I remember when I wasyounger (toddler) even into my teens, my mom would *brush* my hair to gte me out of the house faster. However she seemed to think that brushing meant ripping throught tangles with the brush and as a result the ends are damaged. I also see taht alot of people think brushes are for teh purpose of detangling. Anyway, I'm still annoyed becuase of this, and wnated to knwo if any of you went throught the same thing when you were younger?

Hi, Sara.  I moved your topic over here-I thought people with out kids might want to contribute, too.
I didn't have that problem with my mom, but my sister sweated in her sleep which would cause her to have terrible tangles in the morning.  I think my mom was really gentle in working those tangles out, but my sister didn't want to sit still so I'm sure it pulled her hair.
I think brushing is mainly to get dust/fuzzies out of your hair, not for detangling!

I know lots of people who think that brushes are for detangling.  If you are thinking of a widely spaced wire bristle type brush, yes, it can detangle.  However, if you are thinking of a thick bristle type brush - these are best used for "polishing" or distributing oils through hair that has already been detangled.

As a child, I had very short, pixie cuts due to my peach-fuzz hair.  I'm not sure my hair had a comb or brush through it until I was 8 or 9!  I know I didn't own my own brush until I went away to college.  I have only used widely spaced bristle brushes on my hair (for many years I used dog brushes!).  Today I seldom use a brush on my fine hair - a wide tooth comb is my primary tool, with a finer tooth comb for finishing.

Hey guys!
Well, of course I use my wide tooth comb now, and I seldom need a boar bristle unlesi truly am having a bad hair day and wnat to smooth out teh hair after detangling so I can have it neatly put into a bun or braid.
Oh what sent my hair on end was when I heard that one fo my friends uses a brush to detangle wet hair as wellas dry. *shudders*

Heehee, before I came to LL I used to use a brush to detangle! But I was usually careful not to rip through tangles. I have coarse hair so that didn't seem to damage it too much. I think the thing that damaged my hair the most was using non-hair friendly hairbands. These days I usually only use a brush when I'm trying to make a ponytail and need to smooth out my hair.

My mom used a comb to detangle, from the bottom-up.  The comb wasn't wide-tooth, but it worked fine since my hair is straight.  For my nieces, she would use a wide-tooth comb - they have waves, so it was slightly harder to detangle.  

We also had a thick bristle brush, but only used it for "counting hair".  That's where you brush it 100 strokes but I forget why.  Probably to distribute oils..?

Cynde

I always used a brush to detangle (and not too gently either, I confess) before I found this board. I didn't use combs at all, and I didn't really know about different combs and what kind of combs were good for hair. *shivers*

When I switched from brushing to combing about an year ago, my hair loss drate dropped dramatically.  These days, I have thrown all my old brushes away save one natural bristle brush that I need seldom to "polish" my hair if it is especially greasy. Otherwise, it's all gentle combs for me. :D

I think I know exactly what you mean, Sara.

When I was in grade school (æons ago), I used to carpool with my friends across the street. Every morning before we left, I used to watch their mother rip through their long hair with a worn out brush, and I would cringe every time I heard a snap!

This is what's called a "blind rush." When people are in such a hurry to get something done in time that they do shoddy work and can't see the damage which results. Their focus is the deadline at this point and not the work.  :-/

Anywho, I feel your pain...in sort of a vicarious, restrospective way.  :P

Oh WOW! I'm not the only one to cringe when I hear hair snapping! Unfortunately, it's my hair! I've even acquired a nasty habit of saying "Ouch!".

When I was waaay younger, back in the caveman days, I used love a brush to detangle. Of course, then my hair was well above shoulder length and probably didn't matter much. It did work really well for my wavey/curley hair, though. These days, I have grown in wisdom thanks to the hair goddesses on this board.