How to Use a Hot Comb on Natural Hair

If you are wondering how to use a hot comb properly, then you’ve come to the right place. A hair straightening comb(or a hot comb) is a styling tool used to make hair smoother and avoid frizziness.

Featured Image of How to Use a Hot Comb to Straighten or Curl Your Hair

 They have some advantages over flat irons, especially in the speed department.

It is much faster to do your hair with a heated comb than a flat iron.

Nevertheless, you need to know how to use it. Read on to learn its advantages if you are on the fence about getting a hot comb.

Check: Best Hot Comb for Black Hair

Common Preparation

One of the aspects to keep in mind is washing and drying your hair [1] properly.

Secondly, comb your hair thoroughly to make sure that there are no entanglements.

Finally, make 1-inch small sections of your hair and use pins to secure it.

Now let’s see how you can straighten your hair using a regular comb. To straighten or curl your hair with an automatic hot brush, you can read the last two methods.

Check: Why You Should Not Use Hot Comb for Thin Hair

4 Ways to Use a Hot Comb

First way – Normal Comb Heated by Flame

Our first method requires simple things that are easily accessible at home. Choose one of your hairbrushes with metal teeth and a wooden or heat-resistant handle.

Note: Plastic combs will melt if you heat them, so avoid them.

Turn your stove on and put the comb close to the flame. Leave it there for a few seconds until you feel that it’s warm enough.

Nevertheless, you don’t know if the temperature will suit your hair. Therefore, put it on a paper towel and see if it turns brown.

If the paper towel turns brown, it means it is too hot. So cool it down a bit and try again until the paper is no longer turning brown. 

Afterward, take each section of your hair and brush with the hot comb. You can get very close to the base of your hair but try not to touch the skin. Brush it as many times as you need to get it as straight as you want.

Do this for each division, and you’ll have natural-looking straight hair.

Checkout this video on how to use this method.

Read: Flat Iron Vs Hot Comb

Second way – Normal Comb Heated by Hot Air

If you think a stove-heated comb might be too dangerous, or you don’t feel comfortable trying that method, then this second one is for you. Firstly, you’ll need to have a hairdryer or hot air blower to try this method.

Only the heating step is different from the first way we described above. Therefore, follow that method until the heating step, and heat a regular comb with hot air instead of a direct flame.

@minkplushair hotcomb OR flat iron???#fyp #hotcomb #flatiron #hairgrowthtips #hairtutorial #straightenhair #foryou ♬ Who Want Smoke?? (feat. G Herbo, Lil Durk & 21 Savage) – Nardo Wick

You’ll still require a comb with metal teeth like the previous method.

It is important to note that you can have straight hair using a hot comb, but not curly hair.

To avoid all that hassle and have long-lasting, good-looking hair, you should use electric combs.

ALSO READ: Hot Comb Cleaning Guide

Third Way – Electric Hot Comb

Electric Hot Comb - V1 Sep

This method is a bit easier. Follow the common preparation parts and plug them in to warm up.

After a minute, your hot comb should be ready. Set the appropriate temperature and brush thoroughly from top to bottom.

You’ll see that this will require significantly less time and effort to straighten your hair.

Some even argue that an electric hot comb is better than a flat iron.

@rxneexx I’m obsessed with this hair straightening comb#curlyhair#curlytostraight#hairtutorial#tymobeauty ♬ Tap In x Gimme More – carneyval

Both have advantages and disadvantages. Hence, we cannot rule one out without going into details. Check our list of hot combs here.

After you’ve straightened your hair, don’t forget to maintain the precautions we’ve listed below.

TRY READING: French Roll Hairstyles for Black Hair

Fourth way – Electric Hot Brush Round

Electric Hot Brush Round

Our third way is to get straight hair. But if you want curly hair, you need to use a hot round comb.

You will need a round brush instead of a regular one.

Spin it while brushing down, and you’ll see cute curls appearing. Do it multiple times to get healthy curls. 

Precautions for Using Electric Hair Tools

It’s vital to take the below precautions to avoid having damaged hair:

  • Completely dry your hair before using these electronic tools, so that your hair doesn’t get damaged.
  • Use a heat protectant whenever you’re applying heat to your hair.
  • Don’t get too close to the scalp while using it.
  • Don’t touch your ears, skin, or other parts with the heated comb.
  • Unplug after you’ve finished using the tool, cool it down, and store it in a safe place

Final Words

We all have different textures and types of natural hair.

You quickly style hair using a flat iron, but to do it in a more detailed way that reaches the base of your hair, there is no better way than to use a hot comb.

Using an electric hot comb for short, medium or thin hair is preferable. You’ll get your desired results. But if you have thick or firmly curled hair, you’ll need to use the first method mentioned above.

The flame-heated comb does a fantastic job in this situation.

While it is true that a hot comb can’t provide long-lasting straight or curly hair like flat iron, the hot comb method is still your best bet in dire situations. Think of it as a bit of a video game hack. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. 

How to use Normal Comb Heated by Hot Air

Resources

1. Help for Hair Loss [Internet]. WebMD. Available from: https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/science-hair#:~:text=The%20hair%20shaft%20is%20made

2. (PDF) A study of damaged hair [Internet]. ResearchGate. [cited 2022 Feb 18]. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265285712_A_study_of_damaged_hair

Comments

  1. Hi,

    I am a regular reader of your blogs. They are amazing.

    However, after going through many of them, I realized that while you suggested many products in some blogs to help out your readers, there is no product suggestion in others. Why is that?

    Also, I would like to know which heat protectant I should use on my delicate natural hair so that it doesn’t get burned and damaged when I use a hot comb.

    I am looking forward to your expert suggestion before making a purchase.

    Thanks in advance.

    Reply
    • Dear Lauren,

      Thank you very much for your kind words. We appreciate our readers’ feedback.

      To protect your delicate natural tresses completely, we would suggest you try out the HSI PROFESSIONAL Argan Oil Heat Protector before using the hot comb. It would most definitely protect your manes from burning.

      We hope this would help.

      Reply
  2. Hello there,

    I would like to say that this article is CRAP. Do you even check the facts before putting them into words? As far as I know, hot combs come with cool tip ends; why did you say not to go too close to the scalp while using it?

    Anyways, a part of the article was really good.

    Keep up the good work.

    Reply
    • Dear Missa,

      Thank you very much for taking out the time and giving us feedback. We appreciate it.

      And you are right. Many hot combs come with cool tip ends. However, as all of them don’t have cool tips, we stated not to get too close to the scalp as a precautionary step.

      We hope this would clear your confusion.

      Reply

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