How to clean a hairbrush without damaging it

Cleaning a hairbrush takes three steps: remove the trapped hair, wash the bristles with lukewarm water and a little shampoo, and let the brush dry completely. What changes from one brush to another is how much water it can take. A plastic detangling brush can be scrubbed in soapy water, but a boar bristle brush on a wooden back should only have its bristle tips washed.

This guide gives a method for each common brush type, based on care instructions published by the brush makers Kent and Tangle Teezer. It also covers what the CDC and the NHS say about brushes and combs after head lice or a scalp infection. If your brush came with its own care instructions, follow those first.

How often to clean a hairbrush

We found no medical guideline that sets a fixed schedule for cleaning a hairbrush. A routine that works for most people has two parts:

• Remove loose hair every few uses. Hair lifts out easily before it packs down around the base of the bristles.
• Wash the brush when you can see buildup. Look for a grey film, lint or product residue at the base, or bristles that feel coated. If you use a lot of styling product, this happens sooner.

Kent’s care guide says regular cleaning stops product, oil and dirt building up in the bristles and helps a brush last longer.

Whatever your routine, clean a brush straight away if it was used on someone with head lice or a scalp infection. The section on lice and scalp infections explains how.

Step 1: remove the hair

Start with a dry brush, because dry hair lifts out more easily.

1. Lift the hair from the base. Use the tail of a comb, a wide-tooth comb or a brush-cleaning rake. Kent recommends combing loose hair out of the base with a cleaning tool. Work from one end of the brush to the other.
2. Pull the hair away as one mat. Once it is lifted above the bristles, it usually comes away in one piece.
3. Cut wrapped hair on a round brush. Hair winds around the barrel of a round brush. If it will not lift out, slide small scissors under the wrapped hair along the length of the barrel, cut through the hair, and pull it free. Keep the blade away from the bristles.

Put the hair in the bin rather than down the sink.

Step 2: wash the brush to suit its type

Use lukewarm water with a little shampoo or mild soap. Kent’s method for its bristle and handmade brushes uses exactly that: lukewarm water with a little shampoo or mild detergent. The main difference between brush types is which parts must stay dry.

Plastic or nylon brushes with a solid back

These are the easiest to clean. Tangle Teezer’s instructions are to remove loose hair, then use a clean toothbrush with soap and warm water to gently scrub between the teeth and the base of the brush, rinse, and let it dry naturally. Tangle Teezer also warns that heat can melt the teeth of its detangling, styling and wellness brushes, which is a good reason to let any plastic brush air dry.

Cushion brushes

A cushion or pneumatic brush has its pins set in a rubber pad over an air-filled body. Keeping water off the pad and out of the body leaves nothing to dry inside the brush. Wash only the pin tips: hold the brush pins down in shallow soapy water, work the tips gently with your fingers, and keep the pad and body out of the water. Kent’s instructions for its bristle and pin hairbrushes say not to submerge them.

Boar bristle and wooden brushes

Kent’s method for its bristle and handmade brushes is careful about the wood:

1. Fill a bowl with lukewarm water and add a little shampoo or mild detergent.
2. Hold the brush bristle down in the water so the water does not reach the wood. Do not submerge it.
3. Gently wash the bristle tips to loosen oil and dirt.
4. Lift the brush out and shake off the excess water.
5. Place it bristle down on a level surface and let it dry naturally, away from any heat source or direct sunlight.

Apply the same care to any brush with a wooden back or handle, even if its bristles are nylon.

Round brushes

Round brushes need the most work in step 1, because hair wraps around the barrel. Once the hair is out, wash the bristles by rolling the barrel through shallow soapy water or by scrubbing along it with a toothbrush. Keep a wooden handle out of the water, following Kent’s rule for wood, and treat a cork handle the same way unless its maker says otherwise.

Step 3: dry the brush completely

• Shake off the water, then blot the back and handle with a clean towel.
• Let it air dry away from heaters, hair dryers and direct sunlight, as Kent advises.
• Choose the drying position the maker gives. Kent says to dry its bristle brushes bristle down, so water drains away from the wood. Tangle Teezer says to dry its brushes with the teeth facing up. If a brush with a wooden back or a cushion pad has no instructions, drying it bristles down keeps water away from those parts. Lay a round brush on its side on a towel and turn it once.
• Wait until it is fully dry before you use it or put it in a bag or case. Check the base of the bristles, where water collects.

