Wooden hairbrush, called a "wet brush" because of the widely-spaced wooden "bristles," which are small, flexible pegs. The brush is on a white counter with random tan bars of color. It sits at an angle and a modified rat-tail, wooden comb is on the same angle next to it. The comb is chunky in comparison to a traditional rat-tail comb. Photo by Mary Warner, June 13, 2023.
health history

100 Brush Strokes

by Mary

I bought a new hairbrush recently.

Whoop-de-doo, you might say.

But it was kind of a big deal for me because I’ve been using a metal comb for years … and years … and years.

It’s a comb I got in late high school or early college. In examining it closely for this blog post, I see that it’s a Swedish Crown brand rat-tail comb, made in Sweden, and has the number 2252 stamped on one side. It’s gold with green leaves and flowers. I’ve used it so long that some of the gold coloring is wearing off.

Swedish Crown metal rat-tail comb with gold background. Small green flowers and leaves fill the surface of the comb. Photo by Mary Warner, June 15, 2023.
Swedish Crown metal rat-tail comb with gold background. Small green flowers and leaves fill the surface of the comb. Photo by Mary Warner, June 15, 2023.

My latest eczema flare [https://maryewarner.com/2023/05/15/eczema-update/] included a spot on my scalp. In trying to get it under control, I have been examining everything I’ve been using on or near my skin. My dermatologist suggested that it could be a metal allergy.

Though I haven’t yet been tested for a metal allergy, I do remember my ears breaking out in a rash after having my ears pierced, typically in response to any earrings not made of gold. Obviously, I have some sort of metal sensitivity.

Even though I’ve used my metal comb for decades without scalp issues, I thought it’d be worth a try to switch it out. At first I tried plastic rat-tail combs, but they are sharp and aren’t particularly effective in my hair.

I decided to look for a wooden comb instead. After unsuccessfully looking in local stores, I begrudgingly turned to Amazon to see what they offered. There were a number of listings for wooden combs and comb and brush sets. I picked a set that included two combs (one for the bathroom and one for my purse) and a brush.

Wooden hairbrush, called a "wet brush" because of the widely-spaced wooden "bristles," which are small, flexible pegs. The brush is on a white counter with random tan bars of color. It sits at an angle and a modified rat-tail, wooden comb is on the same angle next to it. The comb is chunky in comparison to a traditional rat-tail comb. Photo by Mary Warner, June 13, 2023.
Wooden hairbrush, called a “wet brush” because of the widely-spaced wooden “bristles,” which are small, flexible pegs. The brush is on a white counter with random tan bars of color. It sits at an angle and a modified rat-tail, wooden comb is on the same angle next to it. The comb is chunky in comparison to a traditional rat-tail comb. Photo by Mary Warner, June 13, 2023.

 

Chunky symmetrical wooden comb with rounded back. Photo by Mary Warner, June 15, 2023.
Chunky symmetrical wooden comb with rounded back. Photo by Mary Warner, June 15, 2023.

I figured I wouldn’t use the brush much.

I was wrong.

I discovered I missed brushing my hair, especially flipping my head and hair upside down and brushing from the nape of my neck toward the top of my head. It’s invigorating to the scalp and makes my hair FLUFFY! It also seems to be helping the eczema spot on my scalp.

While brushing my hair, a beauty tip from my teen years came back to me. For lustrous hair, it was recommended that you brush it for 100 strokes a day.

When I was a kid, 100 strokes seemed excessive and tedious, but I gave it a try today, consciously counting, and was up to 111 strokes in no time. It made me wonder whether I come close to this most days without realizing it because hair brushing is so soothing.

Is the 100 brush strokes thing still a thing? Or is it now considered not good for your hair?

On a related note, I ran across this article on pre-90s life skills that are now considered obsolete and was immediately brought back decades. Many of these were skills I developed back then. https://digg.com/internet-culture/link/ask-reddit-90s-life-skills-useless-obsolete-IfZfiFMSdn

Are any of these skills familiar to you?

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2 thoughts on “100 Brush Strokes”

  1. I’m an advocate of the “100 strokes”, however I didn’t realise how much a hairbrush actually cleans your hair as it brushes until my children and I got headlice. To stop re-infestation of our hairbrushes, we switched to combs until we’d gotten rid of the lice for good. In spite of the extra hair washes, our hair looked noticeably dirtier than when it got regular, thorough brushes. Who knew?

    1. I had no idea, Liz! Although, that would explain why my hair looks so fluffy now that I’m using a hairbrush. It also seems to look cleaner for longer and I can go a couple of days without washing it, thus conserving water. Yay for hairbrushes!

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