I wouldnt have thought this about fingercombing.....

[shikara]

Up until yesterday I avoided fingercombing. I thought it was best left to those whose hair didnt really tangle anyway, and perhaps some curlies and naturals. With hair on the fine side and prone to tangling easily, I thought it should be avoided because it would be too easy to miss many smaller tangles, and by the time i might want to comb it, it would be a huge ordeal. An article i came across highly recommended fingercombing for tangle prone fine hair, and damaged hair. Hmmm...on day two now! What is your experience, thoughts, and results of fingercombing?

[spidermom]

I hate it. Hair clings to the creases in my fingers, and I pull some out.

[gilbert-sarah]

I finger comb but only in the shower with water and lots of conditioner.... its actually the only time i detangle normally.

[moon2dove]

I always finger comb with no problems.

[isabelx]

I agree with gilbert-sarah, I can only do it in the shower when my hair's wet.. I also do it when I get out of the shower just to seperate it all before letting it air dry. But I can't do it whilst it's dry.

[Madora]

I enjoy fingercombing as a prelude to actual detangling.

My fingers slowly go down the strands and help locate any possible tangles. Then I use my wide tooth comb to locate any of the smaller, invisible tangles.

[Knotted]

I have fine, tangly hair and fingercomb. I like it because it allows me to gently undo knots in my hair, whereas a brush and comb mostly just rips through them.

[luckyduck]

I mostly finger comb my hair now. Once in awhile I will pull out the wide toothed comb when it is wet, but the finger combing does the trick for me.

[Jing]

I don't finger"comb" per se. I only use my fingers if I run into a tangle that would take force to detangle with a comb. Gently pulling the strands away from one another with my fingers always solves any tangle, no damage or lost hairs involved.

[white.chocolate]

I love fingercombing! I have tangle-prone, straight hair but it still works perfectly well for me. I have to use a detangling comb after a shower though so that my hair will be in shape when it has dried as I don't blow dry. With fingercombing, I have more control over my tangles, and I gently untangle them with my fingers. I find that a comb is pretty harsh on tangles in this sense. Fingercombing just requires some time and patience, but I'm ok with that!

[EdG]

I first finger-comb, and then I use a wide-toothed comb. Finger-combing is more gentle, and the wide-toothed comb is more thorough.
Ed

[almond]

I learnt about it here and found that it's good for my rather fine hair.
I fingercomb after putting the conditioner on my hair, and when it's damp or almost dry that's how I detangle my it. Every time my hair is tangled, i fingercomb it first, before using a comb or brush.

[trolleypup]

Finger detangle when dry, smooth and finish with a fine toothed wood comb.

[blondie9912]

I seem to be the opposite of everyone- I need conditioner and a wide-toothed comb in the shower, but when my hair is FULLY dry I can fingercomb. The worst is trying to fingercomb half damp hair. Ah, such a tangly mess!

[beccababesx]

I don't brush or comb in any other way! I find that I still snap some hairs though, if I'm not careful.

[pepperminttea]

I enjoy fingercombing as a prelude to actual detangling.

My fingers slowly go down the strands and help locate any possible tangles. Then I use my wide tooth comb to locate any of the smaller, invisible tangles.

This. I use a comb too just to smooth things over and catch smaller tangles, but my fingers do the main detangling work. I love fingercombing, I can be so much gentler with my fingers than a comb. :)

[Amber_Maiden]

I don't do it. Probably should. My hair is super thick though.

[Delila]

I fingercomb first every time.

For me, making sure my hands are clean and DRY is essential. Lotions and whatever else can make a mess of things, so washing my hands and drying them off always comes first.

[silverjen]

Finger combing and scrunching wet hair helps encourage my waves. My horn combs are fine for dry hair. But I'm not particularly tangle-prone.

[ericthegreat]

Fingercombing just doesn't work for me. I have too much hair! That, and my fingers often get caught and snagged into my hair. That never happens with my paddle brush or my wide tooth, they both glide right thro my hair.

[oscarthehamster]

I love fingercombing ! It really works for my curly/wavy hair. I usually fingercomb when I'm leaving my hair down for the day. :D

[IanB]

Finger combing is a great natural way to detangle and "feel" you hairs response

[Freckled.Thing]

I hate it. My fingers always get caught and it takes forever to do. I feel like sometimes I end up making the tangles worse.

