The Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Hairbrush Challenge

We’ve been talking about hair products a lot (shampoo, styling products and dyes) – but what about the tools you use to style your hair?

If you use brushes, combs, or picks, they can get dirty with styling products, skin cells, dust, and other debris very quickly. Instead of styling your hair with filthy instruments, clean them quickly and easily.

Image courtesy of imagerymajestic/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This week’s Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to cull and clean your hair styling tools.

First things first: Sort through all of your brushes, combs, picks, curling irons, and straighteners. Are any of them broken? Throw them away. Do you have absolutely no use for some of them but they still work? Find a way to recycle them – clean them first and then donate or reuse.

Now that you’ve narrowed your supply, you’re ready to clean:

• First, take time to remove the stray hair that is stuck. If you can’t get the hair out of bristles with your fingers, try using a toothpick. Or, gently rub a comb over the brush bristles.

• Next, fill your (clean) bathroom sink with hot water and add either a squirt of shampoo or a sprinkle of baking soda.

• Immerse your brushes and combs in the hot, soapy water. (Depending on how many brushes and combs you clean, you may need to work in small batches.) Let them soak for thirty minutes.

• Use a cotton swab or old toothbrush to wipe off any stuck-on debris.

• Rinse the freshly cleaned brushes and towels with warm water. Shake off excess water and dry on a towel.

An added challenge
If you’re trying to kill time while your brushes and combs are soaking, sort through your ponytail holders and barrettes, too –  if you have them. Pitch the frayed or broken ones!

Talk back
Once you’ve completed the challenge, please comment below or share your experience on Facebook. I am SO curious: how many brushes and combs did you end up cleaning? Do you own just a couple like me? Or are you more like my mom and own dozens that have been stashed away for decades?

Today, I’m linking up with:

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Hilary Kimes Bernstein

Hilary Kimes Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and journalist. She writes about making healthy decisions that honor God and happen to help the environment at Accidentally Green. Short and sweet - like her writing - Hilary is the author of several healthy living eBooks.

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