy that that brushing your hair earlier than showering may probably assist fight hair loss resurfacing on TikTok, we knew higher than to take it as gospel reality. As an alternative, we determined to do a few of our personal work and speak to a couple professionals—Shab Reslan, trichologist and wholesome hair knowledgeable; William Gaunitz, trichologist and hair loss specialist; and Gabby Longsworth, Ph.D, licensed hair practitioner—who all agree that brushing your hair earlier than the bathe has no correlation with combatting hair loss.

In accordance with Reslan, frequent hair brushing and scalp massages may help enhance circulation within the scalp and strengthen hair development, however whether or not it occurs pre- or post-shower is not notably essential. In the event you need to brush your hair earlier than you hop in for a lather and rinse, go for it: It should assist forestall tangles within the bathe and permit for simpler shampoo and conditioner software, but it surely definitely isn’t a requirement for the sake of combatting thinning.

No matter whenever you determine to brush, Dr. Longworth notes that it is essential to keep in mind that doing so forcefully can truly trigger hair loss by pulling on knots and inflicting breakage, so you will need to take care to be further mild. On the whole, hair tends to be most weak when it is moist, so that you’re higher off reserving your brushing for dry strands (which is probably going the place the “pre-shower is greatest” principle got here from). The one exception right here is when you have curly or coily hair, which is extra susceptible to tangles that may get yanked by a brush going via dry hair. On this case, your greatest wager is to make use of a wide-toothed comb on freshly-conditioned hair within the bathe.

In lieu of (or, if it is your factor, along with) brushing, the professionals suggest a couple of different pre-shower practices to assist stimulate hair development. Gaunitz suggests merely massaging the scalp for 2 to a few minutes to interrupt up any calcification below the pores and skin, or making use of slightly little bit of castor oil on to the scalp and letting it sit for 30 to 45 minutes earlier than you shampoo to assist pump extra blood to the realm. Or, when you’re within the bathe, Reslan recommends utilizing a scalp massager whilst you let your conditioner sit, which is able to enhance blood follicles to the particles whereas permitting further time for the product to penetrate your strands.

Whereas hair loss is completely regular (and quite common), for those who’ve observed an uptick within the quantity of hair that is falling out, Longsworth suggests visiting a dermatologist or basic practitioner to run some blood checks—sure dietary deficiencies, ailments, stress, COVID-19, and different well-researched signs are recognized to trigger hair loss. With all that in thoughts, it’s definitely worth the reminder: Not every part you learn on-line is the reality, so you should definitely fact-check any “miracle” options earlier than you waste your time on one thing that does not work.

For extra intel on coping with hair loss try the video under.