Chapter 8 – The Artistry of Hair Styling → Comb-Out Techniques - CHI Hair Care

Comb-Out Techniques

The best way to increase volume and lift is by back-brushing and backcombing.

Back-brushing

This technique is used to give height and volume to your hair styles by creating a soft cushion or to combine two or more curl patterns to build a uniform and smooth comb out.

Back-brushing is achieved by brushing backwards from the points of the hair to the roots.

Use a gentle stoking action with your brush. The hair should tangle slightly, which will bind it together and form a soft padding or cushion. This will help you to style the hair and allow you to create a fuller shape.

The amount of back-brushing you do will depend on how full you want the shape of the hair to be. Hold a section of the hair out from the head.

Use a gentle stroking motion and brush the hair from the points to the roots.

Remember to keep the finished sections separate from where you are back-brushing to avoid the hair from knotting.

Finish and set the style with your favorite CHI hairspray

Backcombing

This technique, also referred to as teasing, is the process of combing small sections of hair starting from the ends towards the scalp to create a fuller, more-voluminous looking style. This causes the shorter hair to gather at the scalp and form a base or cushion.

Backcombing is used in many up-style designs, in order to create a specific silhouette in the hair. It has remained useful and in many cases highly-fashionable. Even in hairstyles that aren’t formal, you can use backcombing techniques to build-up the volume in the top of the head giving a longer silhouette to the face by creating a bump from which the rest of the hair trails.

The act of backcombing the hair involves taking a segment of the hair and using a styling tool to comb the hair in the opposite of the direction in which it grows. This causes the hair to compress down around its fellows and allow them to stand up more. The backcombing is repeated until as much bulk is formed as is desired and then usually the forward edge of the segment is brought back and smoothed over the surface to hide what is a mass of hair.

Backcombing will give more support to your long hair design than back-brushing.

Backcombing is applied at the root area. The comb is used to turn the short hairs in a section, which gives volume and support to the styled hair.

Hold a section of hair out from the head. Remember that depending where you want to create your shape will determine your section.

Place your comb underneath the section at the root area.

Push the hair down towards the roots being careful not to push your comb in too far.

Repeating this movement, continue to work along the length of the section towards the ends of the hair.

When you have backcombed a section, be sure to keep it separate from other finished sections otherwise the hair will become knotted.

Continue backcombing the hair in sections until you have achieved the desired shape.

Always finish styling long hair by positioning it with your fingers or smoothing it with the wide end of your comb. Set the style with your favorite CHI hairspray.