(natural)Beyond BSL -only finger combing

[yardyspice]

I tried the finger combing method but it does not work for my hair. I bought the Magic Star Jumbo Rake as an alternative because the teeth are huge and I felt that combing my hair, under water, with this comb was less manipulative than using my hands over and over again on each section. (The comb slides through my 4a/b grazing BSL hair like butter )

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I need to learn more about finger combing. Maybe it will help my hair.

 

[Embyra]

My strands are so fine with normal porosity that when my hair is loose, water/product exerts no weight on the strands...so they do not stretch. This means having water run through my hair even with oodles of product does not open up the strands for my fingers to be able to pass through. Instead this is what I have:

Nonie Im able to run my hands through my hair with product and do this often during the week with my wash and goes to fluff etc
when i wash my hair it hangs in its natural state so im able to run my fingers through it without it standing like yours so even though my hair moves the way you described for coarse hair HOWEVER!..

because my hair is so dense and i shed ALOT fingercombing isnt enough to remove all my shed hair
I remember trying it on half my hair then after i was done i moved to the next side.... the little angel on my shoulder told me to go over the finger combed section with my denman.....the amount of hair that was still left in my hair even though i had gone over it soooooooo many times the mats and knots that would be in my hair if i left it

fingercombing vid...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKD-O-AC-60

I swear watching this is so alien to me

 

[GoodMernin]

I think I am going on 3 weeks with no comb having touched my head and I have had no problems yet.

I usually mix my conditioner with olive oil and water then soak my hair with it when I co-wash in the shower. I then proceed to gently pull at my hair from root to tip and the shed hair just slides out.

I have been doing the no comb wash and go for a while and have lost less hair than when I try to clear it with a pick.

Plus my hair has taken no more than 10 min to style and I love the saved time.

Oh...and my hair is 4bc 7" fine strands and extremely dense and thick.

After a wash and spray with a combo of leave in, EVOO, and water I get this result and work on the style from there.

 

[Bublin]

yardyspice i have just bought 2 of those combs and await delivery - i have high hopes!

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

I've been using the fingercombing method for a week and it's been challenging. I love my denman, but I really want to give this a try since I'm committing 100% to the Curly Girl Method for the next few months and this is what is suggested.

I'm finding it very hard to get my hair thoroughly detangled, but it may just be that I'm not spending the time to do it correctly. I've been cowashing 3 or more times a week, hoping that it will get easier.

If this doesn't work for me, I will at least do the wide tooth comb and try to leave the brush alone for good.

 

[Nonie]

Embyra, yes I know you have coarse strands that are weighed down by product which is why your hair stays wavy coz you kinda do a shingling technique then let instead of towel-drying you let it dry with the weight of water and product stretching it. So it's like I said coarse strands will be weighed down so fingers can ber raked through. But yes like you, I don't know how shed hair can be removed.

~~HoneyComb~~ I agree with using a comb over a brush. Even a fine-tooth seamless comb is better than a brush IMO.

 

[Nonie]

Embyra, why didn't you put my post that you reproduced in quotes? While I was reading it I started by wondering why you are using my words and my pic as yours.

 

[Embyra]

Embyra, why didn't you put my post that you reproduced in quotes? While I was reading it I started by wondering why you are using my words and my pic as yours.

Nonielooool you should know by now my quotes/mentions are hit and miss i like to keep you on your toes

 

[Nonie]

^^You goofball Embyra I hatechu

 

[Embyra]

Embyra, yes I know you have coarse strands that are weighed down by product which is why your hair stays wavy coz you kinda do a shingling technique then let instead of towel-drying you let it dry with the weight of water and product stretching it. So it's like I said coarse strands will be weighed down so fingers can ber raked through. But yes like you, I don't know how shed hair can be removed.

~~HoneyComb~~ I agree with using a comb over a brush. Even a fine-tooth seamless comb is better than a brush IMO.

Nonie I rake product in nothing like missjessies shingling
(im stating missjessie because everyone has a different version of what is shingling)

my towel dried hair hangs it will just be FRIZZY my hair was natural till i was around 14 and it was ALWAYS towel dried i know that frizz to well

my next wash though im going to towel dry half and airdry half and try fingercombing and take pictures JUST so i can be like you and have it well documented i will only be doing this once though just to see......all this talking has got me wondering....

4:00 min mark on the vid i posted when she wets her hair is that what you mean by being weighed down by water?

