Beware: Naturals who finger comb

Kranbery

Kranbery

Well-Known Member
In no way am I discrediting the benefits of finger combing or advising people to stop, but I wanted to warn those who do of possible dangers, per say.

This morning, I decided to detangle my hair, and everything seemed normal until I hit my crown area. I could barely get a wide-toothed comb through it. That area was so tangled, I had no idea so much shed hair was caught up there. I even had huge knots in some areas, which luckily I could comb out with some effort. I had been finger combing my hair for about two weeks ( at least twice a week), and I am glad I decided to finally put a comb to it. All of this time, I thought I was just shedding less, but no, all of that hair was tangling itself among the curls. I was surprised to see so much hair in my tub after I was done.

But good news, my hair looked so much fuller and even longer now that the tangles were taken out. From now on, I am going to detangle every time I wash my hair with a comb. I can't imagine how bad it would have been if I had waited any longer.

This really is a learning process and we all hit some barriers along the way. But I just want you to ask yourself, are you really detangling your hair as well as you think?
 
I finger comb :D I know its not perfect so I try to detangle with a paddle brush (tons of conditioner) say, every two weeks. For me its the lesser of both evils. If I go from one twist style to another finger detangling is all I need, just about completely. But if I wear my hair out..:nono: not a good idea.

Its definitely easier than constantly combing my hair OR creating nightmares for myself :yep:
 
I comb and brush every time I cowash (which is almost everyday) and I finish up with fingercombing.
I have to be careful with finger combing because I end up pulling out my hair by accident, and I wear rings and they sometimes rip my hair out.
 
Usually when I see a natural that finger combs, she incorporates combing and sometimes a denman. With that method, there isn't much room for error. :)
 
I'm not new to being natural really, but I do like to experiment a lot. I just wanted to share my experience just in case it would help prevent others from huge setbacks.
 
I'm still trying to figure out how often to detangle. I've been getting really bad knots. I'm in braids now, but I think I am going to have to do it every time I co-wash or a few times a week (probably won't be co-washing too much during the winter).
 
As a general rule of thumb whenever you come out of an old style and in the winter months since you won't wash as many times I would say every time you cowash.

That should keep the shedded hair and detangling to manageable.
 
I'm a newbie to being natural, and I've seen and heard about many naturals that fingercomb regularly, but I've had the same experience, with the tangles and knots. I must detangle my hair regularly. I thought I was shedding less too, until I found that all those shed hairs were tangled up in my curls...lol.
 
1star said:
That was rude.

OP, I stopped finger combing for the same reason. I'll FC then go over w/ WTC then finish w/
a Denman
Click to expand...


I actually tried to do that, but the Denman was not working this time. But that makes since, finger combing first, and then combing and brushing. I'll try that next time.
 
i've been finger combing for almost 3 years. Comb and brushes are not for me and I can't even imagine putting a comb through my hair. I am glad to hear that you were able to untangle the knots..
I guess i've never understood what is detangling and how to detangle...
 
Okay...I've been a natural for almost 12yrs (growing my hair out for 4yrs) so I'll chime in.

I ONLY finger comb. I don't use any combs/brushes/etc on my hair. The KEY to removing the shedded hairs while finger combing is to MASSAGE the the roots and SLOWLY/GENTLY pull on the strands in order to remove the shed hairs.

If you OVERLOOK the roots and start finger combing below, then YES, you will have tangles/knots/breakage.

Combs/brushes were too damaging on my strands b/c I'm heavy handed. Hence why I've eliminated them from my regime. However, I do believe that if you start the detangling process from the root downward, then you won't have this problem...At least I don't.....
 
oooop2 said:
Okay...I've been a natural for almost 12yrs (growing my hair out for 4yrs) so I'll chime in.

I ONLY finger comb. I don't use any combs/brushes/etc on my hair. The KEY to removing the shedded hairs while finger combing is to MASSAGE the the roots and SLOWLY/GENTLY pull on the strands in order to remove the shed hairs.

