(natural)Beyond BSL -only finger combing

[Embyra]

Krystle~Hime, I've NEVER been able NOT to use a comb when my hair was short whether it was one centimeter long, 2 inches, 3, 5, 9...you name it. The ONLY time I finger comb is if my hair is braided or cornrowed and if I'm working on a mini-twist section (ONE) or a braid extension section (ONE).

I can't even fathom how anyone with 4B hair could wear it out and not comb it ever. I feel woozy just thinking about it.

Nonie Im with you on the feeling woozy part lool my hair is not 4b but i do wear my hair out every day but the finger combing only method always left me feeling lightheaded

For me its a PRIME example of not forcing yourself to make something work just because other naturals do it with success

congrats to those it works for

 

[JJamiah]

Krystle~Hime please continue to post threads with any questions.

I am not natural but think I will consider trying Finger Combing along with my regular detangling in order to reduce the tension on my scalp/hair.

Thanks for starting this thread

The written world can sometimes be taken out of text. I love how you two handled it!

Finger combing * any videos on it! not trying to be funny at all! I just want to make sure i am doing it right.

 

[MissAlinaRose]

@MissAlinaRose, if ever I tire of my method, I will travel to where you are so you can show me. Do you have fine hair too? I don't like using brushes though, so I suppose my comb could work in lieu of Denman right? Otherwise this method is just out of my league.

So you gonn' be there to demonstrate hands on if I can find you should I ever need to try this? I'm not kidding. It sounds so foreign to me that I'd love to see it done.

Some other questions, is your shrinkage as crazy as mine? Also do you have fine or course strands? I didn't even notice if you had an album but I might just go snooping if you do.

I would love to try it out!!! Slumber parteeee...lol I have a childhood spirit still raging on the inside sometimes.

Your comb could absolutely work in replacement of the denman. And, I completely understand the preference to it. You know what's funny though? I can NEVER finger comb my hair when it's straight because to me it seems like straight hair tangles like a beast. My styled kinky hair just stays in place. It's so weird (or maybe I'm just doing something wrong), but that's the only time I will probably use a comb and that's when it's straight.

Anyhoo, my shrinkage is pretty crazy. It is about 75% or so.
This is what it looks like fresh out of the shower and after drying a little. My hair stretches out maybe in the MBL range as well. Also, I have coarse strands.

 

[MissAlinaRose]

JJamiah I'm going to record my wash routine and how I fingercomb in the near future. I'll be sure to let you know if you are interested!

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

OP, I know you already have your answer but I'm going to chime in anyway

I fingercombed when my hair was shorter with pretty good success...maybe for about 6 months? However, that was when I was doing a lot of wash n go's and I did on occasion still use a comb so maybe I don't completely fit the category.

I will tell you that now that my hair is longer, it is a no go. I naturally am a heavy shedder, so the last few times I've tried it have led to terrible mats, some of which I just gave up on and cut out.

But it seems to be working for you, so carry on. I just know that it's not in the cards for me.

Your hair is beautiful BTW!

 

[NappyNelle]

KCcurly - I still can't believe that is a wig in your siggy.

You know what's funny though? I can NEVER finger comb my hair when it's straight because to me it seems like straight hair tangles like a beast. My styled kinky hair just stays in place. It's so weird (or maybe I'm just doing something wrong), but that's the only time I will probably use a comb and that's when it's straight.

MissAlinaRose THISSSSSSSSSSS!!!! I was so mad last week... I thought I would have some use for my comb but NOPE. I can't come my straightened hair and it tangles more than my kinky hair does. I don't get it, but I'm sure it's because I have no idea what to do with straight hair anymore.

 

[EssenceOfBeauty]

I am not BSL yet but 2 inches away from APL. My hair is fine and densely packed. I have been finger combing my hair for most of it's natural life. This is a picture of it freshly washed with no product. I do keep it stretched in twists after DC'ing and moisturizing.

The tangle teezer and wide toothed comb give my hair a "snap, crackle, pop" soundtrack which hinders my growth. So I finger comb, always.

 

[manter26]

MissAlinaRose Do you ever use your denman on your entire length of hair? Excuse me if you've addressed this...I skipped over a lot of posts.

Krystle~Hime Is that you in your siggie? The picture is absolutely gorgeous!

