(natural)Beyond BSL -only finger combing

[Krystle~Hime]

in 2011 my hair has almost never touched a comb. (only once)
but as my hair is growing, and after watching some vids of Sera and Kimmaytube, they say that they can not do some hairstyles as their hair is growing longer(like a picked out afro). I'm wondering if I will have to change my technique and won't be able to pass months without using a comb.
my fine hair was very happy this way, but with my increased density.. i'm wondering if I will be able to continue in this way.

If you are beyond BSL and don't use a comb in your routine, your testimonial will reassure me !

 

[Krystle~Hime]

bumpy bump !!

 

[Nonie]

Krystle~Hime, I've NEVER been able NOT to use a comb when my hair was short whether it was one centimeter long, 2 inches, 3, 5, 9...you name it. The ONLY time I finger comb is if my hair is braided or cornrowed and if I'm working on a mini-twist section (ONE) or a braid extension section (ONE).

I can't even fathom how anyone with 4B hair could wear it out and not comb it ever. I feel woozy just thinking about it.

 

[NappyNelle]

I don't comb but you know I live in twists, braids outs, and random fros. Actually, I comb maybe 3-4x a year. Just to say I did it. LOL

 

[My Friend]

Don't you have to comb to detangle?

 

[AimWard]

A comb hasn't touched my hair (except for switching up my parts) since 2009. I have no problems with tangles and I have almost eliminated breakage. However, I don't do any types of styles or braiding (I'm lazy and style challenged). I wear my hair in wash and go's and/or twist outs 99% of the time. I'm strictly low manipulation. I also haven't used any heat (including hair dryers) since 2008 on my hair.

I'm just at WL stretched.

1st pic is my completely dry, shrunken wash and go hair back in late 2009 (last time I combed my hair). 2nd pic is my completely dry shrunken wash and go hair a few weeks ago (late 2011). I've had a few trims since 2009.

 

[Krystle~Hime]

Don't you have to comb to detangle?

My Friend
You can detangle with your fingers, it's just a more gentle way to do it.

Krystle~Hime, I've NEVER been able NOT to use a comb when my hair was short whether it was one centimeter long, 2 inches, 3, 5, 9...you name it. The ONLY time I finger comb is if my hair is braided or cornrowed and if I'm working on a mini-twist section (ONE) or a braid extension section (ONE).

I can't even fathom how anyone with 4B hair could wear it out and not comb it ever. I feel woozy just thinking about it.

Nonie
I.. I've just said I do it, sometimes I wear it out, I just try to make detangling easier by using detangling agents(marshmallow roots' mucilage, flaxseed, molasses, i've also heard Ms_CoCo37 that yogurt helps a lot), it helps for melting knots.

A comb hasn't touched my hair (except for switching up my parts) since 2009. I have no problems with tangles and I have almost eliminated breakage. However, I don't do any types of styles or braiding (I'm lazy and style challenged). I wear my hair in wash and go's and/or twist outs 99% of the time. I'm strictly low manipulation. I also haven't used any heat (including hair dryers) since 2008 on my hair.

I'm just at WL stretched.

AimWard what help you the most to avoid the use of a comb ?(a product or something else..) I know we don't have the same hair texture but I think if you can still do it at WL, it's very great

NappyNelle yes I know that so that means during the whole twists challenge you haven't used a comb too ? it's very inspiring because your hair is longer than mine, i've just seen your length check pic in the BSL challenge. Does combing 3-4times a year is a schedule you set or it's just like that ?

 

[coyacoy]

great thread! would love to hear whether any fine haired (strands) ladies are doing this

 

[BillsBackerz67]

Im 3c and when i was natural not combing was asking for single strand nightmare and knot city. it was as if my natural hair would stick together after drying erplexed It does work for some folks hair though.

 

[MissAlinaRose]

@Krystle~Hime I haven't used a comb in months and haven't looked back since. Plus, I wear my hair out almost every day in any style you can possibly imagine. It is very possible.

I make sure that I wash my hair at least once a week to get my fingers through it, and I never have any massive tangling. I think the comb actually causes my hair to tangle/snap more than my fingers. The fingers just glide right through. I just say it takes some experimenting and practice. But it is the quickest and most convenient discovery I've had in my journey.

