I Try Vintage-Style Hair Brushing

Gentle Readers...let me tell you a tale of woe and redemption.  About my unmanageable hair.


Until very recently, I would have told you that I hate my hair.  All my life it has been thin and prone to breaking, with oily roots and dry, brittle ends.  I have tried every remedy money could buy, and while most commercial conditioners and hair treatments (hot oils, masks, etc) did help a little, nothing seemed to change the basic texture and condition of my hair.

I was born in the early 60's, so my parents and grandparents would be quite old fashioned by today's standards.  My grandmother, born in 1904, always told me to brush my hair 100 strokes a day.  Ah, but I was a teen of the 70's, and voraciously consumed Seventeen, Mademoiselle, and Self magazines.  They had a new idea about hair brushing - modern, "scientific" advice.  They told me in assured tones that too much brushing was bad for your hair.  They told me it would cause excessive hair breakage and encourage the scalp to produce more oil.  Well, those were the last things I wanted in the world.  I was convinced.  For the next 35 years, I brushed my hair just enough to remove tangles and style it.

My hair woes continued through all of those years.  Always oily at the scalp and like a witch's broom at the ends.  I have a loose curl and a little waviness in my hair - thank goodness, something to give it body - and a light brushing would always turn my curl to a dry-looking frizz.  I would have to wet the ends to make it revert to curls, but they always looked dry.  I avoided "over-brushing" without a second thought, knowing it would make matters worse.

But then, I began to grow mature, like we all do in the end.  For my hair, this meant it became far dryer.   Most people produce less natural oil as they age, and I am no exception.  The ends of my hair became impossible.  They didn't hold the curl anymore, even if I encouraged it along with water, product, and special drying methods.  In the last couple of months, I started wearing my hair up in a bun whenever I went out, because I was embarrassed at the condition of my dull, frizzy hair.  I was getting knots that I had to cut out, even though I was using rich hair products, including a leave-in conditioner.  It even started falling out in clumps, and becoming ever thinner!  It was getting worse, and I knew something had to change.

Oh stop, even your hair was better than mine.

Well, I'd like to say it was the memory of Grandma that made me change my ways.  But her age-old hair brushing advice came to me in another form - Vintage Beauty Guides were my inspiration.  I like to read old beauty manuals for fun, like some people read old cookbooks.  You'll find an article I wrote about vintage beauty books, and how you can purchase them through GlamourDaze here.  In these books, I was reading hair care advice that was quite different to my routine, and I started to take notice.  Of course, I would not recommend using every piece of antique beauty advice you come across.  These practices have often been updated to a more effective technique or product, so be cautious before trying unusual advice.  But I had nothing to lose, and I was reading things that really sparked my interest.

In a 1920's beauty book, it didn't specify 100 strokes, but it did recommend "a good brushing, regularly done" and also offered up this passage, which got me to thinking...

Brushing is one of the best tonics, and probably the only real home treatment for falling hair.  It is also a very great aid in bringing to your hair that rich lustre, that silky sheen, which is so very charming, so very desirable. 

Well, that's interesting...I never had a silky sheen in my life, and didn't think I ever would.  But maybe there was something to this?  I investigated all the GlamourDaze books for hair brushing advice.  

The 1940's beauty guide remarked that "the woman who wants beautiful, healthy hair should get into the habit of vigorously massaging the scalp and thoroughly brushing the hair twice a day," noting that it would bring blood to the hair roots, and distribute natural oils along the hair shaft.  It then recommended twenty minutes devoted to this, both morning and night.  Well, maybe forty minutes a day is a bit much for brushing, but I could certainly find some time to thoroughly brush my hair and massage my scalp at least once a day.

The adorable Beauty and Charm book said "Hair must be shining clear and brushed like mad with a clean brush daily - soaped and washed once every week or two."  Wash my hair once every week or two?  But my hair is so oily and stringy after a day or two, I couldn't imagine waiting a week between washings.  

I started to search the web for more advice about old fashioned hair care.  There is a big "No-Poo" movement going on, which recommends giving up shampooing altogether.  But they seem more concerned with going anti-"chemical" than about seeking lustrous hair.  I did some research, and found a few mentions of hair brushing in the No-Poo universe, but not many.  They recommend the same old-timey hair care routine of thorough daily brushing to keep the hair clean.  Hmm, hair brushing actually keeps your hair clean?  Is that the secret of our ancestors having such amazing hair, despite rarely washing it?

Further search showed me that modern sources are still shouting it loud and clear that 100 strokes a day is far too much, causing alarming breakage and havoc everywhere!  One article said that "a few strokes here and there" would impart all the benefits of more extensive brushing, such as distributing oils, removing dirt, and making it shiny.  But I had never seen these benefits with the minimal brushing I was doing.

Then I ran across this article by another woman interested in doing things vintage-style.  She too noticed the difference between modern brushing advice and the habits of our ancestors.  She notes that vintage and antique hair brushes were made of natural bristles, not plastic, and that the natural bristles (made of boar's hair) were responsible for that lustrous, healthy hair you can find in antique photos of women.  From Victorian ladies, to Flappers, to 1950's movie stars, you can plainly see their hair was glossy and clean looking, despite the fact that they shampooed maybe once a month.  "Frequent" washing was every two weeks! 

I decided I could certainly try washing every other day, with frequent and thorough brushing morning and night.  I didn't want to spring for a natural bristle brush right away, so I started things off with my plastic paddle brush.  It has coated bristle tips to prevent scratching the scalp and tearing the hair.

A close facsimile of my own brush

After gently detangling the hair to remove snarls, I brush it 100 strokes.  It takes only a couple of minutes.  I make sure to stimulate the scalp without scraping it, and brush clear to the ends with firm but gentle pressure.  The results have been so dramatic, I was fighting the urge to write this article just a week after I began.  My new brushing routine brought immediate benefits.  Within that first week, my hair was much glossier, and seemed much cleaner as well.  I used to wake up with my bangs clumped together with oil.  It would be stringy at the top and tangled at the bottom.  No more!  Now I wake up with fresh-looking hair that just needs a tidying-up to look nice.   My bangs look glossy, my hair flowing.  Fewer strands of hair have been coming out when I brush, rather than more!  All of this was surprising, even though it was the very reason I was trying it.

I decided to wait for at least a month to report my results.  Even with my plastic brush, I have seen the condition of my hair improved so much, I am over the moon about it.  In the first week, my hair was silky about half way down the length of my hair, which is about 4 inches below my shoulders.  In the following 3 weeks, the lower parts of my hair also took on a more satiny sheen, and actually began to curl after brushing, instead of frizzing out!  I smooth the ends with my fingers, then "fluff" it up a bit like you see ladies do in old movies - and behold!  Fabulous, soft curls have appeared like magic.  I think I need a trim to neaten up the very last inch of damaged hair, but it looks so nice now, I am no longer hiding it in up-do's.  

And curiously, these benefits last through shampooings, and keep improving despite my modern habit of showering often.

Natural bristle brush

I've chosen not to go shampoo-free, or to limit my hair washing to once a month.  I still shampoo and condition as normal, every other day, while incorporating my new brushing routine every night (and some mornings).  I can't believe I never tried it before, and my hair has never been in better shape.  All those wasted years of hating my uncooperative hair, while all the time, it was my own grooming neglect that was causing my woes.  The next step for me is to purchase a soft natural bristle brush to take my brushing routine to the next level.  If any significant improvements are visible, I will certainly update at that time.

The moral of the story is: Don't believe everything you read about modern grooming techniques.  Sometimes, old wisdom is best.  If you have similar hair problems to mine, consider giving vintage hair brushing a try.