Hey guys. My exclusive finger detangling challenge ended and it ended well. However, I have no results video to share with you because my ipad, which I used to record the video just went black dead on me. Me being me, I had not downloaded the video soon after recording and was waiting for when I would have enough time to edit it. So, nothing to show you guys. Not even a picture. But I thought I should not wait too long to review the challenge considering it ended on the last day of May.
Exclusive finger detangling on natural hair
What my challenge involved
- I was not to comb or brush my hair at all starting from the beginning of February to the end of May
- I was supposed to finger detangle exclusively
- I was supposed to finger comb only.
How did I fare?
Not bad I think. I stayed faithful to the challenge through out and I am so proud of that. I was even able to pull some styles that I didn’t know could be achieved with finger combed hair. I did not do well though as far as length retention is concerned. I could have done better.
Challenges faced
- Excessive shedding, knotting, breakage and as I already knew it would be, it was time consuming to detangle the hair
- No length retention throughout the 4 months I was on the challenge.
Lessons learnt
- Detangling regularly and thoroughly is important when exclusively using your fingers for hair grooming. This allows shed hairs to be released before they start wrecking havoc on other strands and to make sure the hair does not start locking. I did not do this very well because of time constraints. Often times I would quickly wash my hair and then twist it to dry without carefully detangling it. I know, my fault.
- Very neat well defined twist out’s and braid outs can be achieved even on an exclusive finger detangling regimen. Previously, I thought this was impossible but I was proved wrong.
- keeping hair stretched as much as possible reduces tangles and single strand knots significantly. This lesson was learnt when I did a wash n go while on the challenge. Didn’t my hair knot? Wrote about it here.
- Time and patience is essential when finger detangling to avoid snapping hair. I am sure I snapped many a hair while on this challenge. As much as I tried to be patient and do it well most of the times, sometimes I would just lose it. Which I shouldn’t have.
Now you know who to blame for my lack of length retention for the 4 months I have been on this challenge.
A wash n go on finger detangled hair
My review on finger detangling
I have always been a regular with finger detangling but not exclusively like I did lately. I used to first detangle with my fingers, then, a wide toothed comb and sometimes follow that too with a brush. Sometimes I even used to go for a whole month, finger detangling only and that was okay. What I wanted to find out I suppose is if finger detangling was really good for my hair. Now, after my challenge to exclusively finger detangle, I am in a better position to make an informed decision on what is best for my hair. I ‘ll admit. Exclusive finger detangling works really well for others but not for me. My hair and my lifestyle is best suited to both finger detangling and combs/brushes.
Now what, that my challenge is over?
I have gone back to using both methods, fingers and combs/brushes to detangle my hair. I only detangle on wet or damp hair though. Of course, I start with finger detangling, follow with a comb then a brush. If I use a shampoo brush when rinsing my conditioner, then I don’t use a comb to detangle when styling. I just use my fingers. My detangling process only happens on wash days. I finger comb in between and I think I can live with that!
“Still learning my hair. Making mistakes along the way but it’s okay. Experience is the best tutor”
Finger detangled natural hair fits well in corporate world!