@Krystle~Hime, I've NEVER been able NOT to use a comb when my hair was short whether it was one centimeter long, 2 inches, 3, 5, 9...you name it. The ONLY time I finger comb is if my hair is braided or cornrowed and if I'm working on a mini-twist section (ONE) or a braid extension section (ONE).

I can't even fathom how anyone with 4B hair could wear it out and not comb it ever. I feel woozy just thinking about it.

I totally understand where you're coming from because I thought the same thing too. I used to watch my hair twin Cynthiarf on YouTube and she talked a lot about fingercombing only and I was like there is no way.

That was until I found the winning combination: a verrrry slippery conditioner, rapid downward movements with your fingers (I put my hands in a claw-like position and "comb" really fast) and the strong stream of my shower. It works like a charm every time. Now when my hair was shorter I wasn't really having that. But, I think it is more because I didn't know about the technique.

 

[Krystle~Hime]

coyacoy thank u coyacoy, i also want to know that !

BillsBackerz67 i've been wearing twists religiously for the last 6 months and wearing them in a bun, even if i didn't use a comb I was okay with single strands knots. but i'm wondering about NappyNelle, who wore braidouts and fros a little more often than me.

 

[indarican]

im 4a/b and i really do perfer finger combing, i rarely have any breakage issues, but i am presently braiding my hair for the year so hopefully ill only have to use the comb a dozen times or so a year. im sure when i have enough hair to pull back ill be doing nothing but finger combing!!!

 

[Krystle~Hime]

MissAlinaRose yes we do the same technique!! now with all these testimonials I know it's possible to continue in this way. I was worrying a little.

 

[MissAlinaRose]

Krystle~Hime Don't worry lovely lady! I think as long as you are consistent and you find that it is working for you then it is fine.

 

[NappyNelle]

NappyNelle yes I know that so that means during the whole twists challenge you haven't used a comb too ? it's very inspiring because your hair is longer than mine, i've just seen your length check pic in the BSL challenge. Does combing 3-4times a year is a schedule you set or it's just like that ?

Exactly- I did not comb during the twist challenge. I don't have a set schedule to comb, but when I realize it's time to trim, I may soak my hair in conditioner and detangle that way. Finger detangling = less breakage = more gentle = fewer knots for me.

great thread! would love to hear whether any fine haired (strands) ladies are doing this

Fine strands checking in! No combing has kept the little bit of hair I have still on my head! I have 'webby' fine strands of hair, so even if my hair is straight, I am not combing it.

Can you see the webbiness I'm talking about? That is why I don't comb. LOL

 

[manter26]

I've noticed that about a lot of long haired naturals. Heyfranhey does not comb ever. I don't think she brushes either. But she's a 3b with some 3c. I can't remember any of the others off the top of my head. I think the "waist length ladies and beyond" thread had a few more.

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie
I.. I've just said I do it, sometimes I wear it out, I just try to make detangling easier by using detangling agents(marshmallow roots' mucilage, flaxseed, molasses, i've also heard @Ms_CoCo37 that yogurt helps a lot), it helps for melting knots.

Krystle~Hime I know you said it. I still don't get it. I do NOT get knots, SSKs, tangles and that's because I will NOT allow it. And I succeed in this by not avoiding combs...so I, Nonie, cannot fathom/grasp/process/comprehend how ANYONE with 4B hair can wear it loose a whole year and never use a comb. I just can't work this out in my head.

Have you seen how *I* finger comb? I literally pull out and separate FINE strands from the rest one by one. Do you know how long it'd take to do that to a head of 100,000+ strands? I only do that when in twists and working on one section; one VERY small section. It takes as long as that vid shows, and even there, I'm kinda rushing through coz I wasn't planning on making a long *** vid and so I was not being as meticulous as I usually am when watching a movie. I cannot do that to a whole head of hair and if I didn't do that and also didn't comb, then it'd mean I would not remove shed hair the 350-700 hairs I shed a week for 52 weeks!!! It'd mean I would invite mats and tangles. It'd mean I WOULD WITHOUT DOUBT get tangles...and knots...and SSKs. And that is an anathema.

