When was the last time you washed your combs and hairbrushes?
If you’re like me, most of the time you’d rather not answer that question. It’s one of those little chores that you can put off for a loooong time.
BUT – when you finally take the time and do it, boy, it sure is wonderful to have them all nice and fresh again.
I finally quit procrastinating and gave my combs and hairbrushes a good deep cleaning with this homemade solution. It uses borax for a great cleaning boost and Dawn dish soap for help dissolving away greasy or oily buildup. After a good soaking the gunk and product buildup dissolves away, and even the handles feel much better again.
So If you’ve been putting off the pesky chore of cleaning your combs and hairbrushes too, why not take a little time today and use this homemade solution. Your combs and brushes will be squeaky clean again and you’ll be oh so glad you took the time to do it.
How To Deep Clean Combs and Hairbrushes
You Will Need:
- 1/4 cup Borax
- Squirt of Dawn Dish Soap (or other dishwashing liquid)
- Sink of warm water
1. Begin by filling your sink about a quarter full with warm water.
2. Add the 1/4 cup of Borax and swish it around with your hands to help it dissolve.
3. Squirt some dish soap in the sink and then finish filling the sink with warm water until its about 3/4 full. You don’t want it so full that it will overflow when you add your combs and brushes.
4. Particularly for the hairbrushes, remove as much of the hair that may be stuck in them as possible before adding them to the water.
5. Place the combs and hairbrushes in the soapy borax water and let them soak for a while. About 30 to 45 minutes should do it.
6. After that time has passed, you should find that your combs and brushes are clean again and that all the dirty gunk is gone. My combs didn’t need any extra scrubbing, and I only needed to do a little bit more “fuzzie” removal on one of my brushes.
7. Rinse the combs and brushes with clean warm water and then dry them off.
Now you’re all set for the next five years or so.
Just kidding . . . . sort of.
I remember my mother using water and ammonia to soak our combs and brushes to clean them. It worked like magic.
The lazy girl’s way to do this is to put them on the top rack of the dishwasher. Take out all of the hair first, of course. I also wash my dustpan this way.
I might have to give that method a try sometime Judith!
I wash my combs and brushes every time I wash me and my girls hair every other Saturday via washing machine with clorox…. Lol
I never thought of using the washing machine, but I bet that would certainly work!
I’ve always used ammonia and a drop or two of dish detergent in hot water to soak my combs and brushes in. It cut the oils and hair products like a whiz. I wouldn’t recommend it for natural bristles though. It would strip and dry them out too much.
Sometimes I just soak my comb overnight in a jar filled with warm water and a tablespoon or so of baking soda. In the morning all the gunk has dissolved off!
Interesting to come across this post when i just read this on borax today: http://www.hawkeshealth.net/community/showthread.php?t=10579
I’ll have to give this a try with my brushes. Problem with soaking is that they have the pads in them, and airing them out afterwards can take days. So once every five years might be right on target. I found a little wire thingy that does a pretty good job of removing the hair.
As always, thanks for your reports.