"I don't use a comb"

[jazzi]

Many naturals have said this and I just can't wrap my brain around it.  How are you able to wash, detangle, style, section, etc. natural hair without the help of a comb or brush?  I'd really like to know how it's done...especially people with coily, lengthly hair.

[pixie]

I rarely use a comb, and my hair is seriously thick with tight coils all over.  It isn't as long as a lot of you ladies (especially with the shrinkage), but it's definitely a lot more than a TWA.
I do everything that anyone would do with a comb with my fingers.  I thought, at first, that because so many people were raving about combs, denmans, etc. that I should be doing the same, but the last time I detangled with a wide tooth comb there was barely any shed hair.  Rarely do I use a comb now.  Mostly when I'm taking down my twists (lots of tangles) or when I need a slicker look (like afro puffs).
I usually wear my hair out and between my fingers and letting water run through it I don't seem to need anything else.  And I've got some pretty good definition going on with just a leave-in. 
It's gotten easier to detangle since it's grown, go figure.
I tend to follow a lot of what Lady Libra says to do  .  The woman has changed my hair's life.

[morenae]

Many naturals have said this and I just can't wrap my brain around it.  How are you able to wash, detangle, style, section, etc. natural hair without the help of a comb or brush?  I'd really like to know how it's done...especially people with coily, lengthly hair.

I'm with you Jazzi. I wear buns day to day to minimize tangling, but I must detangle with my detangling comb in the shower once a week when washing, or else it's dreadlock city.

[jeamaria]

I haven't used a comb in years. But I do bring out my Denman D4 once a week to clear shed hair. In the interests of minimal manipulation I once went a month, maybe a little bit more on fingerdetangling only. It was actually cool for the first couple weeks. I was washing my hair every other day so I was able to clear shed hair more frequently before it became a major problem.

The problem is that despite this, the shed hair does build up. Fingercombing my hair was a bit like using a widetoothed comb is on my hair; the hair seems detangled, but due to the big spaces between the fingers/teeth a lot of knots go unnoticed. By the time I reached the end of my experiment my hair was in a state. I had to detangle several times overin tiny sections with conditioner. All the shed hair that on a daily basis slipped through the spaces betweeen my fingers, and many more they had snarled themselves onto, came out.

Since then, I've gone back to using the brush at least every couple of weeks. But lately since my hair has grown a bit and I'm having old ends issues combing it through weekly has been reallly beneficial in terms of distributing moisture and lubricants and minimizing tangles. I'm still worried about overmanipulation so I try not to use it more often than that. I think fingerdetangling probably works better on "newer" hair- it's always easier when my hair is freshly trimmed. And I think thickness and overall proneness to tangles are two other big factors.

[nappy_crown]

I tried finger detangling and my hair laughed at me

I have to detangle...with a wide tooth comb follwed by my paddle brush to remove all the tangles, otherwise I've got knots and mats everywhere.  I started to notice that when i detangle my hair at least 1x a week...i get less knots.  I think that a lot of people that complain about the knots might not be detangling thier hair enough/properly. 

[Drugz]

I can't just finger detangle either, i need to use a comb then my paddle brush to get all the shed hair out. I remember for a while i was exclusively finger combing and boy by the next wash time i had so many tangles and matted pieces.

[mistytee]

It depends on everyone's texture.  When I shampoo, I use my fingers, following by applying  conditioner and finger it throughout the hair.  While co-washing I'm able to detangle as well with using my fingers, because I use conditioners that has a great slip for my texture.  My hair is tightly coiled, soft with some thickness.  I only comb my hair when it comes to twisting and that is mainly to part my hair.  I never use a brush. When I make a puff, I like my hair to look naturally wavy instead of having it slicked back.

[Daria Morgendorffer]

I'm mostly comb-free - sometimes I'll use it to part my hair but I haven't actually combed my  hair in a long time. I wear my hair braided or twisted most of the time. When it's time to wash I undo my small braids/twists , combine them to make big braids, and then wash my hair. When my hair is dry I take out the larger braids and restyle;  I finger comb my hair and the shed hair comes out as I braid/twist. In a nutshell, my hair doesn't tangle because I don't allow it to tangle.

[shndlyn]

I tried finger detangling and my hair laughed at me

I have to detangle...with a wide tooth comb follwed by my paddle brush to remove all the tangles, otherwise I've got knots and mats everywhere.  I started to notice that when i detangle my hair at least 1x a week...i get less knots.  I think that a lot of people that complain about the knots might not be detangling thier hair enough/properly. 

Ditto, I have to use a comb to "pre" detangling and then I use my denman.  However I only detangle once maybe twice a month at this stage.

[yellagrlwithcurls]

 Fingercombing my hair was a bit like using a widetoothed comb is on my hair; the hair seems detangled, but due to the big spaces between the fingers/teeth a lot of knots go unnoticed. By the time I reached the end of my experiment my hair was in a state.

This is me.
Even though my hair is a lot looser than the rest of you ladies I still can't just use my fingers, maybe it's the length? I don't know. but like Jeamaria says, using fingers for me leaves big spaces and knots seem to develop, so I always wondered if I can't do it with my looser texture how do all those with tighter textures manage it.

[Afrocurls]

I honestly haven't used a comb in ages. It just rips my hair out and it's more painful. I've found that my paddle brush does a better, more thorough job (plus it feels SOOOOO good when it brushes against my scalp).

And interestingly enough, I never got those knots on my hair that a lot of naturals talk about. I could just not be paying attention ( ), but I think I would notice if I had them.

I agree with the idea that a wide tooth comb may not be doing such a hot job of detangling and that's where the single strand knots come from.

[gmw]

I have been back and forth on this for a while.

I don't use a comb, but I do use a denman, and I am looking for an Aveda brush now.

I use my denman once a week to detangle while washing it, and then when I am putting my twists in. I find that everything about my hair changes the longer it gets. When my hair was shorter, this was an option, but not anymore.

[LadyLibra]

Combs don't do much for me anymore, besides de-clump after using my Denman...

[Afrocurls]

Combs don't do much for me anymore, besides de-clump after using my Denman...

Oh yeah that too!

When you're trying to encourage clumping and reduce volume, the last thing you need.

[jazzi]

The problem is that despite this, the shed hair does build up. Fingercombing my hair was a bit like using a widetoothed comb is on my hair; the hair seems detangled, but due to the big spaces between the fingers/teeth a lot of knots go unnoticed.

This is so true and the reason I don't use a wide-toothed comb anymore.  It skips over too much hair...combs with closer teeth catch all the shed hair and there's no room for knotting.  I don't comb detangle everyday, but I can't go more than a week before it needs to be combed.  When my hair was much shorter, I never used a comb.  As soon as the TWA stage was over, not needing a comb was too.