 

[Nonie]

fingercombing vid...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKD-O-AC-60

I swear watching this is so alien to me

4:00 min mark on the vid i posted when she wets her hair is that what you mean by being weighed down by water?

@Embyra I hadn't seen the vid coz I was on my phone when I last posted.

I agree that is just foreign to me too. The fact that she's not getting to the roots but only fluffy the ends is a huge I do like the parts where she is separating the strands with fingers (at 4:52). THAT I get, but just doing the ends and not the roots? Heck naw! How on earth does she remove shed hair if she doesn't part narrow sections and separate strands from the base or slide fingers up the strands to pull out shed hair.

Her hair does look cute but erhmm...I pass.

Oh as for the weighing hair down...that's more than happens to mine but I was thinking of more stretch if one is to use fingers shaped as a claw the way @MissAlinaRose was talmbout (unless I misunderstood her). This chick is just grabbing ends and pulling and her hair while weighed down more than mine, isn't weight down he way I had in mind. I was thinking more the way your hair dries in a stretched out state coz of your shingling. I was imagining getting that effect from conditioner and water. I've seen your hair with the strands coiled up...but your regular regimen involves using weight of product and water to make coils open up into waves. So that's what I was picturing in my head which is why I know you can run your fingers through your hair coz your coarse strands do respond to weight of products and gravity in a way that allows for that.

The slight weighing down with water this chick gets would not allow her to rake fingers from roots to ends the way you might...which is what I understood MissAlinaRose to do.

 

[Bublin]

IMO that vid did not demonstrate fingercombing or any combing for that matter and she only pulled apart ONE tangle. She just rinsed through her hair and applied product to her ends. I've not seen any of her other vids so would be interested in how long it takes her to actually detangle and remove shed hair if she wears her hair like that for 7 days.

 

[greenandchic]

IMO that vid did not demonstrate fingercombing or any combing for that matter and she only pulled apart ONE tangle. She just rinsed through her hair and applied product to her ends. I've not seen any of her other vids so would be interested in how long it takes her to actually detangle and remove shed hair if she wears her hair like that for 7 days.

I LOLed at that ONE tangle removal too. I mean, really? If I wore my hair out and didn't detangle after wetting it, it would be locked by the end of day 2 and my hair is not even 4b.

 

[Bublin]

I LOLed at that ONE tangle removal too. I mean, really? If I wore my hair out and didn't detangle after wetting it, it would be locked by the end of day 2 and my hair is not even 4b.

OK, i just watched her dusting video ......But it's working for her because she IS retaining length (but that maybe cus she hasn't combed it yet )

 

[GoodMernin]

Just be fair to cynthiarf's video...she is where I learned how to deal with my 4bc hair in the shower with conditioner.

And literally, just like her, I have 1 to 2 knots or tangles that I had to "undo" so it is not impossible to have only that with this type of hair.

Also, I cannot and do not try to rake my fingers through my hair (same type as cynthia's) for the simple fact that it is too thick.

Being that my hair is just as thick with the same type but not quite as long, I totally relate to the technique that was used in the video.

Maybe hair density and type has something to do with whether that particular person's hair was meant to be cleared with a "tool" or not.

I mean, after all, if it takes me 3 to 4 hrs to clear through my hair with a comb, maybe my hair wasn't meant to deal with all that manipulation with that much hair being shed.

And if length is being retained then something is being done right.

 

[Nonie]

@GoodMernin, you're right different strokes for different folks. I don't take 3-4 hours to comb my hair but that's because I have mastered my hair. Also considering up to 100 hairs may be shed in a day, I don't know how hair can be handled like that and all that removed. But I suppose again, it's all a matter of what one's priorities are.

BTW, retention is possible with low manipulation indeed...so that shouldn't be the gauge of whether tangles exist or not. I mean, one could argue that this dude has very good retention but personally because I don't want to always wear one style, having the option to run a comb through my hair from base to ends at any time is important to me. So yeah, it's all up to each individual and what it is they deem important. For me, having strands separated from each other from roots to ends is important to me as is keeping hair stretched.

 

[LisaMar]

I do not ever use a comb, I only use my fingers. I use a toothbrush to straighten out the edges of hairline. My hair is very fine 4a/b, medium density, BSL. SSKs is a BIG problem for me. It takes me hows to detangle and remove hairs that shed, to many to mention (Lol). I wear my hair in buns or braid outs most of time.

 

[LisaMar]

greenandchic

OMG...You are my hair twin!!!

