Combing Therapy for Beautiful Hair

Would Combing Therapy Make Your Hair Healthier?

A few days ago, two new ladies appeared at my beginners' ballet class. Age-wise, both seemed to be in their late-sixties. They'd taken ballet in their younger years and even now were performing remarkably well. They looked very fit and either could pass for someone ten years their junior. Except for the state of their hair. Both had very thin hair, with bald patches. This condition is much more easily prevented than reversed.

The above paintings by August Renoir, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and William Paxton exemplify the ancient and continuing practice of women combing their tresses.

Combing Therapy... It's an unusual term. But it's a well-legitimated ancient health care method. It is used to regulate what Chinese medicine calls the meridians and to balance the internal organs.

Traditional Chinese medicine holds that all the meridians of the body directly or indirectly connect with the head. Thus, stimulating the scalp can have important healing effects on the body's overall health. Combing therapy well fits that model.

This procedure helps open the pores by removing dirt and dead cells and distributes oil from the scalp towards the ends of your hair. The capillaries on your scalp will become unclogged and more nourishment will reach the hair roots. Combing massages the scalp and stimulates hair growth.

The minimum that you need to do to keep your hair healthy and beautiful is this...

1. Comb your hair with 100 strokes. It's very easy, but you have to do it daily or every other day.
2. Don't wash your hair too often. Try every 3-5 days if you can manage it-not daily!
3. Ensure every brush or comb you use is clean.

Recently, some experts have begun to scoff at the time-honored tradition of a woman’s combing her hair a hundred strokes a night. Why?

Well, this is a symptom-oriented approach—they say you’ll just be pulling out hair. They’re right. You will be pulling out some hair. Weak hair. Hair that is in the shedding phase, known as the exogen phase, that was going to fall out anyway. More in the article: Hair Cycles: How it Grows and Why it Sheds. Meanwhile, your most healthy hair is seated quite firmly in your scalp—it’s not going to be pulled out easily.

To gain the full benefits of the traditional combing treatment, you'll need a well-made wooden comb. This article Combing or Brushing Your Hair... Which is Better? explains the reasons.

Our new peach wood comb is seamless-crafted from a single, solid piece of select-grade peach wood. Its ultra-smooth finish and comfortable design will assure you of an easy, tangle-free comb-out every time.

Why a wooden comb, specifically? First, it's anti-static, leading to much less frizz! Its gentle action will greatly reduce split ends. It will stimulate your scalp, promote even oil distribution and assure general good hair health.

In 2014, I went to China for ten days, for my son's wedding. I neglected my own scalp treatments for that entire time. This time off and the stress of travel did my hair no good. More hair fell out and new growth slowed. It was three months of disciplined scalp treatments before I was back to my usual self. Yes, after 50, hair is that demanding.

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