Hair Loss: Be gentle with wet hair

Hair is more fragile when wet, so be gentle in handling wet hair:

• Brushing the hair before washing it can loosen up flakes of sebum and dead skin buildup and make it easier to thoroughly clean the scalp during shampooing.

• Shampoo with warm water to open the pores and rinse with cool water to promote shrinking the pores back to their normal size.

• When shampooing, pour the shampoo into the hands and rub the shampoo in with your hands rather than pouring it on your head. By pouring shampoo directly into the hair you may promote buildup in one particular spot.

• Massage gently with your fingertips to loosen flakes and buildup and to stimulate circulation, but avoid using the fingernails as this may scratch the scalp and cause scarring over time.

• After washing hair, dry it by blotting the hair with a towel. Avoid rubbing, especially with terrycloth towels, as this will pull hair when it is in a weakened state due to the wetness.

• Avoid combing hair with fine-toothed combs when wet, as this is a common cause of breakage. Although this is a tempting practice because hair straightens and detangles much better if combed when wet, the stress on the hair shaft is immense when the hair is wet because it is weakened. This goes for brushing the hair when wet also.

But note that brushing dry hair can be stimulating to the scalp, encouraging blood flow to the hair follicles and maintaining their health.