 

[Mook's hair]

WELL, I will say that I don't comb or brush it as much as I once did. but I still do comb through wet with conditioner.

Also when I do cornrows. I prefer very detangled smooth hair when I am doing fancier designs.

 

[MissAlinaRose]

@MissAlinaRose, @Embyra, I've confirmed WHY the "rake fingers through hair" finger combing would NEVER work on my hair. I knew I know my hair darn well to know what is possible with it and what isn't. So I'm not surprised that I was right on the money.

My strands are so fine with normal porosity that when my hair is loose, water/product exerts no weight on the strands...so they do not stretch. This means having water run through my hair even with oodles of product does not open up the strands for my fingers to be able to pass through.

Nonie Snaaap! You're so right about this. I think that is the answer...weight. When my hair was much shorter I was not having the no combing thing. My hair would not weigh down at all and I could not get my fingers through. Now my hair hangs down to my true length (grazing waist) and my fingers glide through as if my hair was straight.

I remember watching a youtube vid of a lady easily finger combing her natural hair which stretched out about shoulder length. When she got into the shower her fro actually hung down to shoulder length. Granted her hair was thinner than mine and of a slightly different texture. However, My fro at the same length stayed shrunken in the shower and I needed to use a couple of quick passes with the comb.

 

[Nonie]

MissAlinaRose, thanks for confirming this. You know folks who hate shrinkage are hating on you now right?

 

[MissAlinaRose]

Nonie You're welcome, and thank you for the dialogue! It is such a refreshing learning experience.

And as far as shrinkage...that hair that stretches in the shower goes to about ear length dry and unmanipulated!

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie You're welcome, and thank you for the dialogue! It is such a refreshing learning experience.

And as far as shrinkage...that hair that stretches in the shower goes to about ear length dry and unmanipulated!

MissAlinaRose I don't mind shrinkage so I still have mad love for you, but as many times as I hear people whine about shrinkage, if they could get hair to hand by just layering it with goop as yours seems able to, they'd be in heaven. So that yours can do this gets you a spot on their hate list.

 

[JudithO]

1. I consider my texture one of the kinkiest out there.. I think it lay be easier for kinkier textures to finger detangle than looser textures like type 3's (but i may be wrong)

2. I do not DC or detangle in conditioner.. I only use a rinse out conditioner in the shower... Nothing fancy.. Garnier fructis triple something.... I always prepoo with EVCO tho... I think that's what makes mine so easy...

3. I always detangle my DAMP hair with my fingers I can't do it wet, or dry... anytime I use a comb, I lose more hair than necessary, and i'm retaining a lot more hair doing so than when I was combing. Given, I practically live in twists... However, I can envision myself detangling a shrunken fro with my fingers.. dampen hair with water, take it in little sections, run hands down the sections for a while and start separating with fingers.

Here is a video I recorded on how I detangle and stretch my hair... Bear in mind I had these twists for 3 weeks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYgGlRZLYcE

 

[Nonie]

1. I consider my texture one of the kinkiest out there.. I think it lay be easier for kinkier textures to finger detangle than looser textures like type 3's (but i may be wrong)

@judy4all, what's your definition of "kinky"? I consider "kinkiest of all" to mean most tightly curled, and lawd knows that my hair is as tightly curled as they come and lawd knows I cannot run fingers through my hair if that's what you mean. IMO the looser the strands the easier that is. So I'd argue that the less kinky hair is the easier it is to rake fingers through.

Now if you're talking about COARSE strands being easy to run fingers through, meaning strands that aren't skinny, then I can agree with that.

2. I do not DC or detangle in conditioner.. I only use a rinse out conditioner in the shower... Nothing fancy.. Garnier fructis triple something.... I always prepoo with EVCO tho... I think that's what makes mine so easy...

3. I always detangle my DAMP hair with my fingers I can't do it wet, or dry... anytime I use a comb, I lose more hair than necessary, and i'm retaining a lot more hair doing so than when I was combing. Given, I practically live in twists... However, I can envision myself detangling a shrunken fro with my fingers.. dampen hair with water, take it in little sections, run hands down the sections for a while and start separating with fingers.

Here is a video I recorded on how I detangle and stretch my hair... Bear in mind I had these twists for 3 weeks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYgGlRZLYcE

I'm glad your posted your idea of fingercombing coz I have realized that everyone's interpretation of that is different. I see you fingercomb as I do but I still don't follow why you would think separating strands that look like this:

...would be easier than separating strands that look like this:

 

[NappyNelle]

Nonie Snaaap! You're so right about this. I think that is the answer...weight. When my hair was much shorter I was not having the no combing thing. My hair would not weigh down at all and I could not get my fingers through. Now my hair hangs down to my true length (grazing waist) and my fingers glide through as if my hair was straight.

