Combs. Damage.

[catoala]

Does anybody here also *hate* combs? They rip the hair badly in my case.. Despite being gentle and seamless.. Hmm.

[Tinyponies]

Hi catoala! Have you tried a comb recently?

I always thought I hated combs too but have been very surprised to find that I love my wooden wide toothed comb now that I don’t expect it to behave like a brush. I always thought I brushed my hair normally but it was just what my mum taught me, and it was very damaging. I started using my comb again after coming here in October and am still learning new ways to be more gentle with it, like holding it very lightly in my fingers so that it stops at the slightest snag.

[milosmomma]

I think they CAN be damaging if I rush through tangles. Maybe you'd just prefer a tangle teezer or wet brush? I can be as rough as anything with those and get minimal ripping.

[catoala]

I don't use combs at all. I use a normal paddle brush, but I'm just curious has anyone ever entercoured these issues. I tried many combs (again. seamless) and each one gave me terrible breakage.

[StellaStellitsa]

My comb, although wide toothed, has a seam. I think it causes some breaking and split ends in my hair, though not that bad as it was in the past when I still used a brush. I wish one day to get a seamless comb. So, no, I don't happen to hate combs, although the close toothed ones get stuck in my hair.

[chestnutlocks]

I use my wide tooth wooden comb to detangle. I find it gentler on my hair than my wet brush. I follow the same routine as Tinyponies (hold it lightly in my fingers and stop at the slightest snag).

[Groovy Granny]

I only use my Conair wide tooth comb to section my hair for half ups because it is so fine/wispy.

My wood comb is too thick to use now because my hair has become so fine.
Perhaps in the Summer it will work better when I triple in volume from humid air curl explosions :hmm:

But no...I have never had comb damage, and I used combs exclusively before LHC ;)

[EdG]

Try wetting the hair slightly before combing. I use an eyedropper. The dampness adds slip.
Ed

[lapushka]

I don't use combs at all. I use a normal paddle brush, but I'm just curious has anyone ever entercoured these issues. I tried many combs (again. seamless) and each one gave me terrible breakage.

What is the condition of your hair? Do you have heat damage?

Did you heat style before coming here?

How long is your hair now? What texture is it?

All important things to note & know.

[catoala]

My comb, although wide toothed, has a seam. I think it causes some breaking and split ends in my hair, though not that bad as it was in the past when I still used a brush. I wish one day to get a seamless comb. So, no, I don't happen to hate combs, although the close toothed ones get stuck in my hair.

Use a nail file to file the comb down and test in hose. ;)

[catoala]

What is the condition of your hair? Do you have heat damage?

Did you heat style before coming here?

How long is your hair now? What texture is it?

All important things to note & know.

My hair is healthy. Normal brekwage here and there. I don't have heat damage or anything like that. I don't use anything besides sometimes blow drier with a diffuser on cool setting.

It's midback: 1b.

[akurah]

The spacing between the tines matter, and you don't give indication of what type of combs you tried. Wide tooth combs are best for detangling, narrow tooth combs are for styling typically.

Also for a comb to be truly seamless it needs to be carved. Most combs are mold injected and those generate seams, and I personally don't think it's possible to adequately sand those down. You can get carved combs out of wood, horn, and various kinds of plastics and trains. Plastic and resin carved combs have some visual "tells" that can make them easier to identify once you're familiar with how they look.

[lapushka]

My hair is healthy. Normal brekwage here and there. I don't have heat damage or anything like that. I don't use anything besides sometimes blow drier with a diffuser on cool setting.

It's midback: 1b.

I just wondered because you said breakage.

Aren't you using a paddle brush though, instead of a comb. Because you said that that is what you were using. Maybe the breakage is from that brush?

[AutobotsAttack]

Depends on hair texture as well.
I have Afro textured hair that doesn’t really like anything to do with combs or brushes. Doesn’t matter what comb or brush, just the mechanical motion of combing and brushing causes unnecessary breakage. Could possibly be your hair texture telling you that combing in general may not be the best option, or at least not as frequent. You can always try finger combing, or combing in smaller sections.

