More and more I am seeing many recipes I would like to try on my hair, and many oils to put in my hair, and my hair is so long and thick that I need to comb or brush treatments into my hair, because finger alone just won't get the job done.

I dont want to get my nice olive wood brush all greasy or grimey, or any of my other clean hair things, Does anyone suggest or know what sort of comb would be safe for getting grimey and greasy that I could use to comb treatments into my hair and then rinse clean without damaging what it is made out of or leaving a residue on it?

I believe combs are made out of wood, bone, or horn, but I haven't yet used ANY combs, so I am not sure which one to go with specifically for applying treatments and oils and such.

Any ideas?

Horn combs work well for combing thru conditioners and oils.  Just be sure to wipe it clean - the horn does not like to stay wet.  Wood should never be used on wet or really damp hair.  It will ultimately damage the comb.  You might find a wide toothed detangling comb or hair pick that you can sand down the edges on.  I have one that I leave in the shower for combing (VERY GENTLY) my hair after washing/conditioning/rinsing.

yeah I figured as much on the wood, and bone well, nah, I recently foun da horn comb off ebay thats only 5-6 inches and I think I might make it my treatment comb since I just bid on another horn come I found on ebay thats bigger!

thanks for tips!

When I first started growing my hair here on longlocks in '04 I used a comb-now I just use my fingers and they work great.  Very easy to clean, too!   ;D

I use a plastic comb with the widest set teeth I could find from a drugstore.  I sanded down any rough edges with a metal nail file (oh the file of so many uses!)  I apply treatments with my hands first by finger combing, and then when I'm relatively sure there aren't any tangles, I comb my hair carefully to make sure all the strands get covered.  For the most part they are all coated as long as you use enough treatment for the length and thickness of your hair, but I'm like you.. very thick hair that's difficult to make sure you're getting all of it.  

Plus, I usually like to wrap my hair in a bun style for deep conditioning treatments (or any hair treatment requiring a length of time) because it's easier to stuff my hair into a plastic baggie or shower cap that way.

As for oils specifically, (I use JoJoba occasionally) I apply that only to my ends with my hands after detangling my hair, then use a BB brush to distribute it through the rest of my locks.

yeah my hair is too thick and straight to apply with just fingers, it will clump together liek when you dont cook spegetthi the right way and you end up with a giant speghetti thats not cooked in the middle!  Hair does the same thing.  and I can try to comb it with my fingers, but it will just split in half or thirds and I will have smaller-but-still-too-big clumps of hair with dryness in the middle.  I might just get a plastic one for treatment applying, since I wont really have a static probem with them when applying stuff.

Novus: the jojoba oil doesnt get junky in your bb brush?  I guess if youre not globbing a lot on it wouldnt.  my bb brush is on its way to me in the mail O_O

Tara wrote on Oct 10^th, 2007 at 9:46am:

Novus: the jojoba oil doesnt get junky in your bb brush?  I guess if youre not globbing a lot on it wouldnt.  my bb brush is on its way to me in the mail O_O

Actually, it DOES get gunky.  I clean my BB brush of hair after every time I use it, and when the bristles start to feel coated (usually every month in a half or so, as I only use the brush when distributing oils and as a final "finish" when drying my hair) I wash my brush in mild soap and water.  Usually, I dilute a little SLS-free shampoo in a sink of water and use a wash cloth to kinda scrub the gunk out of the bristles.  Then I rinse it REALLY well in cool water and set it in a sunny but not too hot place to dry.  It takes a good day/ day and a half for it to dry.

I've heard some things about not washing your BB brush, but who wants to spread gunk through their hair?  :P  It does shed a few of the bristles when you do this, but not many.. usually 5-10.

well thats good to know, thanks!

personally, whenever I comb my hair for WHATEVER reason, I just use a Tangle Tamer comb, it's got teeth that sort of curve in opposite directions, i got it at sally beauty supply... It doesn't have any rough edges, it's easy to clean, and the curvy teeth, for some unknown reason, actually help it detangle without breaking, which is really useful when you're combing treatments, conditioners, oils, ect. through your hair. (in my experience, it cuts down on the spaghetti effect greatly)

Kiraela wrote on Oct 16^th, 2007 at 2:23pm:

personally, whenever I comb my hair for WHATEVER reason, I just use a Tangle Tamer comb, it's got teeth that sort of curve in opposite directions, i got it at sally beauty supply... It doesn't have any rough edges, it's easy to clean, and the curvy teeth, for some unknown reason, actually help it detangle without breaking, which is really useful when you're combing treatments, conditioners, oils, ect. through your hair. (in my experience, it cuts down on the spaghetti effect greatly)

Ahhh!!!  I used to have a tangle tamer!  My MIL got it for me for Christmas a few years back.. I loved that thing, it really did help with the tangles!  However, by the time my hair reached tailbone length, the teeth of the comb were too close together and would snag hairs that were caught together. I had to switch over to a gigantically wide tooth comb.  (A black plastic Scunci I think is the name of it).  

As for my Tangle tamer... I packed it away somewhere.. in a box that I haven't unpacked yet, probably..  ::)

ooh yeah I know the comb you are talking about, although Ive never used one.  It probobly wouldnt be good for my hair however becuase my ends tend to knot up together very easily, and I think witht he comb pushing the hair in such ways as to detangle the part the comb is at, would make it worse for my ends hehe.  However I DID just get a new come!!!!  THAT I LOVE!!!!!  only its not for treatments, I actually got one that I think i will use for treatments and also my innitial comb when I take it down.  I love my combs so much I think I have to make a thread about them....!  O.O