can you not comb your hair? ever?

[Oasis]

my second thread in a week! i'm embarrassed.

i'm graduating on Saturday and i plan on flat ironing my hair. the flat iron i ordered just came so i decided to do a lil test drive.

i detangled a tiny section of hair to prepare and it was a challenge, as usual. i then flat ironed the section and it got straight but as expected it was tangled back up.erplexed i don't expect to be able to comb through my hair while it's shrunken but why even when it's bone straight it's hard to get a wide tooth comb through it? i know my hair is tangle prone but i don't understand why i still have these problems with straight hair.

does this happened to anyone else? is there some sort of treatment i can do? tia!

 

[cheryl26]

it tangled right after you ironed it? maybe it's humid in your house? there's a creme by got2be (glazed over) that you put in your hair after flat ironing it, it's sorta gel-like. and it keeps your hair from frizzin or curling back up but it makes it sorta stiff.
this has happened to me before if i flatironed during the day and it was like 80+ outside. i just turned a fan on. you may also have fine hair, i know i do and it tangles very easily when straight.

 

[chelseatiara]

Sounds to me like you need a deep conditioning session...and/or maybe a higher temp? *dont stone me*

 

[Oasis]

it tangled right after you ironed it? maybe it's humid in your house? there's a creme by got2be (glazed over) that you put in your hair after flat ironing it, it's sorta gel-like. and it keeps your hair from frizzin or curling back up but it makes it sorta stiff.
this has happened to me before if i flatironed during the day and it was like 80+ outside. i just turned a fan on. you may also have fine hair, i know i do and it tangles very easily when straight.

i guess i'm not explaining it right. it doesn't frizz back up and it does this regardless of the humidity. it looks decent and straight but getting a comb through it is murder.

 

[classychic1908]

My hair is super thick and when it's straight I still have to take my time and gently comb it because it's tangly. But then again. my hair is never really silky straight not even when I was relaxed.

 

[newbeginnings2010]

I gotcha. My 4b texlaxed hair does the same thing if I don't straighten correctly. Every 3-4 weeks I flat iron at 390 and I do super small sections with a small tooth comb. Honestly, I lose a LOT less hair this way in the long run. It sounds like harsh treatment, but if my 4b relaxed hair can take it once a month, I'm sure your hair can. I don't think it's the heat that makes the big difference, but it's the teeny tiny sections. I only lose a tiny ball of hair this way, whereas every other styling/straightening method causes me to lose a little less than a GOLF BALL size of hair.

ETA: I also agree that you have to be gentle with the comb! And I only use the small tooth comb on the sections. I use a wide tooth comb about halfway through and when I'm completely through.

 

[Tiye]

For me it takes an old school pressing comb. Flat irons will not do the trick - I do use a flat iron every now and again but with the understanding that my hair won't get very straight. Teeny tiny sections might help but I have a lot of volume and I don't have 8 hours to set aside to straighten my hair . If I did I'd get too hot and it would be fuzzed back up by the time I was done. So I'm practical and don't worry too much about is as long as too much hair doesn't come out.

 

[naturallygoldie]

i co sign with smaller sections...it makes a world of a difference

 

[newbeginnings2010]

For me it takes an old school pressing comb. Flat irons will not do the trick - I do use a flat iron every now and again but with the understanding that my hair won't get very straight. Teeny tiny sections might help but I have a lot of volume and I don't have 8 hours to set aside to straighten my hair . If I did I'd get too hot and it would be fuzzed back up by the time I was done. So I'm practical and don't worry too much about is as long as too much hair doesn't come out.

Funny you mention sweating and frizzing back up. My hairs quite thick too, and DH knows if he comes home and it's 72 degrees in the house, wifey is straightening her hair so he better find a blanket! It does take me a good solid 2.5 hours (at least) to straighten my thick airdried hair though.

 

[mischka]

I haven't combed through my hair in a couple weeks. Wondering if it's going to stop breaking off...

 

[Oasis]

For me it takes an old school pressing comb. Flat irons will not do the trick - I do use a flat iron every now and again but with the understanding that my hair won't get very straight. Teeny tiny sections might help but I have a lot of volume and I don't have 8 hours to set aside to straighten my hair . If I did I'd get too hot and it would be fuzzed back up by the time I was done. So I'm practical and don't worry too much about is as long as too much hair doesn't come out.

when i was younger this is what my Grandma used and i never had this problem. of course, it was greasy and didn't have swang or bounce but combing through it was a breeze!

I gotcha. My 4b texlaxed hair does the same thing if I don't straighten correctly. Every 3-4 weeks I flat iron at 390 and I do super small sections with a small tooth comb. Honestly, I lose a LOT less hair this way in the long run. It sounds like harsh treatment, but if my 4b relaxed hair can take it once a month, I'm sure your hair can. I don't think it's the heat that makes the big difference, but it's the teeny tiny sections. I only lose a tiny ball of hair this way, whereas every other styling/straightening method causes me to lose a little less than a GOLF BALL size of hair.

ETA: I also agree that you have to be gentle with the comb! And I only use the small tooth comb on the sections. I use a wide tooth comb about halfway through and when I'm completely through.

i'll try the small sections even though i thought the section i had was pretty small.

I haven't combed through my hair in a couple weeks. Wondering if it's going to stop breaking off...

i typically never comb my hair. i think that's why it's so thick. tons of shed hair.

 

[curlyninjagirl]

This kept happening to me before I discovered LHCF and found out about what I like to call the "pre-stretch". I was like AHHAAAA!! Did you blow-dry or rollerset prior to flat ironing? Some will even use air-dried braids to pre-stretch but for me that's not stretchy(?) enough. I rollerset before flat ironing, to avoid the double heat.

 

[sylver2]

I haven't combed through my hair in a couple weeks. Wondering if it's going to stop breaking off...

it was breaking off b4 you stopped combing it?

 

[Oasis]

This kept happening to me before I discovered LHCF and found out about what I like to call the "pre-stretch". I was like AHHAAAA!! Did you blow-dry or rollerset prior to flat ironing? Some will even use air-dried braids to pre-stretch but for me that's not stretchy(?) enough. I rollerset before flat ironing, to avoid the double heat.

i've tried to roller set before and it was an epic phailure. i typically air dry in a bun or braids but that just makes my hair even more matted.erplexed when i flat iron on Friday i will blow dry first and hopefully that makes a difference.

 

[Urban]

I had a similar problem when I flatironed for my graduation. For me, it was my ends that tangled up ... the only real solution, I think, was to cut them. I didn't though, because I didn't have any problems with them in their curly state. I've only recently cut them, but haven't straightened since, so I don't truly know if it would make a difference.

Have you tried the comb-chase method?

 

[mischka]

it was breaking off b4 you stopped combing it?

Yeah I was having some unexplainable breakage that I theorized might be coming from too much manipulation.

 

[ADB]

You may need to use smaller sections of hair when flat ironing and a higher temperature. Make sure to use a heat protectant.

 

[Guitarhero]

Could it be your cuticle? Try a good moisture/protein balanced deep conditioning treatment once weekly and finish with acv/water rinse or a Dominican hair rinse product as your final rinse.

 

[Oasis]

thanks for the advice!

 

[kaykaybobay]

I cannot com when dry unless I want a comb full of hair. When dry my hair first day after wash looses most wave pattern - it looks Like a bad flat iron job. I would say my hair becomes like a cob web - I am a natural with no idea if hair type I think this weekend I will take some photos.