7 Benefits That Come From Using a Scalp Brush on Your Hair

When it comes to hair care and a healthy hair care routine, one important component is often overlooked — scalp care. Hair health, including hair growth, begins and ends with a healthy scalp. This goes for all hair types.

An important first step in the direction of scalp health is routine scalp cleansing and scalp exfoliation. This is normally done with the help of a scalp brush or scalp massager.

Aside from feeling fantastic, using a scalp brush to exfoliate your scalp brings with it some pretty surprising benefits. Here, we look at how you can fit this easy-to-use hair care tool into your hair care routine and some of its many benefits for the health of your scalp and hair.

Table of contents:

• How Does Your Scalp Affect Your Hair?
• What Is a Scalp Brush?
• Seven Benefits Of Using a Scalp Brush on Your Hair
• 1. Scalp Brushes Can Help With Dryness
• 2. Helps Remove Scalp and Product Buildup
• 3. Scalp Brushes Help Stimulate the Scalp
• 4. Improves and Promotes Scalp Circulation
• 5. Scalp Brushes Can Help Strengthen Your Hair
• 6. Scalp Brushes Have a Relaxing Effect
• 7. Scalp Brushing May Promote Hair Growth
• How Can You Add a Scalp Brush to Your Hair Care Routine

How Does Your Scalp Affect Your Hair?

Unfortunately, many people simply take their scalps for granted. While skincare gets a lot of attention, the skin on the scalp is often overlooked. But scalp health matters for healthy hair.

According to research, the condition of your scalp has a big impact on hair health, especially hair growth. Think of it as the soil for your crops (or hair).

A healthy scalp is free of the following:

• Redness
• Flakiness
• Acne
• Irritation
• Itchiness

There are several scalp conditions that can contribute to the symptoms above. Aging is another factor.

The condition of the scalp will affect the health of your hair, for better or worse. This starts at the hair root, which rests within the hair follicle on the scalp. This is where hair is formed.

A hardening protein known as keratin is the building block of hair. In fact, the hair that you see (which is just the hair shaft) is actually just layers of keratin. These three layers include the medulla, cortex, and cuticle. Let's take a quick look at each.

• Medulla: The innermost layer of keratin is called the medulla. The medulla is usually only present among those with thicker hair types. It houses a soft core of air spaces and transparent cells.

• Cortex: The middle layer of keratin is called the cortex. This layer is responsible for your hair color since it houses pigment cells.

• Cuticle: The outermost layer of the hair shaft is the cuticle. The cuticle is a protective layer that helps keep the inner layers healthy and strong. A healthy cuticle is smooth, flat, and shiny.
  

As the hair shaft grows, it sprouts from the roots on the scalp, through the follicle, and finally out of the skin. Once hair strands breach the skin's surface, the hair cells actually die.

The hair follicles on the scalp are also attached to hair oil glands or sebaceous glands. The natural oil that these glands produce is called sebum. These natural oils keep the scalp and hair moisturized, helping prevent the effects of dry hair, like breakage.

While these natural oils help give your hair shine, excess sebum oil can cause greasy, oily-looking hair and an oily scalp. Thankfully, scalp treatments and scalp scrubbers can help combat the issues associated with both an oily and dry scalp.

What Is a Scalp Brush?

A hairbrush is one thing — but a scalp brush? Well, it's what it sounds like.

A scalp brush is simply a brush used to scrub your scalp. Some refer to it as a scalp massager or scalp massaging shampoo brush. Either way, the principle is the same.

The main job of a scalp brush is exfoliation. Typically, scalp brushes use soft silicone bristles to exfoliate, massage, and stimulate the hair's scalp. They're meant to be used in the shower as part of the hair-washing routine.

Seven Benefits Of Using a Scalp Brush on Your Hair

As stated, hair health starts on the scalp. A scalp brush is one tool that is used to help achieve healthier hair. Let's look at some of the benefits that come from using a scalp brush as part of your hair care routine.

1. Scalp Brushes Can Help With Dryness

Dryness is a very common scalp condition marked by flakes of dead skin cells. Unfortunately, this flaking is often noticeable and may be embarrassing for some. It can have several causes, including dry skin, skin conditions, or hair product sensitivities.

Many choose to soothe their scalp irritation and flakiness with moisturizing shampoo or clarifying shampoos . Meanwhile, scalp brushes can help loosen the natural buildup of dead skin cells that cause dryness, enhancing the effectiveness of shampoos.

2. Helps Remove Scalp and Product Buildup

One of the most useful benefits of using a scalp brush is its effectiveness in removing buildup on the scalp. Over time, hair oils, dirt, and styling products can build up on the scalp, clogging pores and hair follicles.

