By Cipriana of Urbanbushbabes.com
To comb or not to comb that is the question! Well for those who know my hair practices the answer is obvious. For those who don’t, let me just say the comb has become a distant memory…….comb what, comb who? All jokes aside for my hair I feel finger detangling on dry hair has become a necessity, not an option at this stage of the game.
Type 4 hair is the most fragile of all hair types because every curling point along the strand is a potential point of breakage and the curlier the hair the more potential points of breakage. In additiona, we curlies have to factor in dryness that results from a lack of sebum traveling down our highly textured strands. (Sebum is an oily substance, released from microscopic subaceous glands on the scalp, that lubrciate the skin and hair.)
Given these factors I prefer finger detangling, and I personally have seen a huge improvement in density, length and health of my hair due to finger detangling. But I’m not here to delude you — finger detangling does add more time to your detangling sessions and I know this is not what most people want to hear but sometimes more work is required to reach your personal hair goals.
Fingers can feel more tangles that you can try to undo as opposed to a comb that sometimes will not pick up until it is too late and SNAP your strand. Now I tried finger detangling years ago and it was an epic fail and this was only because I was not properly and thoroughly taking the time to completely detangle my hair. The result was patches of dreads in some areas of my hair which eventually I had to cut out. Now I have mastered my detangling method so well I can take a section of finger detangled hair and run a fine tooth comb clean through (I would never suggest a fine tooth comb ya’ll, just making a point). If you have never tried finger detangling and want to give it a shot here is what I would suggest; after finger detangling a small section of hair run a wide tooth comb through that section to test your work. If it goes through, then you’ve done the job right. If not, you have more work to do.
Although finger detangling is my preferred method, I know that time is a prohibitive factor. Keep in mind that longer hair equals more work and time — and if you don’t want to put in that time, shorter hair might be the best option. But if you take the time to master finger detangling it can change the life of your hair.
Do you detangle with your comb or your fingers? Which method do you prefer and why?
Ive tried finger detangling on dry hair- when I can’t keeps my hands out of it- and it only ends in sorrow for me. I always end up with a crazy knot that I end up having to cut out. I’ve learned that I can’t play with my hair when it dry for this reason. Its much easier for me to detangle when wet, but even then I use a comb. I find its easier than anything else. I comb my hair under running water.
I only detangle after my DC, I will first detangle with my hands and then go over with a wide toothed comb, plait my hair into sections and rinse. I get lots of SSK and breakage if I try to dry detangle.
I’m with you, Cipriana.
Finger detangling has become part of my routine. I lose less hair that way. I finger detangle, in sections, as I do my oil wash pre-poo (I use amla oil). By the time I get to rinsing out my Deep Conditioner, I lightly comb through a section at a time with my shower comb. I lose little if any hair. It freaked me out at first but after doing it so much, I now attribute minimal hair loss to finger detangling.
Finger detangling definitely reduces breakage. I do it dry before washing. However, I get breakage when styling.
I tried finger detangling and I failed. It takes me all day to finger detangle, literally 8-10 hours. My hair hates being manipulated dry. I use a denman-type brush to detangle my hair. I detangle after shampoo with tons of conditioner in my hair, it still takes about 1.5 hours.
I almost gave up on finger detangling after experiencing bad matting in the crown. Maybe i’m not doing it right?txs for the tips.
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Finger Detangler all the way! I used to use the comb each time I washed and conditioned my hair,but I gave up that practice almost 9 months ago because 1.) For me it’s less frustrating than using the comb, 2.) less time consuming, and 3.) it’s gentler on my hair with less breakage.
I get the same results with finger detangling as I did wit the comb! It’s what works for me!
I finger detangle sometimes, but only the ends of my hair seem to tangle, so maybe I just need a trim.
I haven’t used my denman brush in a year, and the only comb that ever gets a little action is my shower comb, used after I finger detangle to help spread conditioner.
I am a comb person finger detangling seems to take too long, I feel the longer I am in my hair the more manipulation which means more damage I am consider a type 4a-b. I will finger detangle in the shower just cause the running water gives me a chance to remove minor knots that have the potential of becoming big bad knots, and hair flow through better. When detangling while cleansing my hair also allows me to assess the stretch of my hair, and any problem areas. Once out the shower I go to a shower/wide tooth comb. and only finger detangle as per needed bases when styling.
