(natural)Beyond BSL -only finger combing

[Nonie]

@AimWard, see I can follow @Chicoro's method and it makes sense to me. But also notice her hair is stretched out by the weight of product--something that doesn't happen with fine kinky hair like mine--and that stretched out state would make it easy to rake finger through like MissAlinaRose. Still she doesn't rake through with fingers held like claws but she sort of uses the smoothing out/stretching out technique that I use...only because her coils are actually open, she doesn't really have to then pull out strand by strand to ensure separation. Just the simply act of smoothing out her open coils ensures that they are lying parallel to each other in a way that they are actually separated and there for ready for braiding.

Again, thanks to her hair not being so kinky, it is way easier to fingercomb--the point I was trying to make to judy4all.

 

[MissAlinaRose]

judy4all Just wanted to say thank you for posting your vid. It is always nice to see visuals and what other people are doing. Our hair strand thickness may be different but our hair textures are similar.

And, I checked out your channel and you were a beautiful bride on your wedding day!

 

[JudithO]

@MissAlinaRose Thanks ~~giggles~~

ETA: Your hair is fab btw ... I'm about to go stalk your fotki... lol

 

[MissAlinaRose]

@judy4all, what's your definition of "kinky"? I consider "kinkiest of all" to mean most tightly curled, and lawd knows that my hair is as tightly curled as they come and lawd knows I cannot run fingers through my hair if that's what you mean. IMO the looser the strands the easier that is. So I'd argue that the less kinky hair is the easier it is to rake fingers through.

Now if you're talking about COARSE strands being easy to run fingers through, meaning strands that aren't skinny, then I can agree with that.

Nonie You have me sitting here with my thinking cap on! My gosh you are right (read: bolded). I think this is another piece to the puzzle. My hair strands are individually thick.

If I take one strand of my hair and rub my fingers on it, it feels wiry and makes a sound like I'm a dj scratching vinyl records. It's not skinny/thin at all. So, if this is another factor I'm definitely starting to see what's going on with the equation of why this is personally working for me. Weight+Coarseness=my fingercomb success??? There may be more elements but so far you have really helped to see this in another light.

 

[JudithO]

Nonie Maybe I'm using the term "coarse" wrong... When I say coarse, I mean "z-pattern, no obvious curl pattern, shrinks to 1/5 of actual length"... If coarse means thicker strands, then I'm definitely using it wrong.

When my relaxed hair was detangled, of course you can run your fingers thru it (something you can't do in my natural hair detangled or not), but when my relaxed hair was really tangled (like if you take out braids and wash hair without detangling first).. with relaxed hair, the only solution was cut if off... no comb or fingers could fix... With my natural hair, my fingers can actually detangle that mess (combs can't do anything)

 

[JudithO]

MissAlinaRose Hair typing confuses me so much... you are 4B? I would have called you a 4A... lol... I wish I had all those baby hairs you have + those curls... lol... your fotki looks fab btw...

 

[MissAlinaRose]

judy4all I don't like the system because it only refers to curl size and most people use it interchangeably with texture. Then, when a highly textured "3b/c" come along most people will think the person must be in the "4s" because the hair texture is not silky. Not true. Hair typing is strictly how large your curls/coils are.

Overall, my coil size is pretty small so I claim 4b. I'm talking smaller than coffee stirrers. I don't even consider my hair curly. I always describe my hair as being a cotton-like, afro texture with thick strands and hella shrinkage.

Thanks for visiting my fotki!

 

[sylver2]

i dont even finger comb. i smooth down and deal with consequences of inside on wash day. during my year stretch it started dreding up and i had to wash/detangle more frequently.

 

[GoodMernin]

@Nonie You have me sitting here with my thinking cap on! My gosh you are right (read: bolded). I think this is another piece to the puzzle. My hair strands are individually thick.

If I take one strand of my hair and rub my fingers on it, it feels wiry and makes a sound like I'm a dj scratching vinyl records. It's not skinny/thin at all. So, if this is another factor I'm definitely starting to see what's going on with the equation of why this is personally working for me. Weight+Coarseness=my fingercomb success??? There may be more elements but so far you have really helped to see this in another light.

Miss A...this may be the reason why I was trying to figure out how in the wide world you could be a 4b and able to run your fingers through your hair when wet because I am a 4bc and I CANNOT run my fingers through my hair when wet. It's just too dense.

And just like you were saying about your individual strands are thick and wiry and the way that they feel between your fingers...

...if I take one of my strands between my fingers...I could barely feel it!

