Fingercombing?

[miyeena]

Did it do anything good for your hair? What are the pros and cons?

[itskate]

Maybe it's too early to tell long term, but I've been finger combing thoroughly every morning before I shower ( then use a tangle teezer after condtioner), or only finger combing if I'm not getting my hair wet. I was experiencing really hard to comb hair and lots of breakage, so this technique lets me find and gently undo the actual knots the tangle teezer would just rip. I think it's keeping my hair from lots of unnecessary damage.

[miyeena]

Maybe it's too early to tell long term, but I've been finger combing thoroughly every morning before I shower ( then use a tangle teezer after condtioner), or only finger combing if I'm not getting my hair wet. I was experiencing really hard to comb hair and lots of breakage, so this technique lets me find and gently undo the actual knots the tangle teezer would just rip. I think it's keeping my hair from lots of unnecessary damage.

Yes, I feel that way too. I've started doing it recently after constant comb/brush breakage.

[Elizabeth E]

I always finger comb my hair before doing regular detangling and I've found it to help a lot - not only does the comb slide through my hair easier afterwards, but I also experience less shedding. I have found a slight increase in scalp flakiness though, so I think it's good to still use a brush on your hair every now and again (around once a week) to remove that.

[lapushka]

Did it do anything good for your hair? What are the pros and cons?

I weekly wash. That means I only brush my hair before a wash, dry, with a TT dupe and after it comes out the towel with my Wet brush dupe.

The rest of the week, usually Tuesday through Saturday, I finger detangle in the evenings (I never detangle before putting my hair up). Monday I don't need to do a thing because no hair will be coming out since I just washed - it's always been that way.

I don't rake my fingers through my hair like a comb, though! I separate the strands, in half, and in 3s and I get the sheds out by stroking along the parts. It works really well; that is what finger detangling is to me and I do it to keep a little bit of my wave pattern intact throughout the week.

My signature is slept-on hair. Monday.

[Zesty]

I finger combed only for a while. I went back to using tools because I missed that smooth look, which I couldn't get with just my fingers. I don't find that brushing is any more damaging in my case. But if the smoothness thing doesn't bother you and you get fewer snapped hairs with just your fingers, more power to you.

[spidermom]

I think over time tiny tangles can build up into knots if finger combing is all one does. I remember a thread or blog entry about this.

[EdG]

I recommend finger-combing and using a wide-tooth wooden comb.

Pros: finger-combing is gentle. It can get out folds and twists in the hair that can pass right through the tines of a wide-tooth comb.

Cons: finger-combing is not thorough. One does not have enough fingers. This is why finger-combing needs to be followed by using an actual comb. :)
Ed

[Groovy Granny]

I only finger comb if I am quickly refreshing an updo; my hair is too fine to do it on a regular basis.
If I don't use my Vented BBB Wet Brush to detangle, it will be a knotted mess....and it looks it :p

[MoonChildCurls]

I mostly finger comb and have been for a while. I'll use a wide tooth comb occasionally just because it feels nice. I've noticed a big difference with breakage.

[daisy rei]

I noticed the benefits of finger combing even before I joined LHC. The oil from my fingers helps smooth out any frizziness and also softens the stiff, slightly dry ends of my hair.

I always finger comb before detangling with a wide tooth comb and I always detangle before showering or putting my hair up. I would never use a Tangle Teezer before finger combing because it rips any knots out, causing immediate breakage. Normally, my hair is so fine and slippery that I just have to lightly pull on knots for them to slip right out. Using a comb instead would cause the knots to tighten even more.

[Reyn127]

I have been finger combing ONLY for a little over 2.5 years. I haven’t had one comb or brush touch my hair in that entire time, and at this point, I doubt a will go back.

I find that is is much more gentle on your hair. You can more easily feel tangles and gently remove them, rather than running into it and raking it through with your comb because you can’t physically feel the tangles It helped me immensely with the amount of breakage, from combing over the same spot multiple times with something that had zero flex or give - basically when I was using a comb/brush, the hair at the back of my head would get brushed twice, and the bristles not being able to flex caused a lot of breakage. Doing finger combing, I break, at a maximum, 3-5 hairs each time, whereas before it was a bunch.

I personally disagree that fingercombing is less thorough. It just takes longer. I can still easily get to the point where I can stick my hand anywhere in my hair and run it through easily to the ends. It’s really just a matter of how much time and awareness you want to spend on your hair.

Brushing/combing traditionally will definitely be quicker, but in my experience you’ll be breaking more hairs with the tool than you would using your hands.

[Chromis]

My hands are too rough for finger combing :laugh:

I do use my fingers to gently work apart any knots. Basically I stop the moment I feel resistance when I comb, but I can't just use my fingers instead of the comb.

[Zesty]

I will say that I finger comb a bit before brushing, and during if I hit a tangle. The bristles on my Tek brush are flexible so I have time to stop before it breaks hairs, and I get out knots with my fingers. :) I don't use a comb very often because of the lack of flexibility.

[nycelle]

Properly finger combing, without using any other tools is way too time consuming for me. If I had all that extra time, I'd probably do it. But since I don't, I only finger comb to get any larger tangles out. After that, I use a WTC.