Honestly, I was thinking about doing this myself lately. I took my denman apart so I wouldn't be tempted to use it. I also find that the inside of it never dries completely between uses, which is another issue all together. I have fine hair and the only comb I use is a shower comb and it really doesn't touch too many of my strands anyway.

I wasn't convinced on the no comb method until I shampooed my hair loose (It was flat ironed and coated in hairspray...don't ask why). It matted up quite a bit during the wash...which in the newly natural days was a reason to cry...but now I know my Aussie Moist can get me through anything. Anyway, I ignored the tangles and went on to DC with LeKair cholesterol. Applied DC on one section, finger detangled then I used my bootleg steamer on a section at a time and braided each when it was done being steamed. I started undoing each braid and shower combing each section and was shocked at how easy the comb glided through my hair. I didn't even have to start at the bottom. I combed maybe 1 or 2 sections then decided it was for naught.

I rinsed the conditioner and when the braids were dry I undid them, finger combed when needed, and split them into 2 or 3 smaller braids to wear under my wig. Still no tangles. It's only been about 2 weeks in these braids, but since I'm wigging it in 2012 and keeping my hair in plaits...I think the finger combing only method might work. I haven't even combed the leave out hair.

 

[Nonie]

@MissAlinaRose, Yay! I'm excited at the prospect of a slumber parté; sounds divine, especially considering I'll come out of there glowing with new skills. I'll keep this in mind. I also look forward to seeing the video of you doing this if you do make it. Please tag a Nonie if you do, won't you?

@Embyra, thank you. "♪we are friends! we are friends! we are friends to the bitter end...bitter end♫" (Channeling the vultures in Jungle Book). I am not kidding when I say I feel woozy. It's like an unexplainable dread I have of even just simply considering it that makes me feel light-headed. So I'm so happy to hear someone else understands and feels my pain. It can be lonely in the institution of weirdos when no one else is admitted. Hey, maybe you can join us for the slumber party and together we can be daring? oke: We'll be in good hands and we could always have a few drinks to relax (but MissAlinaRose isn't allowed to drink before or during class. )

 

[Embyra]

Nonie lmaoo @ to the bitter end i think its celinastar? not sure if i spelt that right i first heard about finger-combing from her she is what tailbone length and it clearly works for her

But me..... my hair likes to be combed brushed etc WITH conditioner when wet who am i to deny it the simple pleasures of the denman

p.s im trying to detox so i dunno about the drink before class unless its apple juice

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie lmaoo @ to the bitter end i think its celinastar? not sure if i spelt that right i first heard about finger-combing from her she is what tailbone length and it clearly works for her

But me..... my hair likes to be combed brushed etc WITH conditioner when wet who am i to deny it the simple pleasures of the denman

p.s im trying to detox so i dunno about the drink before class unless its apple juice

Embyra, a little wine is good for the stomach oke: (It's in the Bible!) 1 Timothy 5:23 (antioxidants oke: ) Plus it'll make it feel like Disney World when when MissAlinaRose not only tells us a horror story one more time but also make us live it. :crazy: I suppose Yoga deep breathing could help too. :scratchch But yeah, you do that. I'ma get my drink on :alcoholic...and I'ma be nice and get yours on too. :alcoholic

 

[Embyra]

OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!Nonie the bible quote!!!! i cant take you no more!!

 

[MzSwift]

Fine-haired natural and I've been primarily fingercombing/detangling since I went natural in 2009. I only use a wide-toothed comb or pick to achieve a fro style every so often -- and that's after it's been fingerdetangled and braided/banded.

Thank you for starting this thread! I was going to fingercomb until it didn't work for me anymore. Glad to see I'm not the only one.

 

[Krystle~Hime]

MzSwift thank you, I hope I will be able to do it again for the whole next year !

 

[bride91501]

Thank you kristle~Hime for starting this thread. It is RIGHT on time. Detangling is the one of the area of my regimen I have not yet mastered, so this thread is especially helpful for me.

A few thoughts:

1. Your siggy pic is giving me LIFE hun . Too fly and just gorgeous

2. Now that we've gotten that out of the way...lol....

For the last 14/15 months, I've been in full-PS mode 99% of the time, and only comb detangle once/month. As a result, detangling is the only time I encounter any damage. Earlier this week, I decided to see if finger detangling on my medium-fine strands would minimize the breakage. While it was time-consuming, I barely had any breakage- mostly long hairs with white bulbs on the ends came out . Great!