My hair strands are extremely thin and fragile and I think that is why my hair shrinks and puffs upward so much...and I love my puffy shrinkage!

I am still learning about the whole co-washing thing and my hair does not do well with too much oils, greases, or product with styling...or even using tools because it is so fragile.

I really think that strand size has a lot to do with this whole hair thing.

You can see here that my strands just pull right up when wet and my individual hairs are very thin.

 

[Nonie]

Nonie Maybe I'm using the term "coarse" wrong... When I say coarse, I mean "z-pattern, no obvious curl pattern, shrinks to 1/5 of actual length"... If coarse means thicker strands, then I'm definitely using it wrong.

When my relaxed hair was detangled, of course you can run your fingers thru it (something you can't do in my natural hair detangled or not), but when my relaxed hair was really tangled (like if you take out braids and wash hair without detangling first).. with relaxed hair, the only solution was cut if off... no comb or fingers could fix... With my natural hair, my fingers can actually detangle that mess (combs can't do anything)

Oh OK. judy4all, so your comparison isn't exactly between kinky hair and less kinky hair (which is what I thought) but rather between relaxed hair and natural hair. I've heard others too say their relaxed hair tangled more than their natural hair, so it seems it's not unusual for that to be the case. Perhaps the theory that relaxing does leave the hair cuticle partly raised--which is why some people with low porosity say their porosity "got better" (in the sense that they were able to moisturize their hair better) after it was relaxed--is why relaxed hair may seem more tangle-prone and impossible to finger-comb? Raised cuticles on strands means strands are more likely to catch on/hook on each other and tangle, while closed cuticles--or at least cuticles in their NATURAL state--give smoother strands that easily slide past each other without snagging.

I'm glad this thread was started coz it's been fun to see how different people finger-comb and plus the thread gives options for those who've considered finger-combing but been unsure on how to go about it.

 

[Embyra]

@Embyra I hadn't seen the vid coz I was on my phone when I last posted.


Oh as for the weighing hair down...that's more than happens to mine but I was thinking of more stretch if one is to use fingers shaped as a claw the way @MissAlinaRose was talmbout (unless I misunderstood her). This chick is just grabbing ends and pulling and her hair while weighed down more than mine, isn't weight down he way I had in mind. I was thinking more the way your hair dries in a stretched out state coz of your shingling. I was imagining getting that effect from conditioner and water. I've seen your hair with the strands coiled up...but your regular regimen involves using weight of product and water to make coils open up into waves. So that's what I was picturing in my head which is why I know you can run your fingers through your hair coz your coarse strands do respond to weight of products and gravity in a way that allows for that.

The slight weighing down with water this chick gets would not allow her to rake fingers from roots to ends the way you might...which is what I understood MissAlinaRose to do.

I didnt get the mention

Nonie This is why i like visuals i posted the vid-link as i knew we had different ideas totally (visually)of what each other is talking about in regards to being weighed down with water

Her hair acts JUST like mine does with water my hair isnt any more stretched than hers the stretched you are talking about i dont know providing a visual for me would be better

but your regular regimen involves using weight of product and water to make coils open up into waves

No i dont have coils in my hair which i turn into waves/or open up with water or product my isnt wavy im wondering what pictures you are talking about?erplexed

The slight weighing down with water this chick gets would not allow her to rake fingers from roots to ends the way you might...

The weighing of water is the same im able to rake as my curl is not TIGHT in the first place remember my hair is LOW porosity and its never going to be weighed down where it stretches soooo much further than that lady imo

I just choose not to fingercomb as my hair is dense and sheds ALOT i posted a pic on here and everyone else posted pics with small amounts of shed hair even after the same time period

However i do understand now in relation to the post that you are talking about coiled and shingled hair which isnt mine which is why im clarifying

 

[Embyra]

I feel like looser textures are much worse tangled than kinky, but we experience more breakage cos our hair is more fragile (again, I may be wrong)

I agree with this hair isnt a one size fits all just because you think looser hair may be easier its more to do with the texture of the hair rather than the curl itself coarse highly textured hair whenever tangled is rarely going to be easy breezy to detangle regardless of the curl size

 

[Nonie]

I didnt get the mention

@Nonie This is why i like visuals i posted the vid-link as i knew we had different ideas totally (visually)of what each other is talking about in regards to being weighed down with water

Her hair acts JUST like mine does with water my hair isnt any more stretched than hers the stretched you are talking about i dont know providing a visual for me would be better

