What is the best type of comb for long hair?

[Leslieslsa]

I have a horned comb I got off of ebay, but now I am hearing of sandlewood combs. Which are better?

[Johannah]

Wooden combs work personally better for me. I use a wooden comb from the Body Shop :)

[woolyleprechaun]

Um. Tough question :)
I have a lovely horn comb, but it is quite hard and can only be used on virtually tangle free hair (for me). I've got a big Body Shop wide toothed wooden comb which is an awesome comb. I do own several sizes of sandalwood comb, and they are beautiful things indeed; the colour and scent of them after oiling is lovely and they seem to 'glow'. A far as wooden combs go, I think sandalwood is the nicest. They seem softer somehow.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Wooden combs work personally better for me. I use a wooden comb from the Body Shop :)

Me too! I love these combs!

[meteor]

I also like the Body Shop comb. It's very affordable, and, most importantly, you can find The Body Shop locations anywhere. I think it's very important to see and feel the comb before buying it.
From my experience, the wider the teeth, the less mechanical damage the hair will sustain.

[Madora]

While I've never used either, it would seem to me that a wooden comb would be less prone to breakage than a horn comb. You drop the horn comb on something hard and chances are it will split or break.

[starlamelissa]

seamless plastic combs! i hate wooden combs.

[VixenWolfMare]

this one is my favorite.
http://madoralonghair.com/products-page/combs-and-brushes/madora-detangler-comb

[Madora]

seamless plastic combs! i hate wooden combs.Yes, indeed! Sally's has some wonderful ones..dead cheap too!

[Long_hair_bear]

I also use the Body Shops wooden comb. I love it! It was like $10 with shipping.

[MeowScat]

I've only used seamless plastic wide-tooth combs for over a decade (maybe two decades, come to think of it) and they have been awesome! I can use them in the shower without ruining them. I have one in my purse and if it were to break (never happened), I don't have to feel bad about killing an expensive comb. They also distribute oil pretty well.


Here's a pic of my shower comb, it's over 10 years old. I took this pic of it in my hand to show you the size and how far apart the teeth are:


http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w388/MeowScat/Mobile%20Uploads/image-3.jpg (http://s1073.photobucket.com/user/MeowScat/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-3.jpg.html)

[AmyBeth]

this one is my favorite.
http://madoralonghair.com/products-page/combs-and-brushes/madora-detangler-comb

I have this comb and I LOVE it. I never knew a comb could be so different! It really glides through my hair like a hot knife through butter.

[Agnes Hannah]

I have a wooden comb also from Body Shop, and I also have a couple of handmade combs from Kent, both are useful, just be gentle when detangling.

[Rio040113]

I have the Mason Pearson rake comb and I love it :) I'd like to try a wooden comb at some point but I doubt I'll ever give up my MP!

[trolleypup]

The comb that works the best for YOUR hair.

I use a fine toothed wooden comb (made from a very fine grained hardwood-I forget which) that was painstakingly sanded smoother and soaked in oil...but I don't comb until my hair is essentially completely detangled.

[LadyLongLocks]

this one is my favorite.
http://madoralonghair.com/products-page/combs-and-brushes/madora-detangler-comb
I own this comb and it is wonderful!I just featured it on a youtube video (http://youtu.be/gH84uWZFxsM)!
I personally dislike wooden combs.
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/JJJLonghair/COMBS%20lg%20files%204%20sharing/combandcase.jpg

[Loviatar]

I agree with Trolleypup, it's a YMMV situation. I want to love wooden combs but something about the feel of them in my hair puts me off. Makes no sense as I love wooden hair toys. Anyway my favourite combs are the Mason Pearson rake and dressing combs. Rake is used in the shower, dressing comb is used to smooth dry hair once I've detangled.

I have a mini horn comb and like it a lot. I may get a larger one some day but I'm worried I'd drop it.

[DweamGoiL]

I have had 2 Sierra Legacy Che-Chen combs for over 12 years now. I love them. But, I also do use wide toothed plastic ones for daily styling. The wooden combs are exclusively for detangling when I can spend time on my hair.

[jacqueline101]

Yes, indeed! Sally's has some wonderful ones..dead cheap too!

