As with brushes, there's a wide variety of combs available. Most are made of plastic or hard rubber, but you also can find natural materials like wood. Saw-cut (as opposed to molded) teeth are best because they don't have any rough seams, which can damage your hair. Use combs for styling short or thin hair, and for getting tangles out of and arranging any type of hair.
All-purpose combs, with close-set teeth at one end and wider-set teeth at the other, are the basic type you see everywhere.
Wide-toothed combs and picks are used for detangling thick, damp or dry hair and for giving lift and volume to curly or kinky hair.
Rattail combs have a long, pointed end for sectioning hair, arranging curls and creating straight parts. Their closely spaced teeth also make them good for teasing fine hair.
Teasing combs have alternating long and short teeth; use one with closely spaced teeth for back combing fine hair or one with wide-set teeth if you have thick hair.
Detangling combs have two rows of wavy teeth for getting out lots of little tangles.