If you OVERLOOK the roots and start finger combing below, then YES, you will have tangles/knots/breakage.

Combs/brushes were too damaging on my strands b/c I'm heavy handed. Hence why I've eliminated them from my regime. However, I do believe that if you start the detangling process from the root downward, then you won't have this problem...At least I don't.....
Click to expand...


How long did it take you to figure out the technique? Do you do it with conditioner or something?
 
oooop2 said:
Okay...I've been a natural for almost 12yrs (growing my hair out for 4yrs) so I'll chime in.

I ONLY finger comb. I don't use any combs/brushes/etc on my hair. The KEY to removing the shedded hairs while finger combing is to MASSAGE the the roots and SLOWLY/GENTLY pull on the strands in order to remove the shed hairs.

If you OVERLOOK the roots and start finger combing below, then YES, you will have tangles/knots/breakage.

Combs/brushes were too damaging on my strands b/c I'm heavy handed. Hence why I've eliminated them from my regime. However, I do believe that if you start the detangling process from the root downward, then you won't have this problem...At least I don't.....
Click to expand...

This is definitely need to know information. I'm definitely going to give this a try. Thanks for sharing this!
 
I'm with redecouverte and oooop2 on being able to finger comb and not have tangled roots. I think one thing that makes it easy for me is because I keep my hair twisted or braided and only work on one twist or braid section at a time so I can afford to be as meticulous as can be to ensure I detangle from roots. I know that this works for me because before pressing my hair, I combed my hair with a fine tooth comb and didn't have any tangles whatsoever.
 
I'm still going back and forth. I've been finger-combing for the last 2 months but I'm worried about all of the shed hair that I'm leaving behind to become knotted or tangled. So I just ordered a WTC and a double detangling comb from Ouida and a comb and brush from the same company that sells the Shea Butter Moisture Leave-in. I'll try experimenting with these the next time I wash. I think that Flowerhair only fingercombs. I wish she would chime in as to how she removes shed hairs from that much hair. I think that I'll end up going back and forth with mostly finger-combing and going back to a good comb out every once in a while. Good post though.
 
oooop2 said:
Okay...I've been a natural for almost 12yrs (growing my hair out for 4yrs) so I'll chime in.

I ONLY finger comb. I don't use any combs/brushes/etc on my hair. The KEY to removing the shedded hairs while finger combing is to MASSAGE the the roots and SLOWLY/GENTLY pull on the strands in order to remove the shed hairs.

If you OVERLOOK the roots and start finger combing below, then YES, you will have tangles/knots/breakage.

Combs/brushes were too damaging on my strands b/c I'm heavy handed. Hence why I've eliminated them from my regime. However, I do believe that if you start the detangling process from the root downward, then you won't have this problem...At least I don't.....
Click to expand...

I agree, and also remember that if you have a knot to pull under instead of from on top... Serena has a tutorial on it in her youtube account about knots. I'm usually good with them unless I am driving and ... well I am not so good at that.. I've got to keep my hands out of my hair.
 
Maybe whether you detangle with your fingers vs a comb has to do with your hair type too.

I noticed some of you said that your roots tangle.

For me, the ends are the tangly part... the comb glides through the roots pretty easily.

If I don't get most of the shed hair out, those sheds will get all tangled in my ends and form knots. If my hair is not stretched or if it's wet... it pretty much tangles at the ends immediately. Like velcro is on the end of each coil. And I have a lot of coils.

Especially if I haven't detangled for a few days, I have hundreds of shed hairs that need to get out of my hair.

My hair would not appreciate finger combing only. Like we always say, what works for one doesn't always work for another. :yep:
 
Neith said:
Maybe whether you detangle with your fingers vs a comb has to do with your hair type too.

I noticed some of you said that your roots tangle.

