title: The effect of brushing on hair loss in women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hair loss is a common, bothersome problem among women.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of different brushing frequencies on hair loss in women.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a non-randomized crossover study. During a 4-week period, 14 women were asked to brush their hair with different frequencies during each of the 4 weeks. The amount of hairs lost during each week was counted and the average hairs lost during each week was compared with that of a week with a different brushing frequency.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all comparisons analyzed, hair loss was reduced by reducing brushing frequency. A subgroup analysis found strong association (p < 0.05) between brushing frequencies and the magnitude of hair loss. A limitation of the study was that the majority of the subgroup analyses did not find a statistically significant association between brushing frequency and amount of hair lost.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Brushing is associated with hair loss. Reducing the brushing frequencies may reduce the amount of hair shed.
authors.affiliation: Clalit Medical Services, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kiderman
authors.forename: Itzhak
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gur
authors.forename: Pnina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ever-Hadani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000505:Alopecia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult