What's the fuss about backcombing?

[chahuahuas]

I keep seeing LHCers talk how damaging backcombing is for your hair. Why is it so harmful?

Occasionally I back comb the crown of my head for when I want a fancy "going out" ponytail with a bump at the top, to make ponytail look more like this:

http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl1/2/20652/28_2008/Emmanuelle.jpg

and less like this:

http://pistolonmercerstreet.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/sleek-ponytail-warped-tour.jpg


Am I killing my hair by doing this? :undecided

[kyandii]

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79
This article says,
"This hair has been backcombed, meaning it was combed against the lay of the cuticle. Think of petting a cat backwards, against the fur. The cuticle of your hair gets raise just the same way as the fur, but doesn't go back down as easy. This can lead to chipped scales, or can pull them off entirely, exposing the cortex it was supposed to protect. "

[hyettf16]

^ that and it forms knots that are impossible to get out

[chahuahuas]

^ that and it forms knots that are impossible to get out

I don't worry about knots, since I only do to my short face-framing layers.

I would never backcomb the long bits of my hair! I don't even want to imagine how long that would take to detangle! shudder:

[QueenJoey]

When I had to have my hair backcombed for a school play, I gained some awful split ends.

Then again, my entire length was getting teased every night for 5 nights, and it was heavily hairsprayed.

I do like teasing the crown every once and awhile to gain some volume.

[chahuahuas]

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79
This article says,
"This hair has been backcombed, meaning it was combed against the lay of the cuticle. Think of petting a cat backwards, against the fur. The cuticle of your hair gets raise just the same way as the fur, but doesn't go back down as easy. This can lead to chipped scales, or can pull them off entirely, exposing the cortex it was supposed to protect. "


AAAHH! That article had SCARY pictures! :agape:

Some of that hair is WRECKED! This might sound weird, but it reminds me of when pro-lifers show partial birth abortion pictures to scare women off of doing abortions. Obviously not so extreme, but those damaged hair pictures will DEFINITELY make me think twice next time I reach for the comb...

[QMacrocarpa]

I think the amount of damage it would do depends somewhat on your hair. My hair is quite prone to splitting, so I certainly wouldn't back-comb. It's no sacrifice for me, since extra volume on top looks really, really bad on me. Conehead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coneheads_%28film%29) city.

[Bene]

I didn't know there was a fuss about backcombing. Then again, I never looked into it, since I don't do it, don't like the way it looks.

[SoulOfTheSea]

When I was little, my mom used to do my hair everyday for me before I went to school. Whenever she did ponytails, it would be a backcombing ponytail, and she always brushed my hair with a wet brush. This sounds horribly damaging, but when I was little I had such pretty hair- soft, shiny, amazing. And I was always in the sun and at the beach too.

[Anje]

Look at the evil electron micrographs.... (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79)

[pepperminttea]

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79
This article says,
"This hair has been backcombed, meaning it was combed against the lay of the cuticle. Think of petting a cat backwards, against the fur. The cuticle of your hair gets raise just the same way as the fur, but doesn't go back down as easy. This can lead to chipped scales, or can pull them off entirely, exposing the cortex it was supposed to protect. "

This. Also since it's often done right at the roots of your hair, if it's done to excess and your hair starts breaking off, you're literally back at square one.

[chahuahuas]

This. Also since it's often done right at the roots of your hair, if it's done to excess and your hair starts breaking off, you're literally back at square one.

Like I mentioned, I mostly do it to the top of my hair near my bangs & layered areas. So if it breaks off, I can just chop it off into short bangs like I did before. :laugh:

I actually liked the way my bangs looked when they were short, I just hated the how much of a hassle they were. I hate having to straighten any part of my hair every day, even if its a tiny section! (and being afraid of the rain and of sweat sucks....)

[St.Germain]

If you've been scared away from backcombing but still want a hair bump, they make those clip-in bump maker things. These things (https://www.bumpits.com). I don't know how well they work, but I imagine someone on here does.

