Revamping hair care and wooden combs

**lillithnight** · September 5th, 2013, 12:35 PM

I need a bit of advice, mainly about wooden combs. My 4a/3c hair has been kept stretched most of the last month and as long as I detangle thoroughly when washing its awesome. But one things is far from awesome. It takes me 45mins to detangle when my hair is shrunken and wet. Its been like this for a while but if it keeps up I'm going to have a short afro again due to frustration. I actually love my hair for the most part. But it really is time that I change my routine. I'm going to;

1- Detangle my hair when dry and stretched because my hair eats up the same length as 3a hair when like that. I've seen a few 3as on here who wear their hair braided or up mostly have awesome hair. Despite dry detangling.

2- Go back to my shampoo bars because my hair loves them, and vinagar rinse after shapooing.

3-oil my hair lightly every other day and very very heavily prewash.

4- make sure my hair drys in a stretched state( medium twists, 11 dutch braids, 13 english braids etc)

5- wear my hair up most of the time.

6- give myself a few days a month to wear it down, most likely stretched sometimes allowed to shrink fully.

I always condition and I deep condition when my hair needs it. I use a leave in and seal my hair. All of that is set and fine with me. Which leads me to my problem. I want a wooden comb for my oiled pre wash detangling session. Is it even a good idea to do that? My mother had good results with wooden combs and brushes when I was small and my hair flourished, but hair changes. I've got a strong hunch that my hair would like it and do well with it though.

Does anyone have suggestions for good wooden combs? I am already looking at some nice ones but I'm curious what works for other people when it comes to wooden combs. Is this even a good idea? I'm both excited and nervouse about it.

**Vrindi** · September 5th, 2013, 12:45 PM

I have a really nice, wide-tooth, bamboo comb. I love it. It was $8 at whole foods. I have this and a tangle teezer, and I always go for the comb first. The comb doesn't seem to need much special care. When I first bought it, there was one rough spot that I sanded smooth. I'll wash it with mild soap once a week, but the oils I use in my hair also keep the comb in good condition. I've stopped combing my hair in the shower, so I use it on dry hair and it's been awesome.

**lillithnight** · September 5th, 2013, 04:27 PM

Bump? Help please?

**YamaMaya** · September 5th, 2013, 06:33 PM

I wish I could help but my hair is pin straight, so I'll just give you a bump

**McFearless** · September 5th, 2013, 07:56 PM

My hair is 3c. I've been battling the same issues of 2 hour long de-tangling sessions with my fingers. I don't think there is anything I can do about it, but having stretched hair as it dries helps so much with knots and tangles. I wear cornrows most of the time and when my hair is long cinabuns keep everything in place.

Dry de-tangling doesn't work for me. I need my hair soaked in conditioner in order to get through it. I don't use a comb either, but my fingers in a pinched position to separate strands. While my hair is damp I oil it heavily to increase the time it stays moisturized.

Your plans sound really good and compatible for our hair type.

**AMD** · September 6th, 2013, 08:16 PM

Hi, I have mostly 3c hair with a bit of 4a and I've also dealt with some gnarly tangles and detangling times.

Sounds like a plan, I really hope it works for you! Let us know how it goes.

P.S. The only other major thing that has helped my detangling sessions (my hair started to tangle much more once it started growing past BSL) has been switching back to products with silicones. I'm sure you'll take these with a grain of salt since all hair behaves differently.

No comb recommendations, but I use a wooden brush that I bought from the body shop. I like it because there are no seams the pegs(?) are perfectly round. It is also spaced pretty well. The only brush I use, and it has replaced my comb.

**lillithnight** · September 7th, 2013, 05:17 AM

My hair isn't a big cone fan. I should most likely get a bottle for my rare flatironing , but that's not for a while. I'm still trying to devided on a bone or wooden comb. What do you do when you see some very pretty combs and get so overwhelmded deciding feels impossible. http://www.crystalmood.com/hair-care....html?limit=45

**Firefox7275** · September 7th, 2013, 05:32 AM

Are you sure your hair likes the soap bar, and not the vinegar rinse which follows? Does your hair like the soap alone?
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlre...ly-hair?page=4

**lillithnight** · September 7th, 2013, 06:58 AM

Yup its the soaps. I get awesome results with out acv rinses as well. My hair feels clean and softish. It feels buttery soft after letting my conditioner sit on it for the 30sec it takes me to wash. I don't get results that are anywhere close to that from sulfate free shampoos and sulfate poos make my hair feel like straw.

**Firefox7275** · September 7th, 2013, 08:07 AM

Originally Posted by lillithnight

Yup its the soaps. I get awesome results with out acv rinses as well. My hair feels clean and softish. It feels buttery soft after letting my conditioner sit on it for the 30sec it takes me to wash. I don't get results that are anywhere close to that from sulfate free shampoos and sulfate poos make my hair feel like straw.

Conditioner is also acidic, it's doing much the same as the vinegar. The majority of commercial sulphate free shampoos are based on harsh anionic surfactants which aren't much better for skin and hair than sulphates.