I finger detangle and finger style 100 percent of the time. Using my hands allows me to feel for split ends or knots better and I have way less breakage and frustration.
I think my first two comments are lost in cyber space so here is a summary just in case they don’t pop up later.
1. Natural almost 6 years and finger detangling exclusively for a little more than a year.
2. After the first 4 months of finger detangling I ran a comb through it to make sure I was getting all the tangles and knots…the comb glided through the hair smoothly.
3. It usally takes about 30-35 minutes at most to get through my entire head of hair. After shampooing and while the conditioner is still in my hair I separate it into 6 sections then proceed to detangle each section at a time.
4. For reference, I have what I believe is 4a medium/fine hair that is about 3 inches away from waist length when stretched.
In my earlier post, I forgot to mention:
5. I have barely any shed hair when finger detangling compared to when I detangled with a comb. This leads me to believe that most of what I thought was shed hair was probably breakage plus hair that was pulled from the root with the comb.
6. I only detangle once a week (for the last 6 years) after washing and conditioning even if I decide to add a midweek co-wash.
I have to get better with the finger detangling part. It is time consuming. I know it’s better than using a comb. I have 4b4c hair.
I started finger detangling exclusively about 6 or so months ago. Along with altering other hair habits my hair loathed, finger detangling has made a tremendous difference in my hair! The only thing I use a comb for is to coil my ends when I braid it up at night. My hair is collar bone length stretched, medium density and very tightly coiled and very, very fine, and LOVES finger detangling. My routine is to spritz with water, prepoo with a castor, avocado & coconut oil mixture, and finger detangle. It takes about an hour. Then I braid it in about 10 braids and let it sit for an hour or so. Then I continue with my DC and poo or cowashing. My breakage has decreased 90%. What I also noticed is that my coils look so much better, clump better and feel better now that I’m not using a comb or brush. Combing really disrupts my coil pattern and creates an environment for more tangles and frizz.
I use a comb. It works for me so I’ve never even felt the need to try finger combing.
I use a wide tooth comb then follow with the denman for my detangling sessions which are usually biweekly when I shampoo. I like for my ends to be completely smooth and tangle free. I finger detangle on the weeks in between when I just cowash b/c my hair doesn’t get all that tangled. I would go to a no-poo method if I didn’t have seborrhea dermatitis which = flaky/scaly scalp.
I finger-detangle on sectioned (10 parts), oiled or conditioner-coated hair before shampooing. I’ve been finger-detangling for over a year and it takes me 30-45 mins to do my whole head. Finger-detangling has greatly reduced detangling-related breakage in my medium length, afro-textured hair.
Can you finger comb a 3 inches TWA with 4a/4b hair?
I tried but it was just a mess.
Seems like the shorter your hair the easier it would be to finger comb. Also less time consuming.
Really?? Well, I guess I have to try again.
I do it more times than not. On the days that I wash my hair, I actually don’t use my fingers to detangle–I just do my normal wash, condition, and leave-in steps. When I detangle with the leave-in, I use a wide-tooth comb. On the days when I’m styling my hair (without washing it first), I detangle with my fingers. I first create about four or five sections then start working my fingers through the smaller sections of the larger sections.
The only time I consistently use my fingers is for parting my hair, whether I’ve just washed it or whether I’m restyling between washes. For whatever reason, I don’t like the idea of using a comb to create parts in my hair.
I try best not to manipulate my hair dry, but sometimes (not very often at all) I just comb through a braid out for an afro if I’m not feeling blow-drying. If I take hair out I only manipulate it when I make it elastic-y again by spraying with water, putting in my leave-in conditioner and sealing it in.. then I manipulate my hair to whatever style I want. It works this way cause the hair becomes less taught, springy, and knots slip apart quite easily :)
Finger detangling on dry hair? Not gonna happen for me, too much time and effort lol! But what I’m doing seems to be working for me so I’ll stick to it.