peinarse verses cepillarse el pelo

Question

Can peinarse and cepillarse el pelo be used interchangeably? The dictionary says peinarse is to comb your hair while cepillarse el pelo is to brush your hair. But the flashcards for the lesson on reflexive verbs defines peinarse as to brush. I searched the forum using both terms to see if the question had already been asked and answered but didn't find a relevant answer. Thanks!

Hi, the responses you have gotten so far may be true in South America, I'm not sure, but if you go to Spain you would ONLY use peinarse for brushing hair, and cepillarse for brushing teeth. 'peinarse el pelo' and 'cepillarse los dientes'. - stefanieov, MAY 7, 2012

Answer 1

HI Alñice, Happy New Year!

Well, peinarse is also to get your hair done, like at a hairdresser's.

Peinarse: with a comb

cepillarse with a brush.

But if you say, I am going to brush my hair, in the sense of, I am going to straighten up my hair, you use peinarse.

Cepillarse is strictly with a brush.

Answer 2

cepillar - peinar el cabello con un cepillo

Only the definition of cepillar refers to the tool used for this purpose. The definition of peinar mentions only arranging and tidying one´s hair. But I´d use peinar for combing and cepillar for brushing.