How Often to Clean Your Hairbrush—and How

We regularly talk about how often we should wash our makeup brushes (spoiler: it’s probably more often than you think), but hairbrushes don’t tend to get the same attention—until now. Celebrity hairstylist and beauty entrepreneur Jen Atkin took to Instagram with a PSA, sharing a video explaining exactly how often we should wash them, depending on the types of hair products we use—and her advice is enlightening.

The verdict? “I would say if you use a lot of gels and hairsprays, I would definitely suggest washing your brushes weekly,” says Atkin in the video, which she cheekily captioned, “If you’re reading this, go wash your hair brushes & tools.” On the other hand, she notes that every two to three weeks should suffice for those who don’t use a lot of hair styling products.

Atkin kept her PSA brief and didn’t go into the specifics of how to wash hairbrushes. However, her hair tool brand, Mane, which she founded in 2023, has a step-by-step instructional video on TikTok that shows viewers exactly how it’s done. The process is refreshingly simple: start by adding a bit of shampoo to a shallow bowl and fill it with warm water. Next, “go through your hairbrush with a comb, removing old hair,” then “gently swish your hairbrush in the water,” taking care to avoid submerging the base if it’s made of wood.

We’ve included the full video below, so you can follow along and give your hairbrushes the refresh they need (and deserve!). If this inspires you to go all in on a full refresh, we’ve also linked a few highly rated Mane hairbrushes below that are worth checking out.

A post shared by Founder/CCO/Hairstylist (@jenatkinhair)

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