Stop soaking your combs in barbicide for 10 minutes like the bottle says

I kept noticing my fine tooth combs getting brittle and cracking after a few months... turns out barbicide will eat through plastic if you leave it in too long. I switched to a 2 minute dip and then rinse with warm water, and my combs are lasting way longer now. The bottle says 10 minutes for sanitation but that's for metal tools mostly, not the acetate combs we use every day. I figured this out after my third $12 comb snapped mid-cut on a regular client last spring. Anyone else notice their combs getting rough or those little cracks forming after a while?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_rowan10d agoMost Upvoted

...and here I was thinking I was just being rough on them or dropping them one too many times. I had a nice tortoiseshell comb that started looking like it went through a woodchipper after three months. Figured it was my clumsy fingers but nope... that barbicide soak was the real culprit. I do the quick dip now too, just enough to wipe down between clients, and my combs actually last longer than my marriage did haha.

amy15410d ago

Wait, is that what happens with all the tortoiseshell ones or just the cheaper ones? My friend Tina had a similar thing happen with her comb and she thought it was just wearing out from regular use. She bought a new one and even started storing it in a drawer instead of leaving it on the counter. Then she noticed the new one was getting the same weird pitting after a few weeks and finally figured out it was the barbicide too. @the_rowan you're right that the quick dip is way better. She told me she switched to a spray bottle with barbicide for between clients and her combs look like new still after a year. Its not just about saving money either, its less hassle not having to replace them all the time.