You’ve been doing it since you were a little girl, and by now, it’s an ingrained (and essential) part of your morning beauty routine. Wake up, tend on your teeth, brush your hair, out the door. And don’t even get us started on the panic that ensues when you’ve misplaced your brush!

It seems like a really simple process, but brushing your hair is anything but basic. From combing techniques to oil distribution to promote a healthier, nourished look, this is a skill worth sharpening.

Inspired by the launch of our Slick it Detangler Brush, the team here at Slick it have rounded up 10 things no one ever tells you about brushing your hair.

1. It’s better to brush your hair when it’s dry or almost dry, as your hair is generally weaker when wet than it is dry. Going to town with a brush on wet hair could lead to breakage. If you must detangle your locks when they are still damp, try a wide-toothed comb that won’t pull as hard on your hair like our Slick it Detangler Brush.

2. Start at the bottom when brushing your hair. Your natural instinct will tell you to start at the roots and work your way down, but that beauty habit could actually be tightening your tangles and making knots even worse than before. In addition, yanking down on your strands, as opposed to gently detangling, will lead to flyaways and hair breakage.

3. Brushing curly hair too much could lead to a poufy, frizzy look that you probably won’t be happy with. Think about what happens when you brush out a braided hairstyle! The strands that make up a tightly-wound tendril curve together, so brushing them out could separate the hair strands, creating a bigger look. Since curly hair is generally more course, brushing out a tendril could cause your hair to look frizzy, as well.

4. The brush you use while drying your hair could make a huge impact on the style you end up with. Using a larger brush while drying will often yield a straighter look while a smaller round brush will give you a curlier ‘do when blow-drying.

5. Just like your makeup brushes, your hairbrush needs to be cleaned. Think about the product, dead skin, and oil build-up that sits on the base of your brush, not to mention all the stray hairs tangled within it. It’s not a pretty site! Remove the hair and wash your brush with water and shampoo or a gentle soap. It’s recommended to do this about every two weeks.

6. Brushing distributes the oils through your hair. And while it sounds like a negative, oils, in moderation, help your hair maintain a smoother look, as well as nourish the strands and keep them in a healthy state. The problem lies in when the skin on the scalp produces an abundance of oil and it collects near the roots.

7. And brushing your hair could make it shinier, so think twice about skipping this beauty step and throwing your hair up into a topknot. The distribution of nourishing oils will repair and treat your hair, giving it that healthy sheen.

8. Brushing your hair doesn’t lead to hair loss, unless you’re doing it excessively and with poor technique. If you’re regularly brushing your hair when it’s wet or with the wrong type of brush, you could be breaking the individual strands which will then make it look thinner and less lustrous.

9. The hairbrush you use while brushing your hair during a blowout could make it dry faster. After you rough dry your hair to remove the excess water and get it to a slightly damp state, pick up a ceramic barrel brush that will retain heat.

10. Sometimes the frizz that appears after you brush your hair is due to too much static, and not your hair texture. Boar bristle brushes like our Slick it Detangler Brush are the best option if you’re looking to reduce the amount of static produced.