So yes, it doesn't matter how many people say they do it, *I* cannot GET how it can be possible. Not on hair that looks like this:

So my saying "I can't fathom" doesn't mean I don't believe YOU do it; it just means how you are able to is beyond my comprehension just like how some people cannot grasp Algebra or Calculus.

 

[coyacoy]

my goodness this thread is soooo interesting to me!! thanks again, OP! earlier this year during a few of my weekly washes, i somehow forgot to use a comb during the process -i have no idea why, it was the weirdest thing - i would only take down on the weekend to wash, dc and retwist before LF wiggin it for the workweek - so maybe that was why (because i wasn't styling it to wear out). at any rate, i remember being amazed at how it didn't feel tangled or "uncombed" and yet i hadn't combed it for weeks....never once did i consider this as a possible technique. i have been convinced my entire life that combing is essential, but listening to all of these wonderful stories, maybe it isn't!!??..........hmmmmmmmmm

 

[QUEENJAMES231]

:Hmm.. I might have to give this a try in 2012! Cuz I have no patience for combing so I start ripping thru my hair half way thru which is no bueno I KNO

 

[Kerryann]

not happening in my head no sir

 

[silenttullip]

I'm scared to do it, kind of thinking like nonie to where I can't process how I'll be successful not combing over a long period of time... But I really want to try it... I do finger detangle my dry hair but I go over it with a comb after shampooing and dcing... I wonder how to know it works before breakage...

 

[Divafied3]

Fine Hair lady here. (still trying to figure out the type) I know back in 2010 after 3 Jamila henna treatments I was able to do this. I think it was the henna because I know now my hair would laugh, then proceed to make a knot i would have to cut out. Also I did notice that my hair didn't have any ssk. It was so full and my ends were yummy.

If Only my beloved Jamila didn't loosen my curls so much!

 

[Nonie]

I totally understand where you're coming from because I thought the same thing too. I used to watch my hair twin Cynthiarf on YouTube and she talked a lot about fingercombing only and I was like there is no way.

That was until I found the winning combination: a verrrry slippery conditioner, rapid downward movements with your fingers (I put my hands in a claw-like position and "comb" really fast) and the strong stream of my shower. It works like a charm every time. Now when my hair was shorter I wasn't really having that. But, I think it is more because I didn't know about the technique.

MissAlinaRose Now see, that's where we are different. If I did that, I'd not consider my hair combed. For me any strands that remain attached to others means there's shed hair caught in there and I cannot allow that. But I will do that with a comb in lieu of fingers.

Just so you can understand what I mean about NOT A SINGLE TANGLE, my hair is so well separated at all times that I can run a comb this fine through my hair. If it is shrunken, I just need to stretch my hair with one handand I can slowly pull it through from roots to ends:

Here's my hair right out of a twist with S Curl applied:

You can see^^ that you don't have much clumping coz for the many months I kept my hair in twists, I would finger comb each section when redoing twists so that my strands always were left separated.

Here's the same section after I shampooed and conditioned it using just fingers to smooth and separate...not really my usual finger combing but just making sure the strands don't curl up and knot up:

If I didn't comb that and just let it airdry, this is how it'd dry up:

I don't know if you can see signs of problems, but I can^^. Only in this case, it's not yet quite at the danger zone because my hair has been fully detangled until just now. When I was taking these photos, I was trying to show that if I didn't use a WET moisturizer, my hair could dry stretched so the next pics show that. Because I don't own any other moisturizer but S Curl, I used Trader Joe's Nourish Spa conditioner to simulate a creamy moisturizer that would dry up and therefore not keep my hair shrunken like S Curl does. Another reason I applied this "dry moisturizer" was because there's no way I can leave that^^ hair as it is. And no way I can entrust it to my fingers. I must comb it. And to comb, I need slippage. So I need a "moisturizer". And once I had it on, the fine-tooth comb I used glided through my hair with ease:

If I "finger-combed" the way you describe using fanned out fat fingers I'd end up with locs or matted hair hidden somewhere in those chunks of hair going through my fingers. Plus shed hair would stick to my wet hair and I'd not get the 50+ strands shed daily out. I'd have to just NEVER expect to comb my hair for the rest of my life or to wear it in a straight style unless I want to lose a lot of hair the day I decide to. I have fine strands too so trying to undo mats on hairs that are almost transparent would be a recipe for disaster! I'm getting the shakes just thinking about this.

