Beware: Naturals who finger comb

[Fine 4s]

I just posted pics of how much hair I lost in the shower after 3 weeks of not washing and untangling. The process is scary but unfortunately, I'm just too lazy to wash and DC and detangle like I used to...I'll be on it soon, give me some time

 

[Caramel Jewel]

I detangle once a week...but I've been thinking of doing it twice a week....or every three or four days....

 

[Netta1]

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.....

Wow, one day I will have to give this a try. I wonder how long it would take me to finger detangle on some two month old natural braids???

 

[Nonie]

Wow, one day I will have to give this a try. I wonder how long it would take me to finger detangle on some two month old natural braids???

You would work on one at a time. Better yet, just redo them one at a time. That way you don't get overwhelmed and you can be as patience and slow as can be. If you undo one and detangle and then rebraid it, wait till you've detangled two or three and then braid them together, you will find it less overwhelming.

When I undid my braids, that's what I did. I undid a few singles and detangled each one as I got to it, then braided them together to keep them from getting tangled again. I don't use products so my hair was very dry. But you don't have to detangle dry. You can use something for slip. I wore head wraps for a couple of days while I undid my hair as I felt like it.

 

[Netta1]

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When I undid my braids, that's what I did. I undid a few singles and detangled each one as I got to it, then braided them together to keep them from getting tangled again. I don't use products so my hair was very dry. But you don't have to detangle dry. You can use something for slip.

I started doing this last night, I agree with only taking down a few at a time and re-braiding. Its a loooong process for me b/c I am actually going from cornrows in the front to box braids. I also found it more comfortable to detangle each section while dry..add a little protein spray/a dap of conditioner/moisturizer and shea butter/ then re-braid.

It was not until after I wet my hair too much in a larger section that my hair started to tangle-so for me small mostly dry sections work the best too much water causes my hair to curl/coil/nap up which means TANGLES and Detangling issues…not to mention weaker hair. Small sections also give me more control and are less intimidating.

After I added too much water to my hair, I felt like I needed the Denman for my ends. Prior to adding water my fingers worked just fine…so that was a lesson learned.

In conclusion:
Too much water equals much more detangling and weaker hair
Combing out my hair in stretched/small dry/moist sections using my fingers works best
Fewer braids might mean little manipulation which may mean maintaining more growth.

 

[Priss Pot]

I have to use a comb to my head. Fingercombing for me is no longer an option. When my hair was shorter as a TWA, then I could finger comb with no problem. But, now that it's longer, I must comb when I co-wash (usually with a Jilbere shower comb) to remove any tangles.

Works just fine for me.

 

[SerenavanderWoodsen]

The thing with finger combing is that our fingers are just too big and clunky and miss a ton of tangles that are actually there, even the widest comb is finer than out hands so it certainly seems like its a good idea to comb every so often, with a quality seamless comb...

 

[SerenavanderWoodsen]

i had a feeling you were new

New? Shes been here well over a year, join date is only a month after you. Im confused but then I usually am with your posts lol

 

[Nonie]

In conclusion:
Too much water equals much more detangling and weaker hair
Combing out my hair in stretched/small dry/moist sections using my fingers works best
Fewer braids might mean little manipulation which may mean maintaining more growth.

I think your conclusion is accurate. If you detangle wet hair, the secret is to stretch the hair before you start to try to separate the strands. If you try to separate them when the hair is shrunken, you would probably start from the base and end up with a knot above where your fingers are. This is not such a great example coz my hair was detangled within the twist, but you can sorta see I pull it to stretch it so that the strands are straight and therefore easier to separate. You would have to do the same thing but as you have discovered, it's easier to work on dry hair that is stretched

The thing with finger combing is that our fingers are just too big and clunky and miss a ton of tangles that are actually there, even the widest comb is finer than out hands so it certainly seems like its a good idea to comb every so often, with a quality seamless comb...

The size of the fingers isn't really the problem. Patience is. When I finger comb, I don't try to fit my fingers between the strands but rather, I feel the strands between the pads of my fingers and pull them apart, one by one. A comb scares me in that it cannot feel for where a knot is and so could just yank through it and rip the hair. With my fingers I can feel for it. I imagine there may be an incident where you'd feel a knot that would be so tight that you'd need a comb to help out. But in general, my fingers seem to work well for me. I usually do this when I'm not on the clock or supposed to be going anywhere anytime that day. So I can be as careful as I need to be. Usually I'm watching TV so I'm usually very chilled.

 

[RubyWoo]

The size of the fingers isn't really the problem. Patience is. When I finger comb, I don't try to fit my fingers between the strands but rather, I feel the strands between the pads of my fingers and pull them apart, one by one. A comb scares me in that it cannot feel for where a knot is and so could just yank through it and rip the hair. With my fingers I can feel for it. I imagine there may be an incident where you'd feel a knot that would be so tight that you'd need a comb to help out. But in general, my fingers seem to work well for me. I usually do this when I'm not on the clock or supposed to be going anywhere anytime that day. So I can be as careful as I need to be. Usually I'm watching TV so I'm usually very chilled.

ITA! Raking my fingers in my hair will not do it justice. I do what you do take small pieces of hair and separate them and pulling to make sure I get any shed hairs out and carefully detangle. When I wash, I massage my scalp and run my fingers through my hair and scalp to get any other hairs trapped in their out.

Finger combing has been great for me. I do still use a shower comb about once a month just to make sure my hair is completely detangled. I usually use the comb on a wash day with conditioner in my hair.

 

[melodies815]

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.

Hey there. My ends were the problem for me as well until I did a search and destroy for the single strand knots that were beginning to crop up. Now, I can go from root to tip with the same ease. I don't know if that might be a culprit for you like it was for me, but I thought I would mention it just in case. I guess I must be in the group that has to shower brush to get all the shed hairs out...

...but I never notice damage from doing so.

I could probably finger comb if I took my time.

The info here is so helpful!

subscribing...

cj

 

[Poohbear]

I feel ya, Kranbery. When I wet or wash my natural hair, I have to detangle with a comb or brush too. My hair is too tightly coiled to just finger comb. I only finger comb dry hair if I wanna fluff out my fro, puff, twistout, etc. or after my hair has been flat-ironed.