[meteor]

I don't use combs at all. I use a normal paddle brush, but I'm just curious has anyone ever entercoured these issues. I tried many combs (again. seamless) and each one gave me terrible breakage.

My hair is wavy and thick and paddle brushes don't work at all - they don't get through even top canopy hair and actually either get stuck in my hair right away or fly off. But wide-tooth seamless combs and picks work really nicely for it. But smoothness, material, lack of seams, thinness, density and length of tines, etc... matter a lot.

[Longlegs]

I use a wide tooth comb, the widest I could find, it only has 4 'teeth' but my hair is very thick, and I have to be slow and gentle when using it. I don't use brushes for the same reasons as above. I don't really enjoy combing my hair but it has to be done once a day to keep my hair tangle free.

[MsPharaohMoan]

I despise combs. Healthy enough hair, it's just that it's thin and prone to tangle. Detangling used to take a good 20-30 mins with my comb, especially if I wanted to make sure I wasn't ripping through smaller knots. Seamless or otherwise, I always had to take a ton of time and sectioning to get through my entire head. Tangle teezer makes detangling take a minute, no joke. Of course, your mileage may vary.

[Simsy]

I have used a paddle brush in the past and found my curls tended to split heavily; not that I realised that was the problem at the time. Tangle teezers also lead to frayed ends for me; again, didn’t realise this was the issue until I stopped for a couple of months. Plastic combs are even worse; actively ripping strands while detangling (used once as a kid and lost 2 inches in one session). For me, the material of the comb mattered a lot more than I realised. A wooden comb has done what several brushes and tools didn’t; made my curls happier and my ends are far less damaged.

Technique matters as well. Rough brushing will cause problems, regardless of what you’re using. Working gently from the ends up is better overall. But as with most things hair and scalp related; mileage will vary widely.

[Jo Ann]

I use a wide-tooth wet hair comb, starting from the bottom and working my way up my hair. I stop when I hit a snag and gently pull the hair out of the knot, then comb again until my comb can go smoothly through my dry hair. ONLY after I have combed my hair do I use a brush!

[UP Lisa]

I can't use a comb at all. It doesn't matter if it's seamless, wooden, or whatever. I have the kind of hair that you can comb through time and again and it tangles right back up. It is rather like a spider web. I can just hear it snapping if I try to get a comb through it. The only way is in the shower with it coated in conditioner.

[Natalia_A00]

I don't like them either, I find much more difficult and slow to detangle my hair with them. Also they don't usually make my hair feel smooth

[Ligeia Noire]

I only use combs. Can't detangle my hair with brushes... i use the TT to brush when it is detangled and dry... the BBB to smooth and the rest is all my old conair comb. And another thing that never seemed to work for me are wide spaced teeth combs. They just don't do anything and it takes more strokes to detangle and mine is a EIA acetate shampoo comb which is not even that wide spaced.. i do need to buy a seemless comb though. I think whatever you use be gentleand work the tangles slowly..

[Siv]

I despise combs. Healthy enough hair, it's just that it's thin and prone to tangle. Detangling used to take a good 20-30 mins with my comb, especially if I wanted to make sure I wasn't ripping through smaller knots. Seamless or otherwise, I always had to take a ton of time and sectioning to get through my entire head. Tangle teezer makes detangling take a minute, no joke. Of course, your mileage may vary.


I can't use a comb at all. It doesn't matter if it's seamless, wooden, or whatever. I have the kind of hair that you can comb through time and again and it tangles right back up. It is rather like a spider web. I can just hear it snapping if I try to get a comb through it. The only way is in the shower with it coated in conditioner.

Me too! ^

Maybe it could partly be a fine haired thing? Tends to tangle a lot...