I switched it up and used the comb on one section so I could compare the breakage. The difference was significant- I had far more breakage when I used the comb. So I'm also going to try finger detangling moving forward.

I *think* I'm APL/BSB length, 4b natural, with mostly fine strands. HTH!

 

[Bublin]

@Bublin I think the products I used are really expensive in the UK. I fell in love with Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose and GPB; and Giovanni Smooth as Silk. Moisture + protein has saved my hair.

NappyNelle Unfortunately you are right. They are expensive. I have the AO HSR and use it (sparingly) as a pre poo but wasn't planning on re-purchasing as it's nearly £10 a bottle. I can't justify squeezing out half the bottle for each wash .

 

[CurlsBazillion]

@Krystle~Hime
It's a combo of the conditioners I use (and how I use them) and what I do to my hair when I go to bed.

I saturate my soaking wet hair with LOTS of slippery conditioner (I divide my hair into 8 or 10 sections prior to detangling). And when I say lots of conditioner I mean LOTS. I generally get 3 uses out of an 8 oz. bottle of conditioner but being heavy handed is what makes the tangles and shed hairs literally slip out. My hair will lock and get matted from time to time and I can easily (though it takes some time and patience) get those out without a comb as well.

I also twist my hair (4 big twists) and wrap with a satin scarf at night for bed. This keeps my hair from getting tangled and matted. In the morning I just take the twists out and fluff.

When I think about it, I really do the same exact things I used to do when I used combs/brushes on my hair. The only difference is when I used combs they would shred/break my ends and couldn't really feel it happening (but when I looked on the floor, tiny broken hairs were everywhere). When using my fingers, I can feel when I'm about to break my hair. I instantly know when to back down and not be so aggressive with a tangle. I hope that makes sense...

This is exactly why i've been using my shower comb and denman brush less and less every month and finger detangling more and more. I am on the verge of a set back due to splits and I believe I have a decent regimen, the only problem is the combs hitting tangles. So for 2012 I will switch things up and finger comb first if not exclusively and keep my hair stretched all the time. @ Op wonderful thread, just the motivation/inspiration I needed.

 

[Lucky's Mom]

@Krystle~Hime, I've NEVER been able NOT to use a comb when my hair was short whether it was one centimeter long, 2 inches, 3, 5, 9...you name it. The ONLY time I finger comb is if my hair is braided or cornrowed and if I'm working on a mini-twist section (ONE) or a braid extension section (ONE).

I can't even fathom how anyone with 4B hair could wear it out and not comb it ever. I feel woozy just thinking about it.

I use a comb.... but mostly I use my denman brush.... I can't do things any other way.... I commend those who can! I cannot....

However.... I do not comb my hair often....That could be the difference....

 

[MissAlinaRose]

@MissAlinaRose THISSSSSSSSSSS!!!! I was so mad last week... I thought I would have some use for my comb but NOPE. I can't come my straightened hair and it tangles more than my kinky hair does. I don't get it, but I'm sure it's because I have no idea what to do with straight hair anymore.

NappyNelle Omgoodness I thought I was the only one. That's why straight hair doesn't last on me. You should of seen my college graduation pic...just a big ol' poof!

@MissAlinaRose Do you ever use your denman on your entire length of hair? Excuse me if you've addressed this...I skipped over a lot of posts.

manter26 I just use it on the ends of my hair because I like getting the curly cue ends without using perm rods. Gel+Denman on my ends=a curly end with assurance my hair will pull apart and not tangle. When my hair was much shorter I would find the ends of my twists sticking together after all the combing/trimming and I hated it!

@MissAlinaRose, Yay! I'm excited at the prospect of a slumber parté; sounds divine, especially considering I'll come out of there glowing with new skills. I'll keep this in mind. I also look forward to seeing the video of you doing this if you do make it. Please tag a Nonie if you do, won't you?

@Embyra, thank you. "♪we are friends! we are friends! we are friends to the bitter end...bitter end♫" (Channeling the vultures in Jungle Book). I am not kidding when I say I feel woozy. It's like an unexplainable dread I have of even just simply considering it that makes me feel light-headed. So I'm so happy to hear someone else understands and feels my pain. It can be lonely in the institution of weirdos when no one else is admitted. Hey, maybe you can join us for the slumber party and together we can be daring? oke: We'll be in good hands and we could always have a few drinks to relax (but MissAlinaRose isn't allowed to drink before or during class. )

Nonie
To the bolded part: Yes ma'am I surely will! It would be my pleasure.