I agree except I but my plastic combs at dollar general.

[meteor]

Interesting! A few of you mentioned you don't like the feel of wooden combs. Is horn or resin or plastic somewhat better? And what exactly are potential problems with wood - is it the dryness?
I use wood, but I'm always ready to shop for better tools.

[bunzfan]

Wooden combs work personally better for me. I use a wooden comb from the Body Shop :)

Got one just before Christmas i love it less splits now i've banished the TT .

[GoddesJourney]

I have a Heavenly Harvest wide tooth horn comb and I love the feel. I actually just pulled it out last night as I now realize my hair is long enough to comb again. :) I have been using a denman brush exclusively for the last year. I owned a couple of Body Shop combs and honestly I didn't like them much. They were too light to feel good in my hand and strange in my hair. Also, I use my horn comb wet and the wooded one warped when I did this. I can't have nice things unless they're durable. ;)

I just ordered a Heavenly Harvest peach wood wide tooth comb, so we'll see how that goes. I'm bidding on a different kind of wooden comb on ebay right now, so we'll just see how it all goes. I may just not like the way wooden combs feel, but I kind of think it was just the type I had and how my hair just wasn't that into it.

I keep a plastic wide tooth comb that I carefully sanded at work and another one in the little bag I travel with. You know, the green ones you buy at Sally's that claim to have olive oil or something in them? Those have been pretty good to me. They're pretty smooth.

[meteor]

GoddesJourney, thank you very much for the details on the feel of wooden combs. :) Now I want to experiment with other wooden combs myself, as I feel some dryness but don't have enough experience with many tools to compare.

About that comb that claims to have olive oil in it, I just wanted to caution that, even though it's quite possibly a very nice comb, oil-infused combs don't really release any oil into hair, so it's a marketing trick. I think this post summarizes it well: http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2013/11/oil-infused-combs-gimmick-or-real.html

I notice many recommend specifically sandalwood over other types of wood. On what basis should we select the type of wood for combs?

[Angel Barchild]

I agree except I but my plastic combs at dollar general.

I am with you. I love my $2 plastic, Conair, wide toothed, plastic comb I bought at Dollar General. Best investment ever.

[cat11]

^Very interested in wood selection as well. I wanted to get myself a nice, durable comb and brush that I can have for a long time when I get my tax return. Im having a hard time deciding between horn and wood though, although the waterproof factor is really making me lean towards horn for the comb (and wood still, for the brush.) I was thinking of going with tan's for the brush, it's 30$ for the regular one on amazon

[swearnsue]

I've haven't had much luck finding a comb that is smooth between the teeth. I've bought a couple and before I run it through my hair I run it along my silk pillowcase. The comb I bought from Sally's was the most horrible comb, it was called Ionic something comb.

Another comb I tried was Swissco "tortoise shell" comb. The description said polished smooth and it wasn't cheap. It felt great in my hand but didn't pass the silk pillowcase test. Hubby tried to smooth it or polish it with some tools in the garage but he said it melted. Rats!

I wouldn't mind spending up to $10 on a good comb. I'm not being picky, these combs were really awful, I wouldn't even use them on a short haired dog. Just thought of a good present to give my old boss! LOL.

[GoddesJourney]

GoddesJourney, thank you very much for the details on the feel of wooden combs. :) Now I want to experiment with other wooden combs myself, as I feel some dryness but don't have enough experience with many tools to compare.

About that comb that claims to have olive oil in it, I just wanted to caution that, even though it's quite possibly a very nice comb, oil-infused combs don't really release any oil into hair, so it's a marketing trick. I think this post summarizes it well: http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2013/11/oil-infused-combs-gimmick-or-real.html

I notice many recommend specifically sandalwood over other types of wood. On what basis should we select the type of wood for combs?


Right, I just bought that plastic one for the shape and smoothness of material. No way the "oil" would leak out or anything.

As for wooden combs...you want one from what I understand that has a tight grain so it can be smoother. Peach and sandalwood are supposed to be good for combs. I'm waiting on a purple heart wood comb right now. I would assume that keeping it lightly oiled would make it feel nicer in your hair. This may happen on its own by picking up oils from your hair or by oiling it directly.