With any wide tooth comb I've tried I had to do more finger detangling than combing to avoid breakage... The comb felt kind of superfluous after all that finger detangling

[Reservechic]

I have fine textured hair and in some areas around the perimeter of the front area of my head,,very fine textured hair. My hair is also curly, but I don't have much of a curl pattern to my hair though. my hair is of low density as well. When I have used a wide toothed comb, it actually takes me longer to fully detangle my hair than with a brush. And, that is because with the brush, my hair is being smoothed out in a way that a couple,b can't achieve. With my Denman brush, I can go through sections of my hair much quicker, and I also feel that because I use a brush to thoroughly detangle my hair on my hair wash days, and then use my fingers in-between such, my tangles and shedding that I see has been greatly minimized. I also don't have any problems with frizz or even lots of shrinkage yo my curls anymore to my very long, period of using a brush on my hair to detangle it with. However, I must add that when I detangle my hair on my hair wash days, I do it while my hair is in a very soaking wet stage, taking one small section at a time, applying styling product to it, and then doing a thorough detangle get of my hair with my Denman brush. Since I've been doing this for so long, it's as if I've been to successfully train my hair, in a sort of way. This is just something that I learned through much trial and error, and when I saw how successfully it worked for my hair, I just stick with it, and plan to definitely continue doing so for sure.

I've never experienced breakage to my hair from using a wide toothed comb, a brush or even my fingers. However, I will say that what works the least for me is finger detangle get. It causes lots of shrinkage, I experience more seeded hours, and I start to experience issues with tangles and knots that I'd much rather do my best to avoid. I would also see the appearance of frizz as well, which is why, I stopped doing finger detangle get only, very early in my curly journey. My hair just doesn't respond best to such at all. And, when it comes to getting a successful wash n go, by just finger detangling only, the struggle used to be very real. It got better when I started using a wide toothed comb, but through trial and error I definitely found that my wash n gos and any other hair style I put my hair in, comes out best when I use my Denman brush.

[lapushka]

I have fine textured hair and in some areas around the perimeter of the front area of my head,,very fine textured hair. My hair is also curly, but I don't have much of a curl pattern to my hair though. my hair is of low density as well. When I have used a wide toothed comb, it actually takes me longer to fully detangle my hair than with a brush. And, that is because with the brush, my hair is being smoothed out in a way that a couple,b can't achieve. With my Denman brush, I can go through sections of my hair much quicker, and I also feel that because I use a brush to thoroughly detangle my hair on my hair wash days, and then use my fingers in-between such, my tangles and shedding that I see has been greatly minimized. I also don't have any problems with frizz or even lots of shrinkage yo my curls anymore to my very long, period of using a brush on my hair to detangle it with. However, I must add that when I detangle my hair on my hair wash days, I do it while my hair is in a very soaking wet stage, taking one small section at a time, applying styling product to it, and then doing a thorough detangle get of my hair with my Denman brush. Since I've been doing this for so long, it's as if I've been to successfully train my hair, in a sort of way. This is just something that I learned through much trial and error, and when I saw how successfully it worked for my hair, I just stick with it, and plan to definitely continue doing so for sure.

I've never experienced breakage to my hair from using a wide toothed comb, a brush or even my fingers. However, I will say that what works the least for me is finger detangle get. It causes lots of shrinkage, I experience more seeded hours, and I start to experience issues with tangles and knots that I'd much rather do my best to avoid. I would also see the appearance of frizz as well, which is why, I stopped doing finger detangle get only, very early in my curly journey. My hair just doesn't respond best to such at all. And, when it comes to getting a successful wash n go, by just finger detangling only, the struggle used to be very real. It got better when I started using a wide toothed comb, but through trial and error I definitely found that my wash n gos and any other hair style I put my hair in, comes out best when I use my Denman brush.

Yes I don't get the breakage bit either... except maybe it's from excessive mechanical wear 'n tear?

I don't get breakage anymore since my hair has been all virgin. I pay attention to it, and my tools don't bust my hair.