I remember watching a youtube vid of a lady easily finger combing her natural hair which stretched out about shoulder length. When she got into the shower her fro actually hung down to shoulder length. Granted her hair was thinner than mine and of a slightly different texture. However, My fro at the same length stayed shrunken in the shower and I needed to use a couple of quick passes with the comb.

Nonie You're welcome, and thank you for the dialogue! It is such a refreshing learning experience.

And as far as shrinkage...that hair that stretches in the shower goes to about ear length dry and unmanipulated!

Nonie MissAlinaRose THIS THIS THIS! I think you two found the connection. My hair is just like Alina's in this instance. Wet with water, my hair hangs and is easier to manipulate (though I prefer braids); when it dries, it shrinks right back up to kink city. LOL

 

[JudithO]

Nonie .. This picture shows my hair texture... When I say kinky, I mean course, z-pattern, shrinkage like mwezdi's hair. My strands are as fine as they come, thinner than anyone's that i've ever compared with..

http://public.fotki.com/judy4all/august-2011/img-1282.html

I said it was easier, because I remember when I was relaxed, there was no way I could even dare to finger comb(but then again, I was probably raking thru it without care).. I feel like looser textures are much worse tangled than kinky, but we experience more breakage cos our hair is more fragile (again, I may be wrong)

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie .. This picture shows my hair texture... When I say kinky, I mean course, z-pattern, shrinkage like mwezdi's hair. My strands are as fine as they come, thinner than anyone's that i've ever compared with..

http://public.fotki.com/judy4all/august-2011/img-1282.html

I said it was easier, because I remember when I was relaxed, there was no way I could even dare to finger comb(but then again, I was probably raking thru it without care).. I feel like looser textures are much worse tangled than kinky, but we experience more breakage cos our hair is more fragile (again, I may be wrong)

@judy4all Oh OK, you refer to the size of the strands too in your definition of "kinky". I on the other hand don't. Kinky IMO doesn't say whether strands are coarse or fine. It just says to me that the pattern of the hair is made of small coils.

I see you refer to coarseness of strands and give Mwedzi as an example (I didn't know Mwedzi had coarse strands; I thought hers were fine or medium? Maybe I've just forgotten coz it's ages since I've looked at her hair)

Anyway, so back to you saying kinkier strands are easier to finger comb. Did you mean coarse strands because one doesn't have to be extra gentle? I'm looking at your hair with the sort of shrinkage that is typical of kinky hair (Mine is just like yours) and the only difference between your hair and mine is your strands are thicker in diameter than mine. But I don't see how "tightly coiled hair" can be considered easier to finger-comb than less kinky hair (meaning hair whose coils aren't tiny). I would think the tiny coils of kinkier hair make it harder to separate strands than looser/larger coils--which is why I don't give my kinky hair a chance to tangle.

Also when it comes to the way you and I fingercomb, I think the difficulty (or ease) of fingercombing our way is more or less the same. I guess people with coarse strands (ie thick strands) don't have to be extra gentle as those with fine strands...but other than that it is the same technique--stretch strands to open them up so you can pull them apart--so would take about the same time to do. No?

ETA: I just saw your explanation (relaxed hair harder to rake fingers through)...and I'm still bamboozled. I'm looking at how straight and loose my relaxed hair was. You could run fingers through this hair w/o any problems:

If you insert fingers into your shrunken hair, there's no way you can tell me they'll just slide out. Again you've lost me coz you're back to using "fingercombing" the way MissAlinaRose uses it when I was under the impression you do it like me: stretch strands then pull them apart.

I guess my question judy4all now is "What is fingercombing to you?" coz your video didn't show raking fingers through hair yet you just said you couldn't rake fingers through relaxed hair as your explanation why kinkier textures are easy.

 

[AimWard]

I just wanted to add that chicoro has a really good pictorial on dry detangling without the use of a comb or brush. This is basically what I do only I do it on soaking wet, conditioner filled hair (after I've shampooed) and I twist rather than braid. I also remove knots and matted hair from my head in the same fashion she does.
http://public.fotki.com/Chicoro123/hair-care/tutorials/step-1detangle-afro-hair/