Combing Therapy for Healthy Hair

ByLilac

Hair is a reflection of our personality and an indication of our general health. No matter the occasion we want gorgeous hair, but there are days when our tangled tresses are hard to love. Bad hair days are one thing, but thinning hair can affect our self-esteem, our mood, and be downright scary. Hair loss can be caused by a lot of factors, genes, auto-immune disorders, stress, and even salon procedures. What can we do? I recently learned about Combing Therapy and felt compelled to check it out.

Combing Therapy is an ancient Chinese method that focuses on the head. It involves self-massage and movement to regulate the meridians and balance the internal organs. Since all of the meridians in the body have either direct or indirect connections with the head, scalp, and brain, then stimulating the scalp can have a profound effect on our overall health by regulating them. Combing massages all the acupoints of the head and it’s the best and simplest way to get healthy, shiny and lustrous hair.

Combing helps open up the pores by sloughing off dead skin, dirt, grime, chemicals, and dandruff. It also spreads oil from the scalp to the ends of your hair. Regular hair combing, 100 strokes a day, will unclog capillaries so more nourishment will reach the roots. It also helps the sebaceous glands to release their secretions and stimulate their normal activity. Daily combing will not pull out your hair; any hair that is loosely attached to the cuticle will fall out anyway.

Benefits of Combing Therapy

  • calms the spirit
  • regulates the meridians
  • stimulates hair follicles
  • relieves headaches
  • improves strength and health of hair
  • relaxes neck muscles
  • circulates fresh blood and nutrients to scalp
  • gives hair an illusive shine
  • increases energy
  • greater mental acuity
  • clears sinuses

So what kind of comb is best? A well made wooden comb should be used. Wooden combs prevent static electricity and do not pull our hair. Whereas plastic and metal combs do generate static electricity, scratch the scalp, and will pull the natural oils out of our hair. Which woods are ideal for hair combing? Peach wood is a symbol of longevity in China and is commonly used in the making of combs. Other good choices are bamboo, yellow willow wood, date wood, pear wood, sandalwood, or boxwood.

Getting into the habit of combing our hair daily will improve our hair and scalp health and encourage new hair growth.