Maybe it is the paddle brush, OP?

[MsPharaohMoan]

It could be a fine-y thing, but in my case at least it's more a combination of fine hair + comb + impatience = excessive mechanical wear :lol:

[Kalamazoo]

While combing (and I use only combs made of either wood or horn) I hold the comb extremely loosely, to be able to feel any resistance & stop before breaking anything. Then I reach for either a stick of cocoa butter or else Earthly Delight Pomade (Other oils could work, too. Or a spray-on detangler.) & oil the tangle a bit before gently combing through it. Occasionally, I hit a knot of broken hairs that have to be cut out (S&D), so I keep my tiny scissors handy while combing. But it's obvious to me that my combing did not cause the knot! The only way my combing could cause breakage would be if I ignored the resistance & attempted to comb straight through. Oiling the comb before starting to detangle helps somewhat, too. And starting at the ends & working up to the scalp is definitely a good idea!

[UP Lisa]

Me too! ^

Maybe it could partly be a fine haired thing? Tends to tangle a lot...

With any wide tooth comb I've tried I had to do more finger detangling than combing to avoid breakage... The comb felt kind of superfluous after all that finger detangling

I'm sure the fine texture has a lot to do with it.

[LadyCelestina]

Curly here. Combs suck both for me and my wurly haired boyfriend.

I only use fingers and a tangle teezer to brush the hair at the roots, or very rarely, use it in the shower/on damp hair.

Boyfriend used to use a wide tooth comb, but recently switched to TT and his hair is no longer splitting, even though he's likely just as harsh with the detangling process :p

[Nini]

I gave up on brushes a decade or so back when I bought a widetooth comb from Madora after reading about them here. Since then I've used the Madora for detangling and a fine tooth wooden comb to smooth everything down.

It's so much better for my hair than the brushes. I tried the Tangle Teezer as I was gifted a couple of them. But they were hopeless, so I gave one away and use the other for the dog.

My hair is fine and stick straight and I wear it braided or bunned most of the time, if I have the chance I leave it down to airdry. Still, combing it out takes no time at all :)

[Felix_D]

Hi catoala! Have you tried a comb recently?

I always thought I hated combs too but have been very surprised to find that I love my wooden wide toothed comb now that I don’t expect it to behave like a brush. I always thought I brushed my hair normally but it was just what my mum taught me, and it was very damaging. I started using my comb again after coming here in October and am still learning new ways to be more gentle with it, like holding it very lightly in my fingers so that it stops at the slightest snag.

Could you please share your technique for how you use a comb gently?

[AutobotsAttack]

I can’t use combs or brushes. I have a finger separating routine that I do every so often. My hair will tangle regardless of what I do, since that’s just the nature of it, plus with it being extremely fine textured, it’s bound to happen anyways. Since I wash so frequently a lot of the tangles leave while I’m conditioning in the shower, so I don’t mind. Once I get out of the shower, I leave my hair alone completely, and let it fluff up, add leave ins, and oils, and do a quick scan of my hair to see if I have any major tangles. Then bun it up.

Only reason finger detangling didn’t work for me at first is because I was doing it incorrectly. If you rake your hands through your hair like a comb, you’re still going to hit snags, and cause breakage. Finger separating is a bit different. You’re actively going in and gently separating the strands from themselves. If you’re still getting breakage you’re being too rough. Period. Obviously this way takes forever and a day, but for folks like me it works and deals less damage than combs or brushes. I do the finger separating like once a week just to do a thorough sweep through.

Certain combs are okay, but most of them just push the tangles down and make them tighter.

Brushes are the absolute worst for me. They pull at my roots, and inevitably get stuck, no matter how small of a section I take.

