No Brush, No Comb, No Scissors

[idarastar]

I know there are some sisters out there that are opposed to "european hair care" tools and products. Many of them will deny the use of brushes, combs, scissors along with irons, flaming hot tools of hair torture and blow dryers.

Are you sisters out there?

I've went months without combing or doing any kind of "detangling" for a couple of reasons:
1) I don't like seeing hair breakage
2) I like my curl texture
3) I don't find combing neccessary, I just part my hair with my fingers if needed.

I recently made a video of me combing my hair after months of not doing so.
(The video can be found here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfWLLn3uy70))

After the video, my hair was all detangled, it was kind of nice, but it's just a temporary thing.
I put my hair in small two strand twists after and left them in. I figured this would help if from getting tangled again. After I took the twists out, it was as tangled as it normally is.

I like my curls how they are naturally and I don't want the "afro-look" by combing it out.

Anyone else love their "mess"? *lol*

I see many ladies with hair textures close to mine when dry and I can't help to think that they've thrown those tools out the window.

[tt1989]

well before i got in the "no comb no brush" challenge i detangled like 1x a month now its been a couple of months since i've combed, i rarely ever (like once- twice a year) trim my ends, and i dont plan on brushing except for when i wear a puff which is rarely ever. i don't think conventional tools, and frankly my hair thrives w/o them. :)

[meraki]

I love your attitude about hair.

I have gone without combing mine for a very long time, out of laziness, not because of a philosophy of any kind. :D I don't recommend it because it's exhausting to detangle it when it's time. There's a pic in my fotki of the giant ball of hair I ended up with when I finally detangled.

And when I say without combing - I mean with fingers or a comb...

[missalyssa]

A comb is a European styling tool?

I comb or finger comb depending on my mood. My hair as the "afro-look" whether or not I comb.

Lys

[afroknots11412]

I realized that with finger combing and regular combing I was losing the same amount of hair at wash time. I mainly fingercomb now. I only brush my hair when I want to really smooth down my hair for puff or ponytail.

I don't need to trim as much because I mainly wear my hair in protective styles so my hair is not as exposed. I just trimmed my hair after not doing so for like 7 months.

[boomslang]

I haven't used a comb/pick in a couple months. Not since July. And I never brush. I realized that I don't need it-I twist my hair up right after I wash it-and I separate the hairs as I twist it with product. So combs are not needed. I will see if I can go a whole year without a comb. I think I retain more length this way.

[canaws]

Well, I don't ever really use a comb. I just finger comb and finger part.

I use a brush to detangle only. For me, it's quicker than finger detangling and I loose about the same amount of hair. I wear my hair out pretty much all the time and wet it frequently. If I didn't detangle it it would dread up quick and be pretty hard to finger comb, because my hair is naptastic and thick.

I also just broke out the scissors for the first time in a year to trim my ends (they needed to go), but I probably won't see them again until next year.

[Chocolate CurlyGirl]

I know there are some sisters out there that are opposed to "european hair care" tools and products. Many of them will deny the use of brushes, combs, scissors along with irons, flaming hot tools of hair torture and blow dryers.

Are you sisters out there?

I've went months without combing or doing any kind of "detangling" for a couple of reasons:
1) I don't like seeing hair breakage
2) I like my curl texture
3) I don't find combing neccessary, I just part my hair with my fingers if needed.

I recently made a video of me combing my hair after months of not doing so.
(The video can be found here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfWLLn3uy70))

After the video, my hair was all detangled, it was kind of nice, but it's just a temporary thing.
I put my hair in small two strand twists after and left them in. I figured this would help if from getting tangled again. After I took the twists out, it was as tangled as it normally is.

I like my curls how they are naturally and I don't want the "afro-look" by combing it out.

Anyone else love their "mess"? *lol*

I see many ladies with hair textures close to mine when dry and I can't help to think that they've thrown those tools out the window.
[/b]

I don't comb my hair either There is no point lol. I checked out your site, I enjoyed it. Now what did you do to your hair when you were wearing the blue earrings and it was a closeup shot. Your curls looked finer.


Eww. I don't know what happened to my punctuation. :dunno:

[afthom]

I agree that combs, brushes and all that jazz are not necessary. But isn't going for 4+ months without a trim potentially dangerous? Don't we still need to trim to prevent split hairs?

[catrina2223]

When i had longer hair, i often didnt comb because i just was too lazy :P I probably combed once every 2 months and just finger combed in the shower while i had condish in it (ever day). After a while i noticed i would get little locs forming around the middle area of my hair, which would need alot of conditioner and a comb to get out.

Now that my hair is shorter, i still dont comb too much, but i do have to detangle at least every 2-3 weeks. this seems to be working in my favor.

[afro_puff_sista2]

i have many questions on this! if we dont use a comb or brush and no scissors, wouldnt the hair get tangled,damaged, and split???? but then again our hair worked without those things way before we started manipulating it with those tools. so if our ancestors could do it so can we right? but then the thing is is i dont want it to look all rolled and bunched.(got the bc 2 months ago) my dad showed me pics when he was young way back in the day and he and his friends all had those afros that were picked out and well shaped. none wore it just regular no fro like style. :huh: :unsure: im confused? :unsure: which ones the best???