And don't worry I'll make sure to pull out all of the fairy dust in my cupboards to ease your mind about this new adventure. I will be sad that I cannot partake in the wine festivities though.

You have me over here cracking up!!

 

[MissAlinaRose]

Krystle~Hime I must say that this discussion has been very enlightening and I would like to echo another poster by saying this is a great thread.

BTW: Your pic is gorgeous!

 

[lilyofthenile]

Great thread because I'm a finger comber.

I've stopped using a comb since about August and I have to say my hair thrives. I get very uncomfortable with putting a comb through my hair. Finger detangling does take more time but it works for me.

 

[AimWard]

@Bublin You better start your threads! I'll respond.

@AimWard @MissAlinaRose @Krystle~Hime I think our success with finger combing also has a lot to do with the quality of products and our primary styling choices. Generally, we are keeping our hair moisturized and stretched during the day, and taking care to keep our hair stretched in the evening. If we're not allowing tangles to develop, there's less work to do.

I also noticed when I started steaming that the major fairy knots 'fell' out of my hair. I do have to be careful when I'm taking down twists (or preparing to wash a braid out) to not create knots by being impatient and ripping through my hair.

NappyNelle
Exactly! I've found that my fairy knots have reduced as well. The comb/brush seemed to assist in the knotting mechanism.

 

[AimWard]

@AimWard @MissAlinaRose
i think we are okay to say that saturating hair with condish is very important for that ! but i'm so shocked Aimward ! only 3 uses of a 8oz bottle ? maybe that's a lil preview of how dealing with WL is !
my favorite condish for detangling is the banana conditioner by The body Shop, but i've found that every condish that contains BTMS and cetrimonium chloride are excellent, like the "garnier fructis triple nutrition" one
even by just adding Cetrimonium(a tablespoon)in my ayurvedic paste, it's awesome, I let the indian mask on my hair overnight and when I rinse, knots are melting after that when I use my condish for detangling, it's just an ease
@NappyNelle i totally agree, I use flaxseed gel(even if it doesn't provide an hard hold) for putting my hair in twists and even if my hair have shrinked by daily moisturizing, after 2 weeks i just have to seperate my twists and there aren't so much knots. (that's why i loved being in the twists challenge !! ) so trying to keep hair stretched and styled also help a lot.

Krystle~Hime
Yes. Conditioner, conditioner, conditioner. And yes, almost anything with BTMS equals slip for me. However, not all slippery conditioners, translate into moisturized hair. For instance, my hair bows down to HEHH (old formula) when it comes to detangling, but if I leave that stuff in... Tumble weeds.

 

[greenandchic]

Maybe I'm not doing something right because I haven't used a comb in a few months and I noticed my hair has more "locked" tangles these days - especially near the roots. I guess I'm supposed to pick every strand? I will keep reading this thread to see what I may be doing wrong...

 

[Nonie]

@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. Instead this is what I have:

The hair you see there is SOAKING wet and not only are those strands fine but they are so many of them and very contracted. There's no way my thick fingers can get inside that nest and no way they can be pulled right through. I'd end up breaking my hair. To get a comb through, I have to use one hand to pull my strands open and then I can insert the comb through that thick mass and pull through under running water or with water and conditioner applied.

Here's a close up of just a few strands when drenched with water. Notice they aren't stretched or weighed down by water...nor are you looking at them closely packed coz I deliberately separated them, yet you can see how fine the strands are and how they are curled around each other. The ONLY think that can separate these strands is a comb:

Below are the same few strands with me trying to get them to stretch somehow with product. One conditioner would not do a thing. This is what my hair looks like with conditioner on it. To try to force the opening of strands that coarse hair may get from conditioner and water, I used Aussie Deeeeep, Giovanni Magnetic, Emergencée throwing in that last one coz it's more like glue and if I keep stretching my hair with fingers as it dries a bit it will kinda lock it in a wavy state, but even then, you can see the coils are not open in a way fingers could fit and separate strands And if the conditioner has to be somewhat allowed to dry some while I'm holding strands stretched, then I'd lose slippage so that again would not work:

I think this method works for you because you have coarse strands...and coarse strands actually hang from the weight of water and conditioner. My strands are not affected by anything. The only time water weight has any effect on my hair is when my hair is made to mimic coarse strands by being in twists. The tight compacting of strands within twists gives them weight but even then, once my hair is dry, the twists are almost too light to move. They move only when very wet which is why I drip dry after I wash so the twists can dry in a downward state. Otherwise my hair is way too fine and light. If I had porous hair, it might weighed down some by water, but I don't. Heck my hair doesn't even act like gravity exists even when flat ironed!