And this is why when people see enlarged pics of my coils and ask me why I don't do WNGs, I look at them like they're smoking something strong coz there's no way I'd allow my fine strands to clump. Any time you see me dealing with a small section of shrunken hair, I'm usually stretching it and separating the strands so that my hair is usually in the state of the pic to the left:

And then I braid or twist it so that it's stretched and is in this state:

I couldn't have that^^ separated state of strands (and all them) if I used to use my fingers as if there were teeth of a comb. Yes, I can run my fingers through my hair like that, but that to me is "running fingers through hair" not combing and will not give the FULLY DETANGLED state a comb like the one I use gives if I used it under running water instead. IMO, combing must leave all strands in a state of no clumping or at the very least minimal clumping.

I don't know many people who could wash twists 8 times and wear them for 4 weeks and when they undo them, the hairs separate this easily and there's no knot at the base. I had braided the roots so that's what you see me undoing.

 

[bb09]

@Nonie- when you comb your hair, how much hair do you comb at a time, and is that on damp hair? If combing is saving you time..

 

[melissa-bee]

I haven't combed my hair for about 6 months. Glad to see I'm making the right decision.

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie- when you comb your hair, how much hair do you comb at a time, and is that on damp hair? If combing is saving you time..

bb09 When washing, I comb braid sections that I make. So like when I straightened my hair, I had 8 braids and I combed each section for every step of my wash promptly braiding it back.

When I have S Curl on, I will start off with narrow sections (maybe same braid sizes or half)...and then I will comb all the hair together. If you keep your hair as stretched as I do mine when I know I will be wearing it out, then you can rake the comb through. For instance, when I go to bed after I've worn my hair in a puff, I will take elastic off, then use fingers to grab a braid section. I will stretch it out as I sort of rake my fingers through it the way MissAlinaRose does and then try to run comb through. If it can't get through coz of shrinkage then I will divide that section and work on a narrow one get comb through before moving on to another narrow one. It may mean combing the ends first, and moving lower with each stroke till comb can run from base to ends. Then when all narrow sections have been confirmed "well combed", then I'll comb the entire section I'd grabbed and braid it up.

In this clip you can see a braid section being combed with conditioner on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCcoXph8tF4

This is that same section braided up after being combed through. I was getting ready to rinse at which time I would undo and comb under running water:

 

[bb09]

Oh okay, thank you @Nonie. I need to find the point at which it's easiest to comb my hair..

 

[manter26]

Here are the posts I was thinking of in the waist length and beyond thread...

flowerhair: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=7238113&postcount=315
sylver2: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=6644907&postcount=178

 

[Krystle~Hime]

Here are the posts I was thinking of in the waist length and beyond thread...

flowerhair: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=7238113&postcount=315
sylver2: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=6644907&postcount=178

THANK YOU A LOT

I'm definitly not the only one !

 

[Nonie]

Krystle~Hime, I know I sound like a Grinch but remember Sylver is relaxed and Flowerhair has type 3 hair. So keep that in mind. I think MissAlinaRose or the YT she suggested might offer you better direction. Part of the reason folks end up giving up on natural hair is they confuse what can be done with their texture and coil size with what they see others do. So take notes and then try the suggestions keeping in mind the differences in your hair and theirs so you don't get frustrated. I mean FlowerHair even says she knows she leaves tangles behind but doesn't sweat them. I wouldn't think with her hair, that's something that would be easy to ignore. I'm also sure if she wanted to loc her hair, hers would take longer to loc than mine. So while she may be able to leave some and life goes on, you may find that may mean you just accept to have locs in between loose strands for type 4 hair.

In short, keep an open mind and don't just assume that if it works for people with different hair it will work for you too.