Brushing For Beautiful Hair

Chapter 5 - Brushing For Beautiful Hair

Could you possibly resist an offer which guaranteed:
Free!! No coupons. No box tops. Shining, healthier, more manageable hair in a matter of weeks.
Plus these extra attractions:
Clearer skin. Dandruff routed. Dry or oily hair conditions improved.
Hardly.

Then please don't skip over this chapter just because you've been reading about the importance of a daily one hundred strokes since you were no older than Caroline Kennedy.

Next to cleanliness, nothing, not even twelve sessions with the world's most highly acclaimed stylist, can do more for every single hair on your head than faithful, firm, dig-in-deep and pull-up-and-out brushing.
Are you afraid brushing will ruin your set? It won't. It will only help it. Or is it just plain laziness which keeps you from giving your hair its daily calisthenics. After all, hair itself can't do the limbering-up exercises it so desperately needs.
Just like your fingernails, which feel no pain when you cut them, visible hair shafts are a mass of dead cells and there's nothing you can do—naturally—to beautify them.

But you can do a world of good for the living roots down deep in your scalp which determine the way every single hair on your head will look when it grows out—by brushing. Vigorous brushing, shampooing and massage send the blood's vital nutrients rushing to each root and thus sheen and beauty to your hair.
Try animated hair brushing for two weeks. And while we can't make any money-back guarantees, we know you won't want one. Your hair will look more vital than it has since you started letting your hairbrush gather dust on your dresser.
A busy routine is no excuse for shirking. There must be several times a day you can fit in twenty-five strokes out of the proverbial one hundred or two hundred. And once you get in the habit you'll never want to break it.
Not when you find out how invigorated you feel as a result. Once you establish a regular rhythm you'll find you can do your lock limbering in a matter of minutes.

Brushing does many beautiful things to your hair:
1. It gives it the silken sheen men love.
2. It encourages rather than destroys new settings and makes fresh permanents look more natural.
3. It vacuums dust-trap hair and cleanses the scalp, both of which pick up at least ten times more dust and grime than your skin.
4. It corrects dry hair by distributing natural oils the entire length of each hair shaft.
5. It lubricates hair tips and discourages unattractive splitting.
6. It corrects oily hair by tending to normalize the function of oil glands which surround each hair.
7. It makes thin hair look more fluffy.
8. It makes thick hair look more controlled.
9. It attacks the snags in curly hair and makes it more manageable.

The act of brushing begins by keeping hair roots up. Throw head forward, bend from waist as you wield your hair beauty's best friend. This upside-down approach starts blood rushing to your scalp. If you're too weary to stand, stretch out on your bed and let head hang over the edge as you stroke.
Hold only the handle of the brush. Fingers should never grasp the bristles or push against them. Pressure weakens bristles and causes them to break.

Starting at the nape where so many nerves are centered, brush forward to the very end of each hair until your head has been completely encircled. Now, section off hair and again brush each section from roots to tips.
One-two-three-four. Before you know it, you've reached one hundred.
Always brush up and away from the scalp, never down. Dig deep into the hair and gently tug at scalp. This makes it possible for long bristles to massage the scalp and shorter ones to clean hair shafts.
If a girl's best friend is a brush, she should choose her friends carefully. Never scrimp or save on a hairbrush. The strength of the brush you use depends on your hair type.

Many experts endorse only natural bristle brushes. Although they are more likely to be more expensive, one of their big advantages is a natural affinity for the hair. Both boars' bristles and human hair are composed of keratin.
Nylon bristles are easy to clean, firm and are usually found in less expensive brushes. A few years ago nylon brushes were in disrepute because they tended to have rough-edged bristles which scratched the scalp. Examine a nylon brush carefully before buying to make sure there are no possible scalp-cutting edges.
Some brushes combine both natural and nylon bristles, with the best points of each.
Ask your doctor or dermatologist what he thinks.
Sturdy, coarse hair requires an extra stiff bristle. Very coarse hair needs a whale-bone bristle, which also is good for dislodging annoying flakes. Thin hair demands a softer brush. So does tinted hair. Select a light, soft brush for baby's fine hair. But after a child Teaches the age of two, switch to a firmer brush. Children's hair demands even more cleaning than adults'.

If you like to flick your wrist as you do your brushing, make yours a half round brush. Wrist turning on an oval brush tends to wear down bristles on either side.

When buying a fine bristle brush, select one made by a firm with a fine reputation. See that the bristles in each tuft are uneven in length. Ends of tufts should not be trimmed. The oil-filled ends provide the penetrative qualities which aid the natural vitality of the hair.

Brushes have a fascinating history, of which comparatively few people are aware. One of the earliest brushes, rush fibers bound with linen, made in Egypt in 1900 B.C., currently is on exhibit in England's Manchester Museum. Modern brushes made from the finest bristle and more than twenty years in the making are valued at $1000, and will become even more valuable as time goes on.
Founded in 1750, the National Society of Brush Makers is among the oldest trade unions in the world. Patient and agile-fingered members have passed their secrets down to their families for generations.

The very finest brushes are hand-drawn by skilled workmen and made from the bristles of wild Siberian boars, obviously becoming less and less available to the free world. Other fine bristles have also come from China and Northern India.
Correctly used, the world bristle refers only to the hairs of boars and wild pigs. Until 1917, Siberian peasants collected boars' bristles as the animals rubbed their backs against stones at winter's end. Girls saved these bristles under their mattresses and sold them to raise money for their dowries.
One boar supplied about one ounce of bristle a year which, in part, explains the cost of fine brushes. The expensive brushes noted above made from especially carefully selected bristles are called Dower brushes.
After the Russian Revolution, however, the people began killing boars for food before the bristles had fully developed. So did the Chinese. Horse hair, South American ox, domestic cows, and even strong, black human hair from China are now used as "fillers" in modern brushes.

Whalebone brushes are made from bone-like filters found in the mouths of whales. Victorian ladies used the same material as girdle stays. More than 90 per cent comes from the Blue, Fin and Sea whales of the North Atlantic. Like hair itself, these bristles contain precious keratin.
If you own a whale brush and a few bristles drop out at first, don't rush to the store to demand your money back. The fallout will soon stop. The oil in your hair will add new life to the whale bristle which, like old brandy, improves with age.
Let's hope this short history has given you new respect for one of your most important beauty aids.
Beauty is as beauty does. To keep hair clean and healthy, shampoo your brush at least as often as you do your hair. After each brushing, wipe bristles on a rough towel to remove excess dirt.
Remove hair gently by running a comb through bristles. Swish in tepid water to which mild soap suds have been added. Never use soda or detergents, and immerse bristles only—not brush. Never soak it. Now rinse in tepid water and then cold water.
Shake to remove excess moisture. Dry handle with a soft towel and bristles by placing brush bristle side down on a towel so no water settles in the base. You don't want a mildewed brush.
Dry near an open window. Avoid direct rays of sun. Never dry in artificial heat or on top of a radiator.