Brush your way to healthy hair

Did you know you should give your hair a good brush every morning, before every shower and every night? Proper brushing can eliminate waste materials that build up on the scalp. Brushing three times per day helps evenly distribute sebum (the oil your scalp naturally produces) through your hair to retain moisture and keep shiny locks. Brushing also prevents hair loss by increasing blood circulation in the scalp and transporting oxygen and nutrients to the hair stem, root and bulb. Brushing also helps balance the sebaceous gland, which produces sebum. Over or under production of sebum is often to blame for hair loss.

Don't forget to get yourself a good brush. You should only brush your hair with natural bristle brushes. Synthetic bristles can actually harm your hair. They cause breakage which leads to frizzy hair. Yuck! Boar bristles brushes are the way to go. They are the most similar to human hair and they evenly distribute the sebum. When you brush with a boar bristles brush, you allow the sebum to evenly coat the whole strand rather than staying concentrated at the scalp. Always brush your hair when it's dry and use a comb when it's wet.

Lastly, make sure you are using a good chemical free shampoo. I've tried a bunch of chemical free shampoo, Shea Moisture, Juice Organics, Perfectly Posh, Acure, Dr Bronners and Monet. I liked all of these brands but I found one I like even better, Avalon Organics. This brand has EWG's stamp of approval. You can buy this shampoo in lemon, lavender, tea tree, coconut, peppermint, rosemary and apple cider vinegar. If you are lucky enough to live near a Wegmans, you can grab the shampoo there for $7.99. You can also buy directly on their website or on Amazon. Always shampoo your hair twice, the first time lifts the dirt and the second time washes it away. Only put conditioner on your ends, never on your scalp.