African Butterfly Comb

[Groovy Granny]

Alright, so reading mwallingford and groovy granny's testimonials on the wire combs inspired me to try one out!

I'd never had a comb of this type before, (despite seeing the drugstore copies out and around, they were really popular for a while), so thought I'd share my initial thoughts.

I purchased an 11 tong one.

Okay so the first thing I noticed was that they are WAY prettier in person than on the website. The seller's website doesn't really capture how nice the beads actually are when you see it in person.

Second thing is I really like how I can just messily throw my hair up and the combs hold it really solid while still looking like I put an effort into styling while I didn't, haha.

But I do admit it took me a number of tries to figure out how to use it... the printed instructions that were included with the product were terrible. (couldn't really tell from the pictures how/where she was inserting her hand) and I had to look up a video.
But once I figured it out, it holds really well.

As for hair damage, mostly it goes in and comes out smooth, but I will say the last two "tines" on each side are not straight, they are slightly twisted at the top, and so the little gap between the two metal pieces sometimes grabs a strand of hair.
But I was able to gently work it out without any breakage. And I think it might have been me not used to how insert it right every time yet, too, because the last few times I tried I had no issues.

I will say also the elastic is VERY tight and hard to stretch over a bun, it made flipping and inserting the second comb difficult, and the beads not lay as nice, so I had to do kind of a hair fold instead of a wrap bun.
But that might be because it is brand new, and maybe with repeated wearings the elastic will loosed up a bit? Maybe someone who has had one for a while can confirm.


Overall, I am pleased with it. I almost wish I had picked a smaller one, as now that I've tried it out, I think you could do more styles with the smaller ones. But I still like this one and will throw it into regular rotation.

That looks fabulous on you

Glad to hear you worked though all the kinks!

Did you get it from https://africanbutterfly.com/ ?

I definitely prefer the wire tong combs to the plastic combs for my hair.
The plastic is too hard to manage with my fine wispy hair and it pinched when locked because it is so chunky.
The wire tongs glide right in and have a great comfy hold!

My collection is complete, and it has been more than a year since my last buy, so I see she has a new web page.

[Alexandrina]

That looks fabulous on you

Glad to hear you worked though all the kinks!

Did you get it from https://africanbutterfly.com/ ?

I definitely prefer the wire tong combs to the plastic combs for my hair.
The plastic is too hard to manage with my fine wispy hair and it pinched when locked because it is so chunky.
The wire tongs glide right in and have a great comfy hold!

My collection is complete, and it has been more than a year since my last buy, so I see she has a new web page.

Thank you! And yes, since that's the one I had seen mentioned here, that's the website I used,
www.africanbutterfly.com.

Although I did see there were similar combs on etsy that looked the exact same to me.
I wonder if they have the same supplier? Tho of course I'm not an expert, (having only one comb, lol) so they could be different.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheHairJew...g_id=664604661
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ButterflyH...on_id=20930474

[Groovy Granny]

She is not on Etsy .... and is from Murietta, CA
The clips are authentically made in South Africa https://africanbutterfly.com/pages/about-us

[Sarahlabyrinth]

She is not on Etsy .... and is from Murietta, CA
The clips are authentically made in South Africa https://africanbutterfly.com/pages/about-us

Is there any way of know what size to get? My hair is long, but it does compact quite a lot.

[Groovy Granny]

Is there any way of know what size to get? My hair is long, but it does compact quite a lot.

The measurements are given for each comb; I have them in every size.
I kept only the wire combs as I mentioned above...YMMV...and they can be returned up to a year from purchase
The smaller combs are for half ups, and the larger sizes for updos; you can measure your buns and twists and decide how much you want covered.

*If you sign up you get special offers, and reward points are given with each purchase for the future.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

The measurements are given for each comb; I have them in every size.
I kept only the wire combs as I mentioned above...YMMV...and they can be returned up to a year from purchase
The smaller combs are for half ups, and the larger sizes for updos; you can measure your buns and twists and decide how much you want covered.

*If you sign up you get special offers, and reward points are given with each purchase for the future.

Ok - thanks for the info

[Groovy Granny]

Ok - thanks for the info

For reference....you have double my head of hair if not more, mine also compacts, and I can wear an 11 wire easily.

It covers @ 2/3 of a twist on me and is very comfy and secure.

9 and 7 wires also hold buns/twists; 3 and 5 wires are more for half ups; those can slip so I sometimes snug them into half up ponytails.

They are gorgeous pieces and even DH comments when I have worn it/them ...and he rarely does

[Sarahlabyrinth]

For reference....you have double my head of hair if not more, mine also compacts, and I can wear an 11 wire easily.

It covers @ 2/3 of a twist on me and is very comfy and secure.

9 and 7 wires also hold buns/twists; 3 and 5 wires are more for half ups; those can slip so I sometimes snug them into half up ponytails.

They are gorgeous pieces and even DH comments when I have worn it/them ...and he rarely does

I see you are trying to tempt me...

[Groovy Granny]

I see you are trying to tempt me...

Oh of course

They would look AMAZING in your gorgeous hair

[KameRose]

I've been lurking on this thread and kind of ogling the concept. In fact I almost bought one last night but I didn't like anything on the african butterfly website and I really tried to like one of them! And I have to say that it is a good thing that I didn't buy any because I ran into a couple running a hair accessory booth at the Popcorn Festival, including some butterfly combs. I ended up buying one on the way in and couldn't help but pick up a second on the way out.(both nine tine ones) She was even in the process of finishing up stringing a few of them and let me look at those as well.

Of course she thought I was kind of crazy when I declared that I wasn't interested in the plastic ones because I had read people with similar hair types found them damaging and that it was funny I was just looking at similar combs the night before.

Here is front and back pictures of them:





And of course action shots, although my camera didn't seem to know what to focus on.... :





My preliminary find is that they are insanely comfortable. I am experiencing a slight ache that comes with wearing my hair in a style it's not used to but once it becomes a style I'm used to I can see these becoming a staple for me. It actually feels comfortable enough that I think I may have found something I can sleep in, which would be huge for me.

I have to say a special thank-you to you lovelies here. I would have never even considered putting something like this in my hair if it weren't for you lovelies here. They've always looked like torture devices to me until now,(granted most of them still do, but now i know some are gentle) so thank-you for opening my eyes to an entirely new facet of the hair toy world. And thank-you Alexandrina for sharing those links to the other shops on etsy, those styles seem more up my alley. I can see a purchase in my future. 🥰