I know this! We once had an argument about your hair type coz I was pretty sure I knew your hair type and how it'd behave. I told you that the reason your hair hangs as it does is because of product or water and that you let it drip dry. I suggested you post a pic of wet hair that was towel dried and I told you you'd see it shrink up into coils, because you've once posted a photo of your hair showing coils...so I told you then that I believed that the reason your hair dries like that is because you make it dry like that. You didn't agree but said something like "Oh so now towel drying is the way to type?" I don't think you can tell someone's type from a few staged pics. Anyway, a few months later you posted this:

Originally Posted by Embyra
Since when is raking product through hair shingling her technique looks the same as this she just does tiny sections

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWcaD...uKycw&index=10

I DONT shingle i do the above which is what the lady calls shingling but the link provided by nonie you will see its two totally different things

MISS JESSIE

Shingling is when the hair is placed flat in a pattern its like layered slates on top of each other after is dry those shingles are stretch out and divided to give you a define wavy curl pattern. finger-styling your raring fingers through the strands

I do my hair like this every time i do my hair it last about 14 days till i need to wash again before my hair is just a frizzy mess

Once you apply product with moisture on a regular basis you will see more ''curls'' which i believe is what the lady is seeing i dont believe her hair is now trained as she says

Just as I had suspected back then. And today you just confirmed that water makes your hair hang like the girl in the video you posted earlier in this thread where it hardly hangs in a way that opens up coils. Confirms what I thought of your hair texture/type and said of it back then when I suggested towel drying instead of letting weight of product/water or finger smoothing define its pattern.

No i dont have coils in my hair which i turn into waves/or open up with water or product my isnt wavy im wondering what pictures you are talking about?erplexed

I'm referring to these photos of your hair.

i am having difficulty typing my hair can you help here are some pics




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wet hair


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drying hair


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random section


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gel in hair


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yes…. er i have become addicted to taking hair pics..

When you first posted those pics, it was just the wavy photos you provided. I thought your hair looked 4A...but many thought coz of the waves it wasn't. But the pics you later added at the bottom show your hair when you haven't done that stretching you said you do each time you wash your hair. So your hair isn't just weighed down by water, it's true, but you do smooth it out with fingers to open up your curls and create the waves.

I personally think your curl is tight looking at this close up pic:

...which is why I can understand you saying that water doesn't stretch it out. But by you own admission, you do smooth product through your hair (which IMO is like shingling...I don't think a comb needs to be used for the procedure to be the same. It just might work better for type 4B people to use a comb) and that is why you end up with what looks like a loose curl:

I just choose not to fingercomb as my hair is dense and sheds ALOT i posted a pic on here and everyone else posted pics with small amounts of shed hair even after the same time period

However i do understand now in relation to the post that you are talking about coiled and shingled hair which isnt mine which is why im clarifying

I don't follow, if you don't finger comb to avoid hair shedding, wouldn't a comb remove more shed hair? I don't follow.

Also I think you asked what do I mean by hair being weighed down by water and wanted a visual. I expect that sort of reaction to happen on type 3 hair. The girl in the vid I quoted from a previous post of yours has that sort of hair. If you FF to 0:28, you will see how water weighs down on her hair so that it's not poofy but hangs from just the weight of water opening up her coils. Which is why she can rake her fingers through it at 1:13. I don't see that happening with fine 4B strands.

 

[CurlsBazillion]

Hey ladies, just wanna stop by and say I've tried finger combing and I'm shocked at how easy it was and how much less shed hairs I came out with...makes me think I've been pulling my hair out all this time. Which means my hair could get thicker?! Idk but I did a trim and between finger combing and keeping my hair stretched I'm well on my way to BSL!

 

[Embyra]

Just as I had suspected back then. And today you just confirmed that water makes your hair hang like the girl in the video you posted earlier in this thread where it hardly hangs in a way that opens up coils. Confirms what I thought of your hair texture/type and said of it back then when I suggested towel drying instead of letting weight of product/water or finger smoothing define its pattern

NonieOh ok if you look at the 2pic you calling coils
every other pic i posted in the same thread my hair doesnt look like that because i brushed my hair with a denman with gel in that picture

I did also post not in that thread months later how i cant believe i still had relaxed ends hanging around and chopped again months later

when using a denman hair that still has those smoother relaxed ends it shrinks and bunches your hair which is why my hair is in those 2 coils you are seeing in that picture ONLY
Which is why i have said to you before my hair is not coiled regardless of whether it is airdried towel dried etc below is my towel dried hair with no gel conditioner etc i do have oil ony my hair though from my shampoo
you can see there are no tight coils because that picture is not how my hair looks in its natural state hence all the other pics included where my hair looks the same