[Toiréasa]

I love it,it's all I do unless I have to smooth out the side's of a updo then I use a wood comb.
I should add that I have lot's of very fine hair that dose not tangle very much I co wash and finger comb right after showering when my hair is still wet for the most part,however I don't have a problem when it is dry either I guess it all depends on your hair type weather it works for you or not.

[BlazingHeart]

I'm more likely to snag and break hairs fingercombing. My paddlebrush and I get along swimmingly, though. (smooth, wooden pin brush - no ball-tips for me!) Seeing Eric's answer, I wonder if it's because of how much hair I have. Hmm.

[RoseOfClare]

Before my hair went through a recent weird stage where I had to clarify it. I would always fingercomb through out the day. I hate that atm my hair tangles so much after clarifying I've had to keep it in braids constantly rather than wear it down n fingercomb throughout the day. But hopefuly once my oils return to normal I can get back to my normal routeen!

I find fingercombing very relaxing even my DBF does it for me at times lol.

[piffyanne]

For some reason, my hair has REALLY started ratsnesting recently (I can't figure out the reason! Hellllp!). The only way I can get the "nests" out of my hair is by fingercombing. It's crazy how long it takes me to work my way through the entire tangles, though--my boyfriend once timed me by putting in a video (I use old-fashioned terminology. Sorry!) as soon as I started. I finished ten minutes before the movie ended. :doh:

The one problem is I have to pull the hairs our of the tangle in twos or threes, and sometimes a hair curls like party ribbon run along the blade of scissors. It's so sad! I feel sorry for each strand that starts pig-tailing, as I call it, (after the springy shape, not the hairstyle with two bunches of hair, one on either side of the head.) and cut it off so it doesn't cause a tangle later. >sob<

[Heatherzilla]

I'm a curly and I fingercomb most of the time. I use a wide toothed comb when my hair is wet, mostly just to position it so it dries nicely. If I use a comb when my hair is dry I pull out some of the curl and my hair gets a little frizzy.

[WaitingSoLong]

I hate it. Hair clings to the creases in my fingers, and I pull some out.

This is the main reson I don't usually do it.


For me, making sure my hands are clean and DRY is essential. Lotions and whatever else can make a mess of things, so washing my hands and drying them off always comes first.

This helps me with above issue.


I hate it. My fingers always get caught and it takes forever to do. I feel like sometimes I end up making the tangles worse.

And this is ultimately why I have never caught onto this.

[Aeris]

I hate it. My fingers always get caught and it takes forever to do. I feel like sometimes I end up making the tangles worse.

Same here. My main problem seems to be my nails though - if my nail polish is even slightly peeling, hairs will get caught on it and accidentally stretched. It's a horrible feeling.

[KwaveT]

I am not even sure you would call what I do as fingercombing probably more like fingergliding. After I get out of shower and take a towel to absorb excess water, I take my finger and seperate my part and move my side hair on top of my ears. Just take my hands and glide them across the hair to flatten the hair down and let it dry. I don't worry about tangling since I shower at night. It retangles during the night anyway. I detangle the next morning.

[Hollyfire3]

If i fingercomb, my hands get stuck in curls and frizz. The next thing i know, my knots are worse and i'm tangled too. Tehe well, not all that bad but pretty close. I think finger combing only works for those with straighter, finer hair. I never knew fine haired people shouldn't finger comb, if anyone with fine hair asked me, i would say go for it.

[Amazinggrace]

I fingercomb my conditoner in, in the shower. I also finger comb while it is wet. I find that there is less brakeage this way.

[GeoJ]

As long as my hands are totally dry, fingercombing works fine for me. I haven't done it as the sole means of detangling for longer than a week, though.

[missmelaniem]

I fingercomb my hair when wet only. i find it works pretty well usually

[teal]

I hate it. Hair clings to the creases in my fingers, and I pull some out.

This! Also I don't like the way it feels on my scalp. If I'm going to hold my hair I might as well go find a comb.

[luxepiggy]

I'm huge believer in fingercombing. My hair hasn't been touched by a brush or a comb in over a decade, and it's been hip length or longer the entire time (^(oo)^)v

Normally, I fingercomb when I get up, as part of my morning routine. It takes maybe 2 minutes at most, now that I sleep on a silk pillowcase. On wash days, I fingercomb twice more:

in the shower while my hair has conditioner in it
when my hair is around 90&#37; dry, immediately after applying shine spray (for styling purposes only)

[luxepiggy]

Same here. My main problem seems to be my nails though - if my nail polish is even slightly peeling, hairs will get caught on it and accidentally stretched. It's a horrible feeling.

Silk gloves (^(oo)~)