Why you shouldn’t brush your hair when it’s wet…

Or blow dry it straight away either

Words by Lexxi Davis

If you're the sort of person who brushes their hair straight after washing it, we have some bad news for you.

What's the need-to-know reason why you shouldn’t brush your hair when it’s dripping from the shower? We don’t mean to scare you, but much like sleeping with wet hair, it can do some serious damage to your silky smooth locks.

Firstly, brushing when wet puts a lot more tension on strands that would usually slide right through your brush. This can cause major breakage, and if you always find that you have lots of fuzzy, slightly shorter hair after blow-drying, these are your poor broken hairs.

While brushing hair regularly will help stimulate the roots and promote faster growth, brushing right after washing is terrible news for the hair’s bonds – that once broken, are difficult to get back to their former glory.

So, how do you go about brushing it without damaging it? The best way is to towel dry first, by squeezing, rather than rough drying (as this can cause damage, too).

Then if you can, try and let your hair dry naturally – by around 80% – until you turn to your tools. And if you're still in the dark of how often to wash your hair, then read our guide on the perfect amount.

Brush with a wide tooth comb, starting at the ends and working your way up, then finish with your hairdryer to style – not forgetting a good heat protection spray to further protect your mane.

If you can’t wait around for a time consuming air-drying sesh, then try to give it at least a few minutes. Allowing your hair to air dry for just 5-10 minutes will help reduce damage hugely.

So if you’re a get up, wash and go type of girl, you may want to reconsider your hair-washing routine…