[delleaux]

Your attitude about your hair is so refreshing! :wub: :wub: :wub: When I first went natural I started to use the comb much less to the point of no comb. When I washed my hair I would plait it in 4 large braids and washed it that way and had far less problems with hair coming out. I came to the conclusion that once you stop treating your hair as if it was straight, European way then your hair won't give you any problems. Now locked of course no comb now but I still have all my combs I used because I hate throwing things away, lol! It is not so much of going natural but the tools we use have to be condusive to our texture period! :D :D :D :D :D

[prncsstaylor]

This is a great topic. I have one comb that I currently use and I have had it for more that 10 years. It's a really big, wide-toothed comb that's wavy. The teeth all have very rounded tips and even the teeth in the comb are wavy. Someone told me it was a "wet hair" comb? :huh:

I do have a boar bristle brush I use when I want to smooth my hair for barettes. Good questions about the trimming. Do we still need to trim as much as we did when we were r3laxed? If so, why? if we are not using chemicals or heat to destroy our hair?

Anywho......I stopped combing when I started doing my mini-chops. I finger comb and use my wavy comb about every 2 weeks or so. I like my TWA very messy and coily. I can't wait until I have a BAA full of messy, nappy, coily hair!

[soniak]

Well...I don't use combs because it messes up my natural curl pattern. I used it to part and detangle for braiding, twisting and coiling, but other than that I just wash and go. I don't like my hair combed out in an afro because it does not complement me. Though I will use styling tools when my hair grows longer for diversity of styles, but other than that, no tools for me!

http://public.fotki.com/Natrual529/

http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo271/Natural579/comic-pcoil.jpg

[carboncopysue]

To me, trimming doesn’t “prevent” split ends. Taking care of your ends and not using heat or coloring prevents split ends. I only trim to take out the damaged hair, and that’s usually once a year at the most. I baby my ends because they are old and possibly still colored from the last time I did it (maybe 2005?).

When I’m not in protective styles, I lightly detangle with a denman or my fingers with my weekly wash. I do this for two reasons. One, other people do my protective styles now and I’d rather lightly maintain detangled hair than try to do it all at once the night before I get my hair done. (And I definitely do not want them to detangle my hair). The other reason is that BAAs are out of the question for me, since my hair flops like Frederick Douglass, so I feel that I need to detangle to achieve the styles that work for me.

I don't brush hardly at all. Even when I wear puffs. My hair is just going to do it's thang anyway, so I just let it.

Sue.

[B_Phlyy]

A comb is a European styling tool?

I comb or finger comb depending on my mood. My hair as the "afro-look" whether or not I comb.

Lys
[/b]


That's what I'm trying to figure out too! It's been a while since I've been a black history class, but I do distinctly remember seeing pictures and drawings of combs and other hair tools in pre-European invasion Africa.

I comb about once a week. If I don't, my hair tangles and I get lots of knots, which in the long run will force me to have to cut my hair. I never brush, even though I do want to try a Denman.

[kenyainc]

Oh YES!! I only detangle once or twice a month!
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/Ksjams/myhairtoday-1.jpg

[serendity]

I love my Denman brush, and my combs/picks.

Also combs are not a European thing, African civilizations were using picks/combs to style their hair along with other hair accessories.

Now about scissors, my last trim was in July, and I don't plan on cutting my hair again. I believe that trimming was made up by the hair care industry.

And I never understood why we must trim nappy hair, with all the breakage and shedding that nappy hair does, I'm not going to add cutting into the equation anymore, and besides I think our hair has the ability to get rid of the bad, by itself.

[MzBNS2010]

I don't comb very often and try to keep my hair in a stretch style as often as possible. I don't even use a brush for my puffs! :) the scissors are a necessity for me tho. Every time I feel a single strand knot at the ends of my hair, I cut it. If I don't, my hair will snag other strands and eventually snap off which leads to breakage and possible split ends. I find that cutting those knots out has really saved my hair and I don't have split ends (at least that I've seen...) I have trimmed twice this yr and I only trim when my hair tells me to. :D

[bebedee]

^^^^^What Mrs. B said......

[idarastar]

Thanks a lot ladies for the replies!

About the European hair tool thing: I have no idea this if that is true. I just know I've heard some militants or rasta sisters claiming that scissors and combs were a white invention. I swear I've seen pictures of bone and stick combs though. Why give Europe all the credit? But then again, who knows if these tools were made for combing or simply just for parting. I know some African styles I've seen are evenly parted. Maybe these combs are just elaborate hair decorations?
http://www.exploringabroad.strictlyafrica.com/images_products/Royal_Ashanti_Comb.JPG

If you watched my video, you can see that my detangle routine includes minor ripping.
This is why I ask about scissors.

I will wash my hair, part into 6 big sections to braid and let it drip dry. After it's dried, I just let my stretched natural curls hang or up in a ponytail puff. After many days or so of this style, my curls join together creating thick strand curls, some eventually balling up at the ends and creating little knots. These knots, if they are hanging off by one strand of hair are pulled off. It's dead hair. It seems just as long as I'm not pulling from the scalp, it's all good.

To the one who said something about not combing for length retention, I feel the same way. I think that as long as I'm not combing and forcing hair to come out, it will stay. :-)

Thanks for the compliments! I love my attitude as well. It's so much more easier to be lax about life than dwell on every aspect daily.

The pic on my site with the blue earrings, that was fresh outta the shower. No comb, no fingers, no twists or braids. It was just water, a little leave-in conditioner and a little coconut oil.

Much Love Natural Beauties! :-)