So yeah, I tried. I really did. I undid about 20 twists and made sure they were fully detangled before I even wet my hair. Then I tried your method and it was a no-go. I could not even get my fingers through after combing through with a FINE TOOTH comb!!! My strands are so compactly packed and so fine and shrinkage is about 90% that there's no way fat fingers can fit inside and open the strands out.

The only way fingercombing works for me is when I do it by stretching the strands out and then using fingers to pull strand by strand apart from the rest as shown in this clip, but that'd take me a year to get through my whole head.

So yeah, more power to you guys who can do this. I am not even interested in having it tried on me coz I feel I'll end up hurting someone for the knots this will create in my hair. As I always say, if it ain't broke(n), don't fix it . So for those that raking fingers works as a thorough fingercombing method, stick with it. I will stick to my combing with a comb coz it's never let me down.

 

[aa9746]

in 2011 my hair has almost never touched a comb. (only once)
but as my hair is growing, and after watching some vids of Sera and Kimmaytube, they say that they can not do some hairstyles as their hair is growing longer(like a picked out afro). I'm wondering if I will have to change my technique and won't be able to pass months without using a comb.
my fine hair was very happy this way, but with my increased density.. i'm wondering if I will be able to continue in this way.

If you are beyond BSL and don't use a comb in your routine, your testimonial will reassure me !

I use fingers to detangle and i keep hair in braids under wigs. I'm not much help as far as styling cute styles.

 

[MzSwift]

I don't use the finger rake method when fingerdetangling/combing. Before I started using my fingers, I used to think that's what women meant when they said they "fingercombed" only.

In sections, I separate my hair (gently pulling it apart). Sometimes I work in "rows", "columns" or both -- it just depends on the way in which my hair is styled. As I'm separating, I also put the section between my thumb and one or two fingers and move them upward from root to tip to remove any shed hair. It's all one motion.

If I hit a snag/tangle, I begin separating from the top and gently pulling any hairs that I've loosened from the tangle away from the scene of the crime. I try to massage the knot out once the loose hairs are removed or (last resort) I cut the knot if the hairs can't be separated. Usually, I've gotten it down to 2 or 3 strands of hair in the knot at this point.

Once I'm finished separating, I may take a finger and slide it from root to tip throughout the small section to detangle a little further.

All of that is only if I'm working from loose hair, which is rare.

Because my hair stays braided and I'm usually just refreshing braids or switching from cornrows to single braids, I don't need to do as much. I just separate and de-shed using the pulling motion and then I rebraid.

I started doing this method early in my HHJ (2009) after watching Sera and others talk about treating the hair like fine silk. I only find splits after the few times that I decided to comb my hair in order to blow dry. That's also the only time I have small, broken hairs in the sink.

My hair looks a lot like the picture Nonie just posted. I have fine, kinky/coily, cottony strands. I have to massage water/product into my strands, otherwise it'll just bead up and sit.

I hope this helps someone!

 

[Nonie]

@MzSwift, you speak a language I understand and your way of fingercombing totally make sense to me as does treating hair like it's silk. Even your sliding finger down the length is something I understand and have done.

I'm so glad to see that it's not just @Embyra and I who couldn't do the finger raking thang.

 

[NappyNelle]

Maybe I'm not doing something right because I haven't used a comb in a few months and I noticed my hair has more "locked" tangles these days - especially near the roots. I guess I'm supposed to pick every strand? I will keep reading this thread to see what I may be doing wrong...

greenandchic I do the same thing that MzSwift does to finger comb. You wear WnG buns generally, right? If I were wearing the same type of style, my hair would clump together at the roots as well. Because my hair is generally separated into twists already, my roots are easier to access.

 

[MzSwift]

^^^ITA! And WOW, NappyNelle , your siggy is giving me life!! Thanks for the inspiration.

Nonie
Since you seem to take such good care of your hair, I figured that you "fingercombed" as well and didn't realize that some of us were talking about the same technique that you already use.