This week, I experienced a tough week with my afro, I actually felt like cutting it off and this has been after a long time. You see, a few weeks back, I had odered some crochet braids to install in my hair as I mentioned earlier, that is one of my go to protective styles. I was eagerly waiting for them and ready to get that hairdo done. I kept checking with the individuals that mentioned that I should have received them and they said that I should wait a little longer. After one month of waiting, I was extremely unhappy with the outcome of the items and just mentioned that I had not received them. I did not ask for a refund but I enquired with them again as I wanted to make sure that I was still to receive them. I was only informed that I would receive a refund. It got me wondering, what happened to the items along the way? did they get lost? Did someone else get them? So many questions and no answers. Back to the topic of the day, combing afro hair.
Combs and Afro hair
When having natural hair became more of a trend, I came across many theories and ideologies regarding looking after afro hair. One of them was that you should not comb afro hair? That did not last long, it’s extremely difficult to deal with afro hair without a comb or even a blowdry, unless you have less tighter coils in your hair. The best methodology I heard was finger combing. Now depending on the type of coils you have. if you have tigher coils, sometimes the finger combing can help but you still need a detangling brush especially for the little tiny knots. Sometimes if I am a little impatient with the process, I will eventually cut the knot off. That’s why it’s important to keep trimming your hair because it minimizes the knots a fair bit.
So because I did not get the crotchet braids, I was at a loss of how to style my hair this week, eventually I used a brush to comb it out and leave it as an afro for a while. 
It’s been a hot week so I prefer not to add anything to my head because I don’t want to get too sweaty.
Wide Toothed Combs
Every time I shower, I always use a wide toothed comb for the tangles in my hair when I am washing it. It makes the task odf detangling so much easier. Infact when I take out my braids, I no longer try and detangle them before I wash my hair, I usually detangle it during the process of washing. The only thing I do when I undo the hair is remove the product build up, which you can actually avoid if you use spirit and cotton to clean up atleast every week. It’s also wise to use a light oil to keep it moisturised during the braid process, however that’s something I will provide information on next time.
Now if you have tight coils, do not use combs that are small and are not wide toothed if your hair is still tangled. You can use it once your hair has been straightened out. I have not straightened my hair in almost one year now and I actually cannot wait to do that soon. I think less heat on the hair is so healthy for you.
Recent trend
Lately, there have been some combs that have been released in the market and I think that they are extremely innovative and interesting Poppupe detangling brush, it’s easy to use, it bends with your hair. It’s good to use in the shower and it minimizes the tangles which means less pain.
It has not been used by many people, because as mentioned, it’s a new look and style and many individuals have not experienced using that design, however check it out.
Wooden Combs
When I was younger, I was used to the wooden comb it’s only when the manufacturing of combs became more common that the plastic combs started being used. The wooden comb was mostly useful for braiding and a little bit of combing, however not so much. There’s not much production of wooden combs nowadays, however I will certainly find out if I can find a similar comb to the one that I used during my childhood.
Comb etiquette
It does not matter if you are the only individual that uses a brush or comb, however it’s extremely important to keep it clean. After every use I always wash it. The main reason for this is that when you reuse the brush again, you want to know the condition of your hair. You want to see are you loosing a lot of hair, is the condition improving. It’s also important to keep it clean to minimize any cross infection. But just like make up brushes, it’s good to disinfect your comb by cleaning it in warm soapy water. You can also just disinfect it depending on what you like.
Anyway combing and brushing your hair is always important. You cannot live without it and it’s the only way to know how your hair is doing.
What was your favourite type of comb growing up?