[Kat-Rinnè Naido]

I use a wooden comb from the body shop. I find that I do get some breakage from my comb.
When I do my hair I do it over a white sink in the bathroom. This was to helps me collect all sheds. However I did began noticing that on the days I use my comb there are a lot of tiny strands in the sink which leads me to believe that I am getting breakage from my comb.
I mostly finger separate my hair or sometimes brush which I feel causes less breakage.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

If anyone is interested in a video on detangling using a comb, I made one:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmRLz23SPjs

[milosmomma]

Sarahlabyrinth is was mesmerizing to watch you detangle. Thank you for sharing :)

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Sarahlabyrinth is was mesmerizing to watch you detangle. Thank you for sharing :)

Hope you found it helpful :)

[UP Lisa]

If anyone is interested in a video on detangling using a comb, I made one:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmRLz23SPjs

Thanks for doing the video. Did you do a major trim?

I wish I could comb through mine like that. It doesn't matter how many times I go through it, it just tangles back up. Can't comb at all.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Thanks for doing the video. Did you do a major trim?

I wish I could comb through mine like that. It doesn't matter how many times I go through it, it just tangles back up. Can't comb at all.

No, it's a video from 2015, I think, when My hair was shorter than now. Funny how everyone's hair is different.

[UP Lisa]

No, it's a video from 2015, I think, when My hair was shorter than now. Funny how everyone's hair is different.

Yes. Supposedly we have the same type except for thickness.

[NicoleJean]

For me I'm finding its more about how I brush and comb wether I cause damage or not than exactly what I'm using. Regardless of what you use, if you go fast and tug through tangles than you will cause breakage and damage. You have to go very slow in sections from Bottom to top. You have to treat your hair like it's very fragile and delicate. I used to comb/brush super fast from top to bottom and I can be impatient so it was hard to break this habit and start being more slow and careful but eventually it became habit and I rip out way less hairs unnecessarily now.

[milosmomma]

Sarah it is helpful. As nicolejean above stated, I also can cause damage no matter the tool if I dont have the time and patience to work through slowly. Just today I had to take your advice and just throw my hair in a bun and detangle later when I had the time to go slow. My sleep bun had fallen out and I needed to go help a friend clean her new apartment(which is perfect for the messy bun I had to make) and then when I went home later I sat down and took the time to not tear through the tangles. It did feel like I lost a ton of hair, but I attribute it to being 2 days since my last good detangling session.
In short, I agree it's less the tool and more the approach.

[strawberryfine]

I recently found some handmade combs from Kent and they are very affordable. I have several. They glide easily through even my very, very fine hair with very low porosity. 2a/F/ii
HTH someone

[UP Lisa]

Good for you. I've never found a comb that doesn't shred my hair. It is because they don't give when they encounter a tangle like a brush does.

[Kat]

I think my problem with combs vs. finger detangling is that with my fingers, I feel a tangle sooner and can work it out more gently, whereas with a comb it just...rips. (Or, maybe my fingers just break my hair more gently than a comb does, so I don't notice as much!)

[GoatLady]

I think, as with other products, etc.... it all depends on YOUR hair type. My hair is 2a and it LOVES combs ad hates brushes. I use wide tooth combs. My favorite is my Madura comb. I am lucky in that my hair isn't prone to tangles.

[lapis_lazuli]

It's the same for me, Kat. I like to work my fingers through the tangles and feel them coming apart. I also have much more control with just my fingers reaching the ends past FTL than when I tried to introduce a tool just to see what would happen. I haven't used a brush/comb in so long, it's just second nature. I'm sure hair type has something to do with it.

[AmaryllisRed]

I'm another who prefers to finger-detangle. I have gone through brushing phases and combing phases, but my preference right now is fingers. If I need it absolutely tangle-free, like if I'm going to French or Dutch braid, I'll brush after finger detangling, starting at the ends and working my way up.
My scalp is sensitive and that feeling when a comb hits a tangle-- ouch.

[tuanyiji]

I exclusively fingercomb and only use a wide-tooth comb once a month before my monthly length shot. I oil my hair everyday and make sure before I touch my hair, there is at least a bit of lubricant, this way I can try my best to reduce friction and mechanical damage.