[blueygirls]

I've tried the bump its.. its good at providing volume.. but its a bit too much volume for me

[CrystalStar]

When you back comb your hair I think it rips the scales off of your hair as you are going against the grain! This is also damage that can't be undone. :(

I think the Electron Micrograph images say it better than I ever could! :laugh:

[chahuahuas]

I've tried the bump its.. its good at providing volume.. but its a bit too much volume for me

Yea that's what I've always figured they would do. I don't need a HUGE POOF I just like a little nice loose ponytail that isn't pulled too tight.

There's other methods to provide volume in a pony other than backcombing, like simply pinching out the hair. Anyone have an opinion the damage done with pinching your hair out of a ponytail vs. backcombing? I figure it has to be pretty minor in comparison?

[McFearless]

Yea that's what I've always figured they would do. I don't need a HUGE POOF I just like a little nice loose ponytail that isn't pulled too tight.

There's other methods to provide volume in a pony other than backcombing, like simply pinching out the hair. Anyone have an opinion the damage done with pinching your hair out of a ponytail vs. backcombing? I figure it has to be pretty minor in comparison?

I do the pinching thing with no problem. I pinch the hair up while I form a ponytail with my hand, before I secure it with an elastic. I think pulling out the hair while it is tied tightly in a ponytail will cause more damage, but way less than you'd get backcombing.

[ghilliegirl_an]

I did something similar to this the other day, it took time because I have flat fine hair but with the help of a little hairspray(more to keep it from frizzing than anything) it looked pretty good, wish I could've gotten pictures. Basically what I did was take the top part of my hair like I was doing a half up and then twist it a little and push it up to make it poofy, I then secured the poof with bobby pins. After that I put the part of my hair that was not poofed into a ponytail directly beneath the poof, then I used another ponytail holder to tie the length of the poofed hair to the rest of the ponytailed hair. This method is the only way that worked for me because if I tied all the hair up together the weight of the rest of my hair just pulled out the poof, don't pull the poofed hair tight down when putting up the ponytail. Of course keep in mind that I had the ponytail pretty tight which can cause damage also but definitely not as bad as backcombing.


-Ashley

[chahuahuas]

I did something similar to this the other day, it took time because I have flat fine hair but with the help of a little hairspray(more to keep it from frizzing than anything) it looked pretty good, wish I could've gotten pictures. Basically what I did was take the top part of my hair like I was doing a half up and then twist it a little and push it up to make it poofy, I then secured the poof with bobby pins. After that I put the part of my hair that was not poofed into a ponytail directly beneath the poof, then I used another ponytail holder to tie the length of the poofed hair to the rest of the ponytailed hair. This method is the only way that worked for me because if I tied all the hair up together the weight of the rest of my hair just pulled out the poof, don't pull the poofed hair tight down when putting up the ponytail. Of course keep in mind that I had the ponytail pretty tight which can cause damage also but definitely not as bad as backcombing.


-Ashley

Hmmm at first I thought you were talking about twisting it near the front to make a mini-poof. I've been growing out my bangs, so I wore my hair like that all the time before. I was thinking, nooo I don't just want the front to poof, I want the whole top of my head to poof!
(mini poof:http://test.theringbearer.ca/images/wysiwug_uploads/WS22_hairstyles_frontpoof_a.jpg)

Then I realized that maybe you were talking about utilizing the same technique as with the mini-poof, only instead of just taking the bangs section, you might be taking the whole top-of-the-head section and poofing it! Which is genius! And it could work really well, since my hair takes to twisting & poofing pretty well, since it's already pretty voluminous. (Despite the voluminous-ness, my ponytails still manage flatten out since they can be so heavy).

:cheese: I need to try this!

[Madora]

Backcombing or teasing is ruinous to your hair. Don't do it! To any of your hair!! Please!!!

[Seeshami]

You can always buy matching hair extensions or hair pieces and backcomb them and then put them in a hair net to make your "puff" Then you just pin it in place and put your hair over it.