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Even in these pictures below again there are no coils and its the same section of hair your talking about

http://public.fotki.com/Belgravia/desktop/photo233.html


Yes i was saying water doesnt stretch my hair out where it opens anything up or loosens anything out to ''create'' a curl as my hair is not coiled in the first place which is why my hair is a loose curl in the below picture and all the others

...which is why I can understand you saying that water doesn't stretch it out. But by you own admission, you do smooth product through your hair (which IMO is like shingling...I don't think a comb needs to be used for the procedure to be the same. It just might work better for type 4B people to use a comb) and that is why you end up with what looks like a loose curl:

But the pics you later added at the bottom show your hair when you haven't done that stretching you said you do each time you wash your hair. So your hair isn't just weighed down by water, it's true, but you do smooth it out with fingers to open up your curls and create the waves.

NO those pictures do not show my hair in its unstretched state its better you disregard had i have know you was going by those pics i would have told you all this ages ago

Yes i do fingerstyle each time i wash but there are no coils to open up and no waves to create
i dont think fingerstyling is going to open up any tight coil and turn it into a curl its the same as how some people fingercomb after all

Miss jessie have 2 different vids as they are very different which is why i included the quote from them describing the difference fingerstyling is what i said i do every 14 days not shingling

I don't follow, if you don't finger comb to avoid hair shedding, wouldn't a comb remove more shed hair? I don't follow.

Yes i said i choose NOT to fingercomb as i shed too much which is why i use a comb
i said compared to others on here from the pics i shed much more than most
I wasnt disagreeing with something you said

Also I think you asked what do I mean by hair being weighed down by water and wanted a visual. I expect that sort of reaction to happen on type 3 hair. The girl in the vid I quoted from a previous post of yours has that sort of hair. If you FF to 0:28, you will see how water weighs down on her hair so that it's not poofy but hangs from just the weight of water opening up her coils. Which is why she can rake her fingers through it at 1:13. I don't see that happening with fine 4B strands.[/QUOTE]

 

[Adonia1987]

Thanks for posting this thread. I am going to try finger combing. I have baby fine, low density hair so it might be a challenge. My hair is in cornrows under a wig most of the time now so this should not be too complicated. I am more worried about getting all the shed hair out rather than the tangling. I have been combing, then brushing my hair weekly and was starting to worry about the possible damage. I will report back when I try it this weekend.

 

[JJamiah]

I tried finger combing and she's a keeper

I am so glad I tried it Alot less hair came out and it was easier to detangle my hair.

THanks every one

 

[manter26]

I'm a very fine 4A (some 4B) with VERY high density...SN: I kinda feel like fine stranded chicks have to have more hair on their head than the average person just because our strands are so fine...

Anyway, I finger detangled (all except one section) and it took forever! I was in my hair for at least 5 hours. It was quite frustrating. I took out my old braids, shampooed loose and DC with cholesterol and steam loose. Last time I braided my hair up as I detangled with the DC and rinsed in braids. This time I was concerned about it rinsing completely clean so I skipped the braids. ...I should have known better. My hair dried as I was trying to style it and it was unstretched. I rewet it with aloe vera and used Curl Enhancing Smoothie before braiding but it was still a nightmare.

I did have less shed hair, I think. And I typically use a shower comb and denman in the shower. When I get out there are little broken hairs all over the walls. I washed in the sink and saw maybe one or two short pieces...not bad for me. I'm also using MT 3-4x a week so that probably has something to do with it.

I try finger detangling again and this time braid it up after the conditioner detangle and unbraid one at a time to rinse. Even though that way takes forever, I'm sure it will save me time in the long run. It took more than 5 hours to do 35 braids. erplexed

 

[classychic1908]

I detangle my hair using my fingers under the shower head. For me, it causes less breakage because I can feel for the tangles and gently release them.

 

[Bublin]

Embrya your hair is gorgeous!

 

[Seeking8Rights]

Im 3c and when i was natural not combing was asking for single strand nightmare and knot city. it was as if my natural hair would stick together after drying erplexed It does work for some folks hair though.

This is me. I'm a 4a and I have to comb. In fact, I just paid the price for not combing for two weeks and just washing and fingering my hair into a pony.

I'm at shoulder length, layered when pressed and about neck length when wet. Because of the knotting, I've just decided that I would just wash and press my hair every 2 weeks (no heat in between), for me this is low manipulation.

I find that I lose more hair during a wash n go period than wash/press.

 

[Embyra]

Embrya your hair is gorgeous!

Aww thanks Bublin