Questions for veteran BB brushers (ferox, slowmoe, duketronix etc)

My 1st question: do you guys think its possible to permanently damage follicles from brushing too hard? I tend to brush daily semi-vigorously, per the guide of that one guy "Mukunda M" on yahoo forums, as well as ferox. I have been going at it probably for a month and a half, at times I believe I think I see vellous popping up @ hairline, but then they vanish. I'm guessing shedding but then growing back? But the last thing I want to be doing is actually damaging the follicles(sometimes hairline can seem sparse). I also use a soothing aloe/msm topical after I brush fyi.

Also, I have been using a spornette deville brush from amazon, with nice pretty firm 100% boar bristles. I really enjoy the stimulation I get from the brush. The only thing is its a cushion base so the bristles are getting pushed in and now the brush is becoming ineffective. I'm looking for a replacement brush with semi-firm to firm (softer ones dont provide enough stimulation) 100% boar bristles but on a completely wooden base so I can avoid that "pushing in" effect. I was looking at brushes at my local wallgreens, there is one that is reinforced with nylon, but does give good stimulation.

2) Would the nylon stiff reinforced brush be detrimental?

3) ANY recommendations for other 100% semi-firm boar bristle brushes with a wooden base??

Thanks in advance for any feedback on all 3 questions, always much much appreciated!!

I've been boar bristle brushing for over a year. I still have a lot if vellus hairs on my hairline. But yes I do worry if I am damaging my hair. It seems ok, only thing I would say it can look a bit frizzy from all the split ends that get caused.

I'd say go to a beauty store like Sally supply and checkout their selection, get the one that you think would stimulate your scalp the best..

Thanks guys.

Slowmoe, I do have a wallgreens close to me (although I will look for a sally's) that has a couple bb brushes.. There is a reinforced one with additional nylon bristles. It is stiff. It definitely provides the stimulation Im looking for but Im worried about possible damage?

1) Do you think it has to be 100% boar bristles? 2) And do you think the added stiffness could be causing damage?

I was under the impression that if you are irritating the scalp enough to cause blood flow than that is the goal..

At the end of the day: how much brushing could be *Too much? Uhg, I wish life was more straightforward, lol..

sizzlinghairs wrote:Thanks guys.

Slowmoe, I do have a wallgreens close to me (although I will look for a sally's) that has a couple bb brushes.. There is a reinforced one with additional nylon bristles. It is stiff. It definitely provides the stimulation Im looking for but Im worried about possible damage?

1) Do you think it has to be 100% boar bristles? 2) And do you think the added stiffness could be causing damage?

I was under the impression that if you are irritating the scalp enough to cause blood flow than that is the goal..

At the end of the day: how much brushing could be *Too much? Uhg, I wish life was more straightforward, lol..

I just brush front to back at a normal pace, doesnt really make my scalp very red, just feels good. I personally think the bristles need to be reinforced, it's not like the boar bristles are magic, the goal is to stimulate the scalp with friction.

As far as damage, I'm not sure, but I'd risk damaging the hair shaft as long as the hair creating cells beneath the skins' surface are becoming more healthy. Like I said I brush at a moderate pace and don't get crazy with it.

I highly recommend a violet ray though, it helps alot more than the brush IMO

Thanks again.

But do you think the actual hair follicle itself could ever become damaged (if brushing got too aggresive i.e ferox method)? That is where my true worry lies.

I sometimes used a plastic (fairly hard and sharp toothed) brush when I brushed more (now mostly massage and occasional BB brushing).

I stopped doing it as much because I stopped getting the peels I would get in my first year of doing it. IMO as long as you aren't going absolutely nuts on it it should be fine as long as you don't let it scar. Tiny wounds are good but scarring is bad so oils and taking HA and such can be good I would think.

That being said I never worried about a regimented frequency so much as responding to how my scalp was reacting and taking a break if I felt overworked from the day before. On those days I would do extra massage though.

I agree with Slowmoe as well on the bunching and his strap method since I was kind of doing something similar a year or so ago (and still have off and on). I just used a strong elastic band though and was doing it on the idea that it could create temporary hypoxia in the scalp but I suppose it would have been also pulling the scalp up and and relaxing muscles at the same time. I never wear mine for long periods but cycle it off and on over a time instead since it cuts off the circulation a bit.

Thanks duke.

It might be a silly question, but how do we know when scarring is actually happening? Do we actually see scar tissue appearing?

Also, I have posted links to some pictures showing the new reinforced bb brush I bought from sallys beauty supply, per slowmoes reccomendation. It is 50% bb and 50% nylon. I also am posting a link to my other spornette brush which I really enjoyed but since it was a cushion base the bristles got pushed in .

Thoughts on the new brush ferox/duke/slowmoe ?(does it look too stiff, etc..) It does feel reasonable, feels like good stimulation, might feel a little stiff but if I apply less pressure it seems ok. But just wanted feedback from the vets. Thanks mucho.

I used the same exact Deville Spornette brush for my first 9 months of brushing. I have recently switched to a smaller one with no cushion and get MUCH more stimulation. It should be 100% boar bristle because it is similar to hair texture. Careful with brushing, but I certainly believe it is helping my situation rather than harming at almost 1 year in.

Do you have a link to your new brush growdamnit?

Thanks much

*edit: just wondering what your logic was on the fact that the bristles need to be similar to our hair texture? The one I have is 50-50 but Ive heard most say the goal, at the end of the day, is to just reach and irritate the scalp enough to get that blood flow going (along with some possible positive wounding effects).

You want to stimulate the follicle and keep the hair healthy. With bristles close to hair texture, they will not split and go down to the root and make more hairs fall out.

I thought the goal was to get down actually to the level of the root to stimulate blood flow. I dont mind if hair comes out, as long as it grows back healthier. But if there is actual damage occurring, that is what concerns me. Temporary shedding or hair splitting is ok with me as long as the end result is stronger and healthier hair through stimulation.

Anyways, if you have a link to the  brush you are currently using, I would be very thankful if you could share it. I really liked the spornette cushion one I was using, so this new one you are using with no cushion sounds just right for me. I definitely would prefer 100% boar bristles, but will most likely use this reinforced 50-50 nylon one in the mean time.

Thanks again.

It's by Con Air. It's a wooden, flat, boar bristle brush.

This is the only one I could find that matches that description but it seems to have mixed bristles:

http://www.amazon.com/Conair-Wood-Brush-Mixed-Bristles/dp/B0051E38CM

Is that it?

Edit*: actually just found this one as well, is this more like it? : http://www.conair.com/mega-ceramic-club-brush-p-973-1_124_127.html

Thank you sir.

I'm sorry, but it's not either of those. It's 100% Boar Bristle and I found it in CVS, not online.

Aha, I think Ive pegged it: http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-detail/Conair-Styling-Essentials-100-Boar-Bristles-Smooth-&-Acid-Shine-Brush?skuId=173493

This is it?

Precisely.