Taking care of your beard often requires the use of either a brush or a comb, or even both. These tools are the reason why that mane of yours is so majestic.
However, have you thought about performing maintenance on the brushes and combs you use?
If you use your brush or comb fairly often, it’s going to accumulate hair and gunk. You don’t want to run a nasty brush or comb through your god-tier beard, right?
Additionally, high-quality grooming tools can last a long time if they are properly taken care of.
In this post, we’ll give you a rundown on how to clean your beard brush to keep your grooming tool fresh so that you stay looking fresh.
Cleaning Tools You’re Going to Need
Aside from your dirty beard brush, here is a list of items and cleaning products you are going to need when cleaning your grooming tools:
- Brush cleaning rake
- Beard shampoo
- Beard oil
- Old toothbrush (Make sure that it’s clean)
- Paper towels
How to Clean Your Beard Brush
The following instructions are applicable to both boar bristle brushes and Tampico bristle brushes.
Step 1: Remove hair buildup from the bristles
Hold the dirty brush sideways and use a brush cleaning rake to comb out the hairs and debris.
In your first few passes with the rake, focus on getting the hairs near the tip of the bristles first. Position the tines of the rake about halfway down the length of the bristles as you comb out the hair.
After you’ve removed the hairs near the tips of the bristles, let’s focus on raking out the hairs where the bristles and the body of the brush meet. Position the tines of the rake as close to the root of the bristles as possible to pull out the hairs and debris.
If there are stubborn hairs that have tangled themselves in the bristles, use your fingers to pull them out.
Perform this step about once a week or so to avoid a massive buildup of hair and debris.
Step 2: Deep cleaning the bristles
After removing hair buildup on the brush, wet the bristles by running them under warm water or dipping them in a bowl of warm water.
Then add a few drops of beard shampoo onto the bristles and massage the shampoo into the bristles with your fingers or with an old, clean toothbrush.
SIDE NOTE: If you are cleaning a brush with a wooden body, make sure NOT to soak the wood in water. You can get it a little wet, but letting the water soak into the wood will cause it to splinter and break.
After about 20-30 seconds of cleaning, thoroughly rinse out the shampoo. Use a clean towel to dry the bristles and the body of the brush.
Shake the brush several times to remove any excess water that may have made its way into the bristle plugs.
Lay out the towel and place the brush bristle-side down onto the towel. Let the brush dry overnight.
If you use your brush to evenly distribute beard oil into your facial hair, you’re going to want to deep clean the bristles on a regular basis.
Ideally you should deep clean your brush every two or three weeks. If you have sensitive skin, we recommend deep cleaning your brush every week.
Failing to do so will result in the residual oil gunking up the bristles, which can trap dirt and other debris. Combing your beard with a gunky brush will likely cause skin irritation and possibly acne breakouts.
So to avoid irritating your skin, make sure to give your brush a good deep clean.