Clogged hair follicles can contribute to hair loss. Scalp brushes can help loosen both natural scalp buildup, including sebum and dead skin cells, and hair styling products, which can otherwise clog follicles and contribute to scalp irritation. This process is called exfoliation.

In addition, scalp brushes can also help brush the residual product out of your hair during washing, ensuring nothing gets left behind.

3. Scalp Brushes Help Stimulate the Scalp

Aside from helping to remove dirt, oil, and product buildup, scalp brushes and scalp massaging can also help stimulate the scalp, particularly the living hair follicle cells that are located on your scalp.

According to research, scalp massaging can actually help increase hair thickness by stimulating and stretching the hair follicles. As stated, clogged hair follicles can cause issues when it comes to hair growth.

This stimulation of the scalp also helps nutrients to penetrate the scalp and the hair roots, making for healthier hair follicles all the way around.

4. Improves and Promotes Scalp Circulation

Closely related to scalp stimulation is blood circulation. The circulatory system works hard to pump oxygenated blood to organs and tissues throughout your body, and this includes your scalp. Stimulation of the scalp helps promote this circulation.

Increased blood flow to your scalp means more oxygen and essential nutrients flow to the hair follicles. As this scalp exfoliation removes dead skin and buildup, it essentially acts as a scalp detox, promoting healthy circulation and healthy hair.

But a word of caution: Be gentle. You want to avoid irritating the scalp, which can happen if you try to exfoliate forcefully. Use the scalp brush to massage carefully and gently.

5. Scalp Brushes Can Help Strengthen Your Hair

Believe it or not, your hair comes with its own strengthening tools. As mentioned above, hair oils help protect and hydrate hair strands. These oils naturally strengthen your hair. Those with fine hair types typically produce the most hair oils.

Those with curly hair types tend to have issues with dry hair since it can be difficult to get natural hair oils all the way down the hair strand. But that is where scalp brushes can help.

Using a scalp brush can help distribute hair oils evenly throughout the entire hair strand. This can help restore those natural strengthening effects of hair oils and improve the overall health of the hair.

6. Scalp Brushes Have a Relaxing Effect

One interesting benefit of using a scalp brush on your hair actually has little to do with your hair at all. It has more to do with your mood. If you've ever enjoyed a massage, you know what we're talking about.

Massaging and stimulating the scalp has a relaxing effect, similar to other types of massages. In that sense, using a scalp brush may actually help improve your mood and overall well-being.

This can also help reduce physical stress and scalp tension caused by constricted blood vessels. In fact, massaging your scalp with a scalp brush can help reduce muscle tension, especially tension caused by headaches.

7. Scalp Brushing May Promote Hair Growth

While the science is still out, there is some research that has linked scalp massages and brushing with improving hair thickness and hair growth.

Again, this idea is tied back to the scalp brush being able to stimulate and increase blood circulation to the scalp. This is essential for healthy skin and hair growth.

So, brushing your scalp with soft bristles may help encourage stubborn hair follicles to grow stronger and thicker, not to mention to make way for newer, healthier growth.

How Can You Add a Scalp Brush to Your Hair Care Routine

If you're looking to add a scalp brush to your hair routine, look no further than the WOW Scalp Massager Brush . It features soft, thick silicone bristles for a gentle, soothing scrub to your scalp. It also works great for evenly distributing your shampoo or conditioner.

The good news is you can actually use the scalp brush with dry or wet hair. Here are a few helpful tips for using a scalp brush as part of your hair care routine.

• Before showering, make sure your hair is free from any tangles or knots. A detangling brush will do the trick.

• Make sure to soak your hair thoroughly, then apply the shampoo of your choice and work it into your scalp with your fingers first.

• With your scalp brush, gently massage your scalp with circular motions, working in the lather evenly throughout the scalp and hair. A few minutes of this will do.

• Rinse the hair thoroughly, using the scalp brush to work out all the product buildup while rinsing. Finish with your favorite conditioner .

We recommend gently massaging with your scalp brush around 3 to 4 times a week for the best results. Remember, the keyword is "gently." Do not press too hard, and avoid using it on broken skin, as it could make scalp irritation worse.

Avoid using a scalp brush for more than five minutes at a time since excess brushing can actually overstimulate the scalp, leading to excess hair oil production. Also, never use a metal brush on your scalp, as this can be too harsh and cause damage to the skin.

As mentioned, you can still use a scalp brush on dry hair. For dry hair, use the brush to massage the scalp, still using gentle, circular motions. This is meant to help stimulate the scalp, so trying to use a scalp brush to brush your hair from root to end won't work.

Scalp brushing has numerous benefits, from helping remove excess buildup on the scalp to stimulating better blood flow. Adding it to your hair care routine can help promote healthier hair. Check out WOW for products to fit your hair care needs.