[Begemot]

I finger comb after washing, then brush. I also finger comb after sleeping and when I get tangles (oiled fingers work best for me). I wouldn't toss my brush and just do finger combing though.

[lapushka]

I think over time tiny tangles can build up into knots if finger combing is all one does. I remember a thread or blog entry about this.

I never got knots with this technique from APL up to FTL. As of FTL I seemed to suddenly start getting knots but it was due to the way I combed my hair out and put my stylers in. It is largely due to that. I have to keep straight and brush it out nice and smooth after my wash!

[MusicalSpoons]

I have the time usually, but not the energy to properly, thoroughly detangle with just my fingers. So I comb, and stop when I encounter a tangle to take out with my fingers. Honestly if I had the energy I'd probably use it to do more interesting or elaborate styles :p

Oh, I used to think fingercombing meant raking my fingers through my hair, and I shed WAY more when I sometimes did that! Even now, if I run my fingers through freshly combed hair I'll still end up with hairs coming out between my fingers :confused: it's bizarre.

[Sparkles122]

I’ve finger combed my hair for the last 17 years. I dont own a brush

[Hairkay]

Finger combing is gentler on my hair and allows me to feel knots. It does take more time than combing or brushing. I get less breakage this way. It allows my curl clumps to form. Using a wide tooth comb will get out more lint than my fingers can but pulling the comb through hair in a rush can actually make tangles or make them worse. It's best to work in sections throughout the hair length. Either way, I have found that daily detangling or combing is too much for my hair. Once a week is best.

[blackgothicdoll]

I can't seem to make finger detangling work, I do it on wet hair and it dries with webbing and tangles something awful. I do it lightly on dry hair just by manually picking clumps apart and undoing knots, but I couldn't possible fully detangle my hair that way, it would take a lifetime. Denman brush on wet hair works best for me. Once it's dry I leave it alone until it's time to wash, then it's fingers and a wooden comb.

[lithostoic]

Doesn't work for me. I end up with dozens of tiny knots. I lightly fingercomb in between brushing which I only do once or twice a week.

[gossamer]

Finger combing is all I do. I have a Tangle Teezer more for loosening dry skin on my scalp before washing than for its detangling benefits - I actually think it makes my knots tighter than when I can go at them strand by strand with my fingers.

[spidermom]

I never rake my comb through resistance except maybe once in a great while when I'm impatient and in a hurry.

[lapushka]

I never rake my comb through resistance except maybe once in a great while when I'm impatient and in a hurry.

Yeah: never, and with a brush: same. It's a big no-no!

[Natalia_A00]

I was getting a lot of split ends and I couldn't figure out why (I never use heat or dye my hair) so I guessed it was brush damage. Since I fingercomb to detangle my hair I've notice that I have less split ends. I think it actually helps. I usually detangle fingercombing and then I comb carefully with a wide tooth comb

[Natalia_A00]

I know that I shouldn't use brushes but for example, if I'm in a hurry I can't spend 10 fingercombing lol Also I think my hair looks more beautiful properly brushed

[H o n є y ❤]

I finger detangle 99.9% of the time. Combing all the time would probably cause unnecessary mechanical damage and finger detangling works for me. So I just stick to that.

[Henrietta]

I finger comb 99.99% of the time. I have been doing so for years.
But I don't wear my hair down and I'm not sure if finger combing/finger detangling would be enough for my hair if I did. Maybe not. But since I don't really need any detangling (because I don't have tangles ;) ) and much smoothing, I'm completely fine.

I admit combs do give me smoother hair around my head (the rest is in a bun anyway) but: 1. with finger combing it's still smooth enough. Less smooth, but enough. 2. After a few hours, the combination of wind and lots of baby hairs gives me a hair halo made of small strands and single hairs anyway, so it doesn't really matter if I start with 80% smooth hair from finger combing, or 95% from a comb, or 100% smooth from a brush.

Cons: none for me
Pros: no pain! (I hate the feeling of single hairs being pulled by a comb). No breakage at all (I'm quite happy when I think about all those single hairs that I saved that would inevitably be broken/pulled out with a comb. Maybe it would be 1 a day, really. If I'm super gentle, that's possible. But over the years that builds up.) One less tool to worry about and carry around.

[Deborah]

I used to finger detangle after washing my hair, before combing or brushing, but since using a wet brush after washing, I don't even need to do it then. I would absolutely never consider using it instead of brushing. I believe the scalp needs stimulation, and with straight hair it looks better if the hairs are not bunched up together.

[meteor]

I think I can get away with finger-detangling, if the hair is already dry and pretty tangle-free to begin with.
I need tools (wide-tooth comb and/or tangle teezer - thick & curly edition) when the hair is getting detangled for the first time after a wash, simply because I get lots of knots and strands stuck together when it goes from wet to dry.

After a while of fingercombing, I do get some build-up of tiny knots, plus it really takes so much more time compared to using a tangle teezer and/or a wide-tooth comb. My hair tends dread pretty quickly if it's not immobilized in well-organized updos and detangled at least every few days. The worst areas for tangling on me are shoulder-to-armpit areas on face-framing hair - that's where I need more than just finger-combing, for sure.