For me, the ends are the tangly part... the comb glides through the roots pretty easily.
If I don't get most of the shed hair out, those sheds will get all tangled in my ends and form knots. If my hair is not stretched or if it's wet... it pretty much tangles at the ends immediately. Like velcro is on the end of each coil. And I have a lot of coils.

Especially if I haven't detangled for a few days, I have hundreds of shed hairs that need to get out of my hair.

My hair would not appreciate finger combing only. Like we always say, what works for one doesn't always work for another. :yep:
Click to expand...
same here@the bolded..when i detangle..i finger comb then go back over it with my jilbere detangling comb..my ends are basically the problem spot for me..roots are a peice of cake
 
I only finger comb as well and what I do is I wet my hair, put conditioner in it, lather up my body and then I soak one half of my head. Not enough to wash out the conditioner, but to make it a big soupy mess. Then I start working from like the middle of the shaft to the ends of my hair. I don't get tangles in my roots. Then I do the other side, and then I start rinsing. While rinsing, I run my fingers through my hair and that is when the sheds usually start coming out. I think the marinating in conditioner before I even touch it helps my strands to get extra slippery. Then when I add the water, it pretty much starts detangling itself. I am a 3c/4a. When I had a twa I was a 4a but as my hair started getting heavier, my curl pattern changed.

I started this routine because I have some yucky ends but I am tired of cutting my hair and would like to hold on to them as long as possible (I did lol, I started this in about March and I am going to get them cut next week). When I would detangle under running water with a wide toothed bone comb, I would see short pieces where my hair was breaking. Since I stopped, I barely see that anymore. The less manipulation, the longer my ends can hang on. I only comb my hair when it is straight.
 
I can't finger comb. No way. That is a recipe for disaster...
I can see how ladies with type 2 or 3a hair can do it, but if you have coils the hair will get caught in your coils and create a mess.
At least, that is my experience. Besides, I feel like i pull more on my hair when i attempt to finger comb, versus using a wide tooth comb.
 
I can't finger comb. I have to comb with a WTC regularly, otherwise it spells trouble for me. I hate to detangle, but I have to regularly.
 
oooop2 said:
Okay...I've been a natural for almost 12yrs (growing my hair out for 4yrs) so I'll chime in.

I ONLY finger comb. I don't use any combs/brushes/etc on my hair. The KEY to removing the shedded hairs while finger combing is to MASSAGE the the roots and SLOWLY/GENTLY pull on the strands in order to remove the shed hairs.

If you OVERLOOK the roots and start finger combing below, then YES, you will have tangles/knots/breakage.

Combs/brushes were too damaging on my strands b/c I'm heavy handed. Hence why I've eliminated them from my regime. However, I do believe that if you start the detangling process from the root downward, then you won't have this problem...At least I don't.....
Click to expand...


I wish you had a tutorial on this. My hair is always a HAM when I try finger combing for more than day or 2.
 
Kranbery said:
How long did it take you to figure out the technique? Do you do it with conditioner or something?
Click to expand...

After using my Denman brush and a detangling comb for a period of time and noticing a bunch of short strands sticking through my twist. I was like I had clusters of breakage.

I haven't used a brush/comb in about 8m now...And yes, do it with condish. I have the steps in my fotki album.
 
I only finger comb and have had no extra issues with tangling or knots. I think it's more gentle on my hair and very effective. I also thoroughly, detangle from the roots and individually loosen any tangles by separating from the bottom very carefully. I think technique is very important when finger combing, you can't just smooth over your hair and call it a day.
 
I finger comb as well but even when I was relaxed I rarely took a comb or brush to my hair. I just know I can get impatient so I just dont even keep brushes or combs in my bathroom. When its time to detangle I lather up w a lot of conditioner and section off my hair and if it starts to dry up I use my spray bottle with glycerin, honeyquat, and water. Thought about pulling my denman out but I hear not so good things about it so I might just keep it in the other bathroom :)
 
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