How do you avoid breakage when wet combing?

[ShiShiPooPoo]

My hair breaks when I comb it while wet. I admit that I am heavy handed and this could be a big part of the issue. I bought better combs yesterday because I felt like the ones I had were not helping (alot of seams).

Besides being more gentle what do you suggest to avoid breakage when you are wet combing?

It's not a lot of breakage but it's enough! TIA.

 

[Irresistible]

My hair breaks when I comb it while wet. I admit that I am heavy handed and this could be a big part of the issue. I bought better combs yesterday because I felt like the ones I had were not helping (alot of seams).

Besides being more gentle what do you suggest to avoid breakage when you are wet combing?

It's not a lot of breakage but it's enough! TIA.

do you comb with oils and conditioners in while its wet too? better combs might help too, wide tooth ones?

 

[ShiShiPooPoo]

do you comb with oils and conditioners in while its wet too? better combs might help too, wide tooth ones?

Yes to all of the above...

 

[d-rock]

You have to be patient with your wet hair. I detangle a lot with my fingers first and then slowly and gently use my seamless comb to detangle, starting that the ends. When I reach a snag in my hair, I don't force the comb through , I stop and untangle that knot with my fingers one strand of hair at a time. Oh yeah, and I never comb wet hair that is not saturated in a good conditioner.

 

[MariposaSexyGirl]

A majority of the time I comb my hair when it's wet under running water with conditioner in it. If I'm doing a rollerset, I make sure my hair is detangled under water then get out dry it and then put something in that gives slip(like lacio lacio). I haven't tried to comb wet hair out of the shower besides rollersets because I know it will do nothing but break it. Oh and the denman is my bestfriend now. It has replaced my shower comb all together.

 

[ShiShiPooPoo]

You have to be patient with your wet hair. I detangle a lot with my fingers first and then slowly and gently use my seamless comb to detangle, starting that the ends. When I reach a snag in my hair, I don't force the comb through , I stop and untangle that knot with my fingers one strand of hair at a time. Oh yeah, and I never comb wet hair that is not saturated in a good conditioner.

Not patient enough. I'm seeing that with the length I have to be extra careful. Maybe I'm not saturating it enough with my leave in.

 

[ShiShiPooPoo]

A majority of the time I comb my hair when it's wet under running water with conditioner in it. If I'm doing a rollerset, I make sure my hair is detangled under water then get out dry it and then put something in that gives slip(like lacio lacio). I haven't tried to comb wet hair out of the shower besides rollersets because I know it will do nothing but break it. Oh and the denman is my bestfriend now. It has replaced my shower comb all together.

What denman do you use? I have the denman brush (with the plastic teeth) but it's old. I still use it but only with a fresh relaxer because other than that the teeth are too flexible and won't go through my hair...if that makes sense.

I'm seeing that I haven't really invested in good grooming tools.

 

[d-rock]

Not patient enough. I'm seeing that with the length I have to be extra careful. Maybe I'm not saturating it enough with my leave in.

I use HE conditioners to detangle while I'm in the shower. They have great slip and make combing easier.

 

[JustKiya]

Gentle, gentle, gentle, gentle, GENTLE..... you have to be patient, and tender - combing like it's antique lace.
Can't comb it just wet, it needs to be either wet & under running water, or wet and doused in conditioner - I prefer conditioner to running water.
Start from widest tooth to narrowest tooth - I start with finger combing, then a wide tooth comb, then a medium tooth comb, then my D3 denman.
Small sections - trying to comb all my hair at once is BEGGING for breakage. Though, I've found that as my hair gets longer, the sections get bigger, too.

I found that my breakage dropped by quite a bit when I switched to truly seam-free combs, as well.

 

[MariposaSexyGirl]

What denman do you use? I have the denman brush (with the plastic teeth) but it's old. I still use it but only with a fresh relaxer because other than that the teeth are too flexible and won't go through my hair...if that makes sense.

I'm seeing that I haven't really invested in good grooming tools.

I have the D5 heavy. I don't have a fresh relaxer right now and it glides through my hair if I start from the bottom. I part my hair into 4 parts though and deal with it each section at a time. I get no breakage what so ever and I'm like 4 months post relaxer right now.

 

[ShiShiPooPoo]

Gentle, gentle, gentle, gentle, GENTLE..... you have to be patient, and tender - combing like it's antique lace.
Can't comb it just wet, it needs to be either wet & under running water, or wet and doused in conditioner - I prefer conditioner to running water.
Start from widest tooth to narrowest tooth - I start with finger combing, then a wide tooth comb, then a medium tooth comb, then my D3 denman.
Small sections - trying to comb all my hair at once is BEGGING for breakage. Though, I've found that as my hair gets longer, the sections get bigger, too.

I found that my breakage dropped by quite a bit when I switched to truly seam-free combs, as well.

So here is what I have realized:

1. I haven't been gently enough...overestimating the strength of my hair.

2. Need to get some decent combs and stuff.

3. Saturate with leave-in/conditioner.

4. Detangle in the shower under running water and condish when not rollersetting.

 

[ShiShiPooPoo]

I have the D5 heavy. I don't have a fresh relaxer right now and it glides through my hair if I start from the bottom. I part my hair into 4 parts though and deal with it each section at a time. I get no breakage what so ever and I'm like 4 months post relaxer right now.

I have the classic Denman with the 7 rows. I need to replace it pronto. It's about 15 years old (they do last!). Did you get your Denman from Sally's or did you order it?

 

[january noir]

Mechanical breakage is something I have always contended with.
Everyone has given great advice (gentle, patient detangling, seamless wide-tooth combs, etc.).

Keep in mind the density and type of hair you have. What one person does may not work for you.

This was my experience with detangling in the shower. Works great for some, however, my fine/thin hair was made even thinner doing this. My hair kept getting thinner and thinner and I didn't know what the culprit was. When it finally dawned on me, I realized that the water was prematurely snapping off my fragile hair. Even though I had a drain cover, the hairs would slip underneath so I never noticed how much hair was going down the drain. When I stopped doing it, my hair recovered.

What has helped me is the incorporation of the OVATION Maximizing System into my regimen. My hair has become much stronger and silkier and is able to withstand most of the things that caused it to break before.

If I remember correctly Sistaslick also has an article on breakage and shedding on her site about how to comb/detangle your hair. Check here to see...
http://www.associatedcontent.com/ar...hedding_or_breakage_understanding.html?cat=69

 

[MariposaSexyGirl]

I have the classic Denman with the 7 rows. I need to replace it pronto. It's about 15 years old (they do last!). Did you get your Denman from Sally's or did you order it?

I got mine from tiffanysbeauty.com . They had the best prices for me so far. Some people say they sell them at their local sally's but I didn't see any on this side of town.