Starting my hair journey, I had never ever gone more than a day without combing my hair, unless it was in protective styles.
So going 2 or 3 days and even a week, just on finger detangling, was one of the hardest but also one of the best habits I learnt.
Ideally you should not comb your hair unless you need to straighten it or detangle it because it has a lot of knots or is matted. Our ancestors used their fingers to detangle their hair, and it worked for them... BUT, different hair types react differently to this approach.
If you are the type who gets a lot of single strand knots and matted hair, it might be better for you to keep your hair stretched and detangled as much as possible, while minimising the use of combs and brushes which also cause a lot of manipulation and damage to our hair strands.
Other tips for combing your hair:
Other tips for combing your hair:
- Never detangle dry hair. Apply oil or a detangler or spritz it with water so that it is easier to run your comb through your hair. Do not make it too wet, hair is generally at its weakest point when extremely dry or wet.
- Finger detangle first before you run a comb through your hair.
- Do it in sections. Depending on the length of your hair, 4 – 8 parts is a good idea. You can use butterfly clips to secure each section.
- Comb your hair through when you have the time and patience for it.
- After combing each section, twist, and pin before you move on to the next section. Do not try to comb a huge amount of hair at once. You will lose a lot of hair this way and cause split ends.
Here are a few types of combs and uses, which you obviously need to assess based on what your hair needs:
1) Tangle teezer: Works for thick hair types that tend to get knotted or matted in between washes. Brushes knots out easily. Useful for transitioners who get a lot of single strand knots during the transition from relaxed to natural hair.
2) Seamless comb: Works for straightening the hair when blow drying.
3) Ceramic Bristle Brush: Achieves Faster blowouts, smoother hair and big curls when blowdrying.
4) Afro comb: Useful for undoing cornrows.
5) Wide tooth comb: Detangling during and in between wash days.
6) Denman brush: Smoothing hair after detangling with wide tooth comb.
7) Rattail comb: Parting hair and smoothing down hair when flat ironing.
I use my widetooth comb most of the time, and my Denman brush to smooth out my new growth.
Remember, combs cause manipulation = breakage.
The smaller the spaces in between the teeth of the comb, the more likely you are to damage your hair. So use rattail and afro combs sparingly and use only when necessary.
2) Seamless comb: Works for straightening the hair when blow drying.
3) Ceramic Bristle Brush: Achieves Faster blowouts, smoother hair and big curls when blowdrying.
4) Afro comb: Useful for undoing cornrows.
5) Wide tooth comb: Detangling during and in between wash days.
6) Denman brush: Smoothing hair after detangling with wide tooth comb.
7) Rattail comb: Parting hair and smoothing down hair when flat ironing.
I use my widetooth comb most of the time, and my Denman brush to smooth out my new growth.
Remember, combs cause manipulation = breakage.
The smaller the spaces in between the teeth of the comb, the more likely you are to damage your hair. So use rattail and afro combs sparingly and use only when necessary.
Personally, I comb my hair twice a week with a Wide tooth Comb and I smooth my new growth with my Denman brush on wash days.
Which is your most used comb?
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