How to Deep Clean a Hairbrush
Remove trapped hair, dissolve scalp oil and product buildup, and sanitize brush bristles using shampoo and baking soda to keep your hair fresh and oil-free.
⚠️ Read this before you start
Makeup and beauty mishaps are real. Your eyes, skin, and hair are not a car door — the damage is often permanent.
- • Patch test 24 hours first. Put any new product on a small patch of skin (inner arm) a day before it goes near your face. Cosmetic allergies are common and can be severe.
- • Nothing goes IN your eye. Scratched corneas from mascara wands and liner pencils are the most common makeup injury. Never use a product near your eye that is not sold for the eye area.
- • Lash and wig adhesive only. Never super glue, nail glue, or any household adhesive on skin, lashes, or scalp. These cause chemical burns and have sealed eyes shut.
- • No product substitutes. Hair spray, spray adhesive, and construction glue are not cosmetics. People have been hospitalized following internet beauty hacks.
- • Sharp tools cut and infect. Dermaplaning blades, cuticle nippers, and tweezers need clean hands and clean tools. Do not share them.
- • Chemicals burn. Dye, bleach, relaxers, peels, and removers: follow the manufacturer’s timing exactly, ventilate the room, and never mix two products.
- • Old and shared makeup carries bacteria. Do not share eye or lip products, and replace mascara every three months.
- • If it stings, burns, swells, or your vision changes — stop. Rinse with cool water and get medical help. Do not push through it.
This coach is AI and it can be wrong. It cannot see your skin’s sensitivities, judge a product’s ingredients, or diagnose a reaction, and it is not a dermatologist, doctor, or licensed cosmetologist.
- Read the tools, materials, safety notes, and steps below for free.
- Tap Start Camera Coach when you want hands-free voice help.
- Allow camera and microphone. Point your phone at the work; the coach watches your progress and tells you the next step.
🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Fine-tail comb (or rat-tail comb)
- ✓ Old clean toothbrush
- ✓ Shallow basin or bowl
- ✓ Clean dry towel
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Clarifying shampoo
- ✓ Baking soda
- ✓ Warm tap water
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Do not use boiling water; excessive heat warps plastic frames and melts bristle glue.
- • Do not fully submerge wooden brush handles or solid wood bases to prevent swelling, cracking, and mold.
- • Never use heat styling tools or a high-heat blow dryer directly on wet bristles to speed up drying.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Clear Trapped Hair from Base
Slide the pointed tail of your comb horizontally under the mat of hair wedged at the bristle base. Gently pry upward in straight, controlled strokes across the entire pad until the hair mat lifts free. Pull the gathered hair off with your fingers and discard.
- • The rubber cushion pad and the base of all bristles are completely visible and free of tangled strands.
- • Yanking vertically with fingers, which can pull bristles out of the cushion pad.
- • Using scissors carelessly and accidentally snipping bristle tips.
Prepare Cleansing Bath
Fill a shallow basin with lukewarm tap water deep enough to submerge bristles without drowning the entire brush body. Add one tablespoon of clarifying shampoo and one tablespoon of baking soda. Swirl the water until a mild foam forms and the powder dissolves completely.
- • A uniform, soapy liquid bath with frothy white bubbles on top and no undissolved baking soda grains at the bottom.
- • Using hot or boiling water that weakens the adhesive holding the cushion pad in place.
- • Using thick conditioner instead of shampoo, which deposits more oil onto the bristles.
Scrub Bristles and Cushion Pad
Dip the toothbrush into the soapy water mixture and apply a pea-sized drop of shampoo directly to its bristles. Scrub systematically between the rows of hairbrush bristles, cleaning both the vertical shafts and the rubber cushion pad beneath. Continue until the white dust and oil grime at the base of each bristle disappears.
- • Dense white foam coating the brush bed with no visible grey lint rings around the bristle bases.
- • Scrubbing only the bristle tips while ignoring the dusty residue clinging to the pad.
- • Using metal wire brushes that strip the protective protective balls off bristle ends.
Dip and Agitate in Solution
For plastic brushes, submerge the bristle side into the soapy bath and swirl gently for 30 seconds to break down loosened oils. For cushion brushes with air holes or wooden handles, dip only the bristles into the water without submerging the air hole or wood. Squeeze the cushion gently while holding it bristles-down if water entered the interior.
- • Water turns cloudy grey or milky, showing suspended oil and dead skin cells.
- • Bristles appear shiny and wet without clinging scum.
- • Leaving a cushion brush completely submerged for hours, trapping dirty water inside the hollow interior.
- • Submerging unsealed wood handles, causing varnish peeling.
Rinse Thoroughly with Clean Water
Hold the hairbrush under a gentle stream of lukewarm running tap water with the bristles pointed downward toward the drain. Rinse until all soap lather, baking soda film, and residue wash away. Give the brush several firm downward shakes over the sink to eject excess surface water.
- • Water running off the brush is crystal clear with no foam bubbles remaining between the bristles.
- • Rinsing with bristles facing upward, which forces soapy water deep into the cushion vent hole.
- • Leaving residual soap residue, which attracts dust faster once dry.
Dry Bristles-Down on Towel
Lay a clean, dry towel on a flat, well-ventilated surface. Place the hairbrush with the bristles facing directly downward onto the towel so remaining moisture drains out of the pad rather than pooling inside. Leave undisturbed in an open room for 12 to 24 hours until completely dry.
- • Brush resting flat on its bristle tips with the handle elevated or resting level on a dry towel in a bright, dry area.
- • Drying the brush bristles-up in a cup, trapping standing water inside the cushion base and causing mold.
- • Storing the damp brush inside an enclosed bathroom cabinet or drawer.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by alena — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Fine-tail comb? Bobby pin, pencil, or wooden toothpick
- No Clarifying shampoo? Liquid dish soap
- No Old clean toothbrush? Clean dish brush or manicure brush