How to comb natural hair without pain is one of the questions people always ask me. Also, does it hurt? My response is simple, I do comb my hair, but not every day and no it does not hurt. Why? Because of my technique I use to comb my natural hair. It took me a while to find out how to comb natural hair without pain as my is super kinky especially my crown area.  In the past, I have tried a lot and my hair was always telling me if it likes it or not. Sometimes it brought me pain and sometimes hair breakage. You can do it better. Here are some tips how to comb natural hair without pain and pulling too much hair out in frustration!

How to comb natural hair without pain

You need time, patience and some tools to comb your hair without any pain.

What do you need?

• Time, although it depends on how thick and long your hair is. I need at least 30 minutes because my strands love to be intertwined with each other.
• A Wide-tooth comb
• A Spray bottle filled with water and a water-based leave in conditioner, your favourite oil and one or two small drops vitamin E
• Hair clips

Combing dry hair

1. Spritz your hair with your mixture to moisturize your it. It is easier to comb through damp hair.
2. Section your hair. You can use your fingers to do this. The number of sections depends on how thick and long your hair is. I do 6 sections. Use clips to keep the rest of your hair out of the way while combing your hair.
3. I would recommend to use your fingers first to detangle your hair. Your fingers will feel the major knots without pulling the hair. Most of the time, your fingers can easily deal with every single strand if you have a knot. But it is a great way of saving your hair.
4. Use a wide-tooth comb. Now start from your ends and work your way to your roots. While using one hand to comb use the other hand to hold your hair.
5. After each section use the loc method and put it in a protective styling.

Shower combing technique

1. Wet your hair in the shower and then apply a rinse out conditioner (e.g. Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Conditioner ).
2. Let the conditioner sit on your hair for 3 minutes.
3. Use your wide-tooth comb to start combing your hair in small sections. Start from your ends to the roots.
4. Rinse the conditioner out.
5. Spritz your hair with the above mentioned mixture and apply a leave-in conditioner (e.g Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen Grow & Restore Leave-In Conditioner) on your damp hair.
6. Use an oil to seal in the moisture.
7. Part your hair in several sections and comb through with a wide-tooth comb.
8. Style or put your hair in a protective style.

 

 

How often should you comb your hair?

I would not recommend combing your hair too often. I only comb my hair on wash days, that means twice a month if I am not doing a lot of sports. I know people who never comb their hair and they are fine with it. There are also people who still believe in combing your hair 100 strokes every day. Don’t do it. This is just a myth. Our hair has the tendency to coil up with each other. If you comb your hair regular your hair will break up. There are also some steps you should know before you start to detangle your hair. Click this link to learn more: 4 Steps You Should Know About Detangling Your Hair.

In conclusion, people of African descent hair has the moist fragile hair type. Frequent combing can damage your hair. Reduce combing if you can. Take your time and be gentle while combing your hair. Our hair likes to be kinky so embrace it !

How do you comb your hair withoug pain? How often do you do it?

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