How to clean a comb

Combs are simpler because there is no pad or hidden base. Kent’s advice for its handmade combs is to wipe the comb with a cloth, gently brush each tooth with a soft toothbrush to remove oil and dirt, and let it dry away from heat and direct sunlight. A plastic comb can also be washed in lukewarm soapy water and rinsed.

If you are choosing a new comb, our detangling comb guide covers tooth spacing, grip and wet or dry use. Keep combs used on pets separate from your own; our cat grooming comb guide covers pet combs. Makeup brushes need a different method again, described in our makeup brush cleaning guide.

After head lice or a scalp infection

Everyday cleaning is about buildup. Head lice and scalp infections are a different problem, and cleaning a brush does not treat either one.

Head lice. The NHS says head lice are not caused by dirty hair and spread through head-to-head contact. The CDC’s head lice treatment page advises soaking combs and brushes in hot water of at least 130°F (about 54°C) for 5 to 10 minutes, and its page about head lice says not to share combs, brushes or towels. For the treatment itself, including wet combing with a fine-toothed detection comb, follow the NHS or CDC guidance or ask a pharmacist.

A hot soak is hotter and longer than most makers allow for wooden, cork, boar bristle or cushion brushes, and Kent says not to submerge its bristle and pin hairbrushes. If a brush cannot be soaked, check with its maker; replacing it may be simpler than risking damage.

Ringworm of the scalp. The NHS ringworm page lists combs among the objects that can spread this fungal infection and advises not sharing combs, towels or bedsheets with someone who has it. It also says ringworm on the scalp usually needs prescription antifungal tablets and shampoo, so see a GP or doctor rather than relying on cleaning.

When to repair or replace a hairbrush

Cleaning restores a brush that is dirty. It will not fix one that is worn out. Consider replacing a brush when you see:

• missing, bent or melted pins or bristles, or tips that have broken and feel rough;
• a cushion pad that is split, loose or no longer springs back;
• a cracked back or handle, or a head that has come loose;
• a smell, dark spots or staining that remain after washing and drying.

For an expensive brush, check whether the maker offers repairs before replacing it. Mason Pearson, for example, accepts repair requests for a damaged pad or a damaged board on brushes bought after 2010, though not for both on the same brush. To compare repair and replacement over the years you expect to use a brush, try our cost-per-use calculator.

A Thick Roots example to investigate

Two current Thick Roots listings match brush types in this guide. On September 27, 2026 both were listed as available:

• Boyd’s Brushes Cork Handle Boar Bristle Hair Brush. The listing describes a cork handle and natural boar bristles, made in Spain, and says it is built for blowouts. It is sold in diameters from 30 mm to 95 mm, priced from $36 to $63. The round brush and boar bristle methods above apply, with the cork handle kept dry.
• Janeke Pneumatic Cushion Hair Brush with Nylon Pins. The listing describes a pneumatic cushion brush with nylon pins that can be used for wet brushing, about 8 3/4 by 2 3/4 inches, made in Italy, priced at $38. The cushion brush method above applies.

Neither listing included cleaning instructions when we checked, so ask the store before soaking either brush.

Disclosure: XZVZX and Thick Roots have the same owner. The product links are examples to investigate, not a hands-on review. We have not tested either brush; the details above come from the store listings.

Sources and limits

• Kent Brushes, How to care for your Kent product: washing and drying bristle brushes, combs and other brushes.
• Tangle Teezer, FAQs: cleaning its plastic brushes and its warning about heat.
• CDC, Treatment of Head Lice (reviewed November 12, 2024) and About Head Lice: soaking combs and brushes, and not sharing them.
• NHS, Head lice and nits and Ringworm.
• Mason Pearson, Repair Booking: which brush repairs it accepts.

We have not tested these cleaning methods, and we found no study that compares ways to clean a hairbrush. The cleaning schedule above is a practical suggestion rather than a medical guideline. Maker instructions vary, so check the care information for your own brush first, especially before soaking it.