[UP Lisa]

I think, as with other products, etc.... it all depends on YOUR hair type. My hair is 2a and it LOVES combs ad hates brushes. I use wide tooth combs. My favorite is my Madura comb. I am lucky in that my hair isn't prone to tangles.

VERY Lucky!

[illicitlizard]

Finger detangling is a nightmare for me, the amount of time it takes is not worth it for how quickly my hair tangles again after.
I've also never had luck with combs, they pull my hair even when I work in small sections bottom to top, though I've never tried a high quality/seamless wooden comb.

I'm a massive fan of tangle teezers, they let me brush quickly without damage from bottom to top, my hair stays more detangled, and feels smooth once I'm done (unlike with combs or finger detangling). And all in all it takes me 30 seconds to detangle not-so-tangly hair, and probably 5 min max from very tangled hair (takes at least 30min to finger detangle similarly very tangled hair I have discovered).

Seems like it's down to how you use the tool you prefer and hair type (including prep e.g. oils or similar). As a person with fine straight hair that is very tangle prone, brushing works best for me.

[EdG]

I do both finger-detangling and combing with a wide-tooth comb. Finger-detangling gets out folds and twists that pass through the tines of the comb. The comb covers much more hair than fingers. I find that both are necessary.

Damage results from combing out tangles being held together by lint. Hair-over-hair tangles aren't strong enough to cause damage.
Ed

[MusicalSpoons]

I use my fingers mostly to start catching out sheds, but for a moderate detangle I use my 60th Street fork like a wide comb, and for a thorough detangle my fine-toothed comb. I own brushes and they're fine if I use them in a manner similar to my comb, but with the comb I know exactly where to look for the tangle whereas with the brush I have to look for a bit longer and sometimes the tangled area will have fallen off the brush - it's just easier to find with the comb.

[foreveryours]

Comb only. Moisture from hands creates tangles. My only "brushes" have tines instead of bristles. Not linear, thay are in fact 2D combs

[lapushka]

Currently? Only a wet brush, and that's it. I hung up my wide tooth comb. :lol:

[Joyful Mystery]

I use the wet brush shine enhancer hair brush and love it.

[SeppV]

Wet brush, on dry hair. I have a theory (about my hair anyways...), when I try finger combing or just combing with a wide tooth comb, I am just creating more damage for myself because the hair doesn't get completely smooth between combing and I have tiny knots and are actually easier to fix with a brush. If I use a brush once daily or so, I will have a lot less of a bird's nest when I am going to detangle again. If I am being good and keeping my hair in a braid/bun/bonnet all the time, I won't be creating new tangles. This is for my hair anyways. What I am trying to say is that I think brushing is the least damaging thing I can do. But i would do it anyway, because I like soft feeling hair.

[fairy_hair]

I used to use a plastic fine comb and my very fine hair grew very long and healthy with hardly any split ends, ever. However I think it must have been more likely to cause damage or hair pulling than my current cushioned plastic brush, which has soft tines. I love how it makes my hair look while it doesn't feel so thorough as the comb, meaning it detangles without needing to touch every hair too much. This likely causes less friction as I lightly brush just twice a day, and bun in between mostly. Always gentle brushing, not allowing tangles to form in the first place is my favourite technique, easy with my slippery silk hair type and protective buns all day.

[Glitch]

I use a wide (suuuuper wide!!) tooth plastic comb very carefully on damp hair after showers, and when my hair is fully dry, a quick Tangle Teezer plastic brush at mornings/nights. For me it's the wooden brushes (and believe me, I've tried all sorts of high end ones) that always ripped out my hair and caused me agony - never again!

[Artemisa]

Yep, I feel the same regarding brushes and combs. Hav you try to put a few drops of oil on your finger tips and try to detangle it like that. It works wonders on me